Credit: Gary Hodges/www.jonreis.com

From buying better-fitting clothes online to reducing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, ten creative business ideas developed by Cornell undergrads are vying for prize money in the second Big Idea Competition.

The final pitch for the 10 Big Idea finalists is slated for April 11, 4-5:30 p.m., in 196 Beck Center, Statler Hall, as part of the April 10-11 Entrepreneurship@Cornell's Celebration 2008. Audience members, a panel of judges and the public (voting online at http://www.cornellbusiness.com/) will choose the winners at the event.

In October, undergraduates were invited to enter a new business idea into the competition, which is sponsored by Entrepreneurship@Cornell and Student Agencies Inc. Semifinalists and finalists were given access to coaching and mentoring from successful entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship@Cornell faculty and Advisory Council members, and Student Agencies' managers. The top prizewinner will earn $2,500, second prize $1,000 and third prize $500. Prizes are supported by the Vijay and Sita Vashee Promising Entrepreneur Award Endowment Fund.

A closet scene from the movie "Clueless" offered the initial inspiration for the Quickfit Virtual Fitting System team, whose idea combines body scan technology with 3-D clothing design to improve an online shopper's ability to select clothing. Seniors Gabriel Goldenberg, Scott Grossman, Shawn Jolly and Inna Kuvich developed a business plan for the company as part of Professor David BenDaniel's Entrepreneurship and Private Equity course in the fall.

"We've learned how to think more about how every group of people who might use your product would be best served," Goldenberg said about the business planning process. "We had to think about what the clothing maker's goals are, what the retailer's goals are and how we can make things easier for the consumer."

More than 50 entrepreneurial students, faculty inventors, local businesses and campus resources for entrepreneurs will offer information at the Technology, Business and Resource Expo, Friday, April 11, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., as part of Entrepreneurship@Cornell's Celebration 2008.

The expo will take place in the ballroom at the Statler Hotel and is free and open to the public.

It will include such student businesses as Scrimple Inc., OurLifestylz magazine and Slope Radio as well as the Cornell companies CherryPharm, MiTeGen and e2e Materials. BR Ventures, the Student Agencies eLab and the Nanobiotechnology Center also will be on hand to share news about the services they offer to Cornell entrepreneurs.

For a full list of participants, visit the Entrepreneurship@Cornell Web site.

While their initial idea focuses on selling this technology to online retailers to include on their Web sites, they also envision their own site, where shoppers could buy clothes or even build a virtual closet of things they've already purchased.

Seniors Ben Jabbawy and Vinay Badami's business, Miacomet, tackles a weightier problem -- greenhouse gas emissions -- using an environmentally friendly and cost-effective technique to convert greenhouse gases to a stable solid, calcium carbonate, which could then be sold to such industries as building materials and paper.

"There is a lot of controversy surrounding CO2 emissions and global warming," Jabbawy said. "Our idea is a very practical and potentially lucrative means of addressing this issue."

TheServiceAuction.com, developed by Joseph Duva '09, has already been a functioning Web site for three months, allowing people to bid on such home improvement services as roofing, masonry, flooring and carpentry. The concept mirrors eBay and allows contractors and homeowners to match up in a live auction format.

Duva, who started his first business in high school, said a Big Idea Competition win would help him seek funding to expand his marketing and advertising.

"As I work on my business, I've found that when I answer one question, it sometimes creates a whole new puzzle to solve and that's why I love it," Duva said. "I've learned how to talk to people and present myself and how to take criticism and grow from it."

The 10 finalists will all take questions, as well as criticism, from judges during their three-minute pitch sessions on April 11.

Other finalists include:

• Sharon Riese-Huck '08, the Ornamental Plant Information Web Site would allow people to search for specific plants for use in various situations.
• Antonio Cardona '09, Nathan Ward '08 and Matthew Malleo '09, Party Tracker Web system would allow real-time information about friends, events and locations.
• Stratios Lambos '08, Michael Laskin '08, David Schindelheim '08, "Yoomi Mobile" is a mobile social networking tool to network with others in a real-world setting without compromising personal privacy.
• Edipo Cravo '10, Joseph L. Strandberg '10, "WePlace: YouTube Product Placement" would facilitate product placement into the new media of YouTube and similar sites.
• Andrew C. Meehan '09, "The Virtual Billboard" would use digital projections to produce stimulating, mobile and cost-effective visual displays in a direct-marketing business.
• Matt Ackerson '09, "Scrimple" lists printable coupons from local merchants online and specialize in money-conscious college students. Businesses are charged for each coupon printed (sales lead) on the site or a fixed annual price.
• Noel Manuel '08, Barrett Amos '08, Andrew Hatai '11, "NetBook" would serve as a link between a publisher and professor to create customized textbooks and e-texts.

Kathy Hovis is a writer/editor for Entrepreneurship@Cornell.