Kravis Concept Plan Competition Awards Press Release

 20^th Annual Kravis Finalists

Peter F. Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management hosts competition.
Six finalists are named, with SwoopThat, LLC. named first place

Claremont (April 23, 2010) – A search engine that helps connect local consumers to local retailers took top place in the 20^th Annual Henry R. Kravis Concept Plan Competition.Six finalist teams from the Claremont Colleges presented business concepts to a panel of judges that included entrepreneurs and finance faculty from the Peter F. Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management.      

Top honors and a  $4,500 capital investment went to SwoopThat, LLC, comprised of students Jonathan Simkin, Matt Kurtis and Alex Kurtis of  Harvey Mudd College, and Kyle Casella from Claremont McKenna College.

"It's phenomenal to get advice and feedback from major investors and finance faculty,” said Simkin, 22, a senior engineering student. “I am especially excited by the chance to help small local retailers have a fighting chance in competing with online sellers over price.”     

SwoopThat offers information on  millions of products from thousands of stores, and is a one-stop shopping search engine for consumers nationwide. The developers envision that this search engine will help consumers make better purchasing decisions and, just as importantly, help local retailers gain a footing in an increasingly competitive Web-based consumer market.

    SwoopThat has already started helping local retailers in by creating an online presence for two stores in the Claremont Village: Boon Companion and Rain Boutique Inc.

In conjunction with the naming of the Peter F. Drucker & Masatoshi Ito Graduate School of Management, Henry R. Kravis – a founding member of the Board of Visitors – established a $175,000 endowment fund. Each year, income from the endowment is awarded to finalists among competing students or alumni who demonstrate promise as entrepreneurs. Any student or alumnus/a is eligible to apply from any of the seven Claremont Colleges.

The competition was hosted by Dr. Jim Mills, adjunct professor of finance and co-director of financial engineering at the Drucker School. Judges included Dr. Jay Prag, clinical associate professor and academic director of the Drucker Executive Management Program; John Tillquist, president of the Inland Empire Network of Tech Coast Angels, Inc., and Harvey Mudd College Alumnus Surya Jayaweera, founder and president of WolfeTech Corporation.

Finalist teams and awards:

·        SwoopThat, LLC,($4,500); Jonathan Simkin,  Matt Kurtis and Alex Kurtis, Harvey Mudd College, and  Kyle Casella, Claremont McKenna College.

·        SPRINGO ($2,500), Eric Scott and Erik Hansell, Claremont McKenna College.

·        CollegeMatchers, Inc. ($1,500);  Daniel Black, Andrew Oetting and Elliot Godzich, Claremont McKenna College.

·        EcOptimus ($500); Nick Crossman and Becky Bakkers, Claremont Graduate University, and Simone Fine and Lindon Pronto, Pitzer College.

·        Twelfth Knight: The Democratization of Apparel ($500), Antoine Grant and  Chris Davis,  Claremont McKenna College, and  Daniel Goodwin, Harvey Mudd College.

·        A Different Cup ($500),  Arye Barnehama, Pomona College.

Promotion for next year’s 21^st Henry R. Kravis Concept Plan Competition will begin in the fall of 2010!