Winners named in contest at U.'s school of business

Three business plans were winners in a student competition conducted by the David Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah.

First prize in the 2006 Utah Entrepreneur Challenge went to Core Footwear, which gets $40,000 in start-up capital. The six-person team from Brigham Young University has a patent pending to manufacture anatomically molded midsoles for outdoor shoes.

The two finalists, each winning $5,000 in seed money, were Five Star Painting and Precision Survey Solutions. With five students from BYU, Five Star Painting provides a subscription-based service for contractors to accurately estimate labor and materials for paint jobs. Precision Survey Solutions, which consists of two BYU students, sells a data-collection device that controls and takes measurements from surveying instruments.

All three companies also will receive various in-kind services from local companies to help grow and sustain their businesses.

More than 500 university and college students competed statewide for more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind services. A panel of 10 judges — composed of lawyers, accountants and small-business owners in the community — selected the top 10 teams.