Miller New Venture Challenge Final Crowns Newest Winners

PROVO, Utah – Apr 17, 2015 – Cash prizes totaling six figures were at stake for the top 20 BYU student-run companies participating in the Miller New Venture Challenge Final hosted by the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology.

The top awardee with a total of $25,000 was SimpleCitizen, an online solution that simplifies and reduces the costs of going through the U.S. citizenship process. In addition to collecting $15,000 as a competition finalist, SimpleCitizen also took home the $5,000 grand prize and the International Award of an additional $5,000.

“We were really nervous due to the amazing teams we were competing against,” says Sam Stoddard, a second-year MAcc student from Portland, Ore., and Simple Citizen CEO and co-founder. “We were lucky to be selected today.”

SimpleCitizen best met the Miller NVC’s judging criteria of gaining industry traction, delivering a memorable presentation and demonstrating a strong understanding of entrepreneurship at the annual event, which is open to all majors.

“The Miller New Venture Challenge is a way for students to take the fine education they’ve received here at Brigham Young University and make a successful living doing things they enjoy," says Scott Petersen, managing director of the CET. 

The NVC Final is the last of a series of entrepreneurship events hosted by the CET during the academic school year. To qualify for the final round, entrepreneurs demonstrated the way their company is working to solve problems experienced by consumers.

Out of the top 20 teams competing in the Challenge, 10 finalists won $15,000 each and received the opportunity to join BYU Launchpad, a startup immersion program held later this year that is designed to accelerate each companies’ growth. The finalists were B-Onyx, Bettrnet, IllumiBowl, Linq, Penny Pledge, Recyclops, SimpleCitizen, Soniped, Sotrek and Vykon.

In addition, Bettrnet, a service focused on healthy technology habits, won $5,000 for the Most Innovative Award. Penny Pledge, a web plugin allowing users to donate to any online company, won the Audience Choice for another $5,000.

“The student entrepreneurs have been getting better each year,” Petersen says. “The quality of the teams this year has been phenomenal.”

BYU entrepreneurs will continue to compete throughout the next month at events around the country. The Rollins Center is also co-sponsoring the annual International Business Model Competition which will be held May 1-2 in Provo.

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.