UND entrepreneurship major wins Middleton Business Plan Competition

The UND Nistler College of Business & Public Administration is excited to announce the winner of its Middleton Business Plan Competition hosted at Nistler Hall on April 19 and 20.

Organized by the Middleton School of Entrepreneurship & Management in the Nistler College, entrepreneurship faculty Sanjay Goel and Sheila Hanson coordinated the event in partnership with the North Dakota Small Business Development Center — helping participants prepare to compete.

Open to all UND students from any major, a total of 22 student teams entered the competition. In the preliminary round, 11 student teams presented business plans to 10 judges.

Four finalists advanced to the final round.

Judges included Amy Henley, dean of the Nistler College; Tom Shorma, retired CEO/president of WCCO Belting; Barry Wilfart, CEO/president of The Chamber Grand Forks – East Grand Forks; Hal Gershman, successful Grand Forks business owner and former president of the Grand Forks City Council; and Monica Musich, former CEO of Valley Dairy.

Entrepreneurship major Cooper Johnson won the Sandra Braathen Memorial Business Plan Grand Prize of $15,000 for his Johnson Curbing Business Plan.

The competition’s top prize is named in honor of the late Sandy Braathen, Langemo Faculty Fellow and professor in the Middleton School of Entrepreneurship & Management.

Another entrepreneurship major, Charlie Andrys, received the runner-up $10,000 prize for his BitGrow Business Plan.

About UND Nistler College of Business & Public Administration

The Nistler College is the largest college of business and public administration in North Dakota and serves approximately 1,800 undergraduate and 300 graduate students annually. The Nistler College is in the top 5% of business schools worldwide through accreditation by AACSB International (The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business).

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Media Contact:

Laura Arneson, Director of External Relations, Nistler College of Business & Public Administration
laura.arneson@UND.edu, 701.777.6937