University of Arkansas Team Wins First Place at Canadian Entrepreneurial Event

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At the Manitoba Club, from left: Brett Wilson from Dragon’s Den; Seth Shumate and Douglas Hutchings, co-founders of Silicon Solar Solutions, and Derek Johannson, chairman of Carlyle Printers Service and Supplies.

A team of University of Arkansas students who created a business plan for a more efficient manufacturing process of solar cells has won the grand prize at the Dragon's Den event, sponsored by the Young Presidents Organization and held in Winnipeg, Manitoba, on Sept. 23. Because the team, Silicon Solar Solutions LLC, had previously won the Stuart Clark Venture Challenge at the University of Manitoba, it was one of four teams that were invited to make a business pitch to venture capitalists from across Canada.

The team members are Stephen Ritterbush, master of business administration, and Brent Bertelsen, master of accountancy, in the Sam M. Walton College of Business; and Seth Shumate and Douglas Hutchings, doctoral students in the College of Engineering. Carol Reeves, associate professor of management, is the faculty adviser.

"Although the prize pool at the Dragon's Den was relatively small ($5,000), they met a very serious investor there and will get some great publicity," said Reeves, who also holds the Cecil and Gwendolyn Cupp Applied Professorship in Entrepreneurship.

Hutchings, the CEO for Silicon Solar Solutions, agreed, "The real value came through the exposure. One of the potential investors may be traveling to Arkansas soon to take a closer look at our start-up business."

Silicon Solar Solutions' patented technology will lead to significant cost decreases and conversion efficiency increases in solar panels. The company has raised some capital and is making pitches to angel investors. It is working with the University of Arkansas Technology Licensing Office and opened an office in the Genesis Technology Incubator. It is continuing to optimize this and other technologies that will hopefully revolutionize solar panel manufacturing.

In addition, last spring Silicon Solar Solutions won more than $65,000 in cash and in-kind awards worth $40,000 in eight business plan competitions around North America.

The Dragon's Den event was based on a real Canadian Broadcasting Corp. TV show, in which aspiring entrepreneurs pitch their business ideas before actual venture capitalists in order to win financial backing. The four teams were each given 10 minutes in front of 80 Young Presidents Organization members. Schools from the University of Manitoba, Boston and Louisville also participated.

This summer, the Silicon Solar Solutions team made it to the semi-finalist stage at the CleanTech Open and became finalists in the MassChallenge, the world's largest global startup competition. Both competitions are open to entrants from around the world and not limited to graduate students.