Students sweep business plan contest

Combine Chinese technology, an Indian market and an aspiring Indian-American entrepreneur and what do you get?

In the case of Pradeep Suthram and his VeggieCool team from the University of Maryland, College Park, you’ll have the winners in the sixth annual China Business Plan Competition held in Beijing and sponsored by a University of Maryland program.

The university’s Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, in partnership with the Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, brought together 31 teams from both universities and the University of International Business & Economics in Beijing for the competition in early January. The partners distributed $10,000 to the winning teams, including the $3,000 top prize to the University of Maryland’s VeggieCool team.

“This is a crash course in Chinese education that can’t be replicated by any other means than actually going there,” said Asher Epstein, managing director of the Dingman Center. “We think what we’re doing is unique in that Dingman offers this interactive experience internationally. It’s one thing for student entrepreneurs to tour another country, but to take part in a competition — that’s different.”

The VeggieCool team introduced a business plan for providing cold storage and safe transportation for Indian produce, using Chinese technology. The produce could then be delivered to Indian retailers, reducing spoilage and allowing Indian farmers to make bigger profits. The four-member team, comprising mostly engineering students, also won the $1,000 People’s Choice Award in addition to the top prize.

Suthram, a 29-year-old who grew up in India and immigrated to the U.S. when he was 17 — said he has been interested in the plight of Indian farmers, whose suicide rate has spiked over the years due to factors such as difficulty in making a living. After spending six months in India last year, speaking to farmers and others, he developed the plan for VeggieCool.

The team discovered the Chinese technology through Internet searches, he said. China’s weather can be similar to India’s.

Asher described VeggieCool’s business model as reasonable and without too much technological risk. He said the judges saw it as a valuable business proposition for service.

The VeggieCool team still wants to fully assess the potential benefits and risks before launching the company. The team is considering returning to India next year for more research, said Suthram, a full-time student at the university.

He said the greatest value in participating in the competition was witnessing the “depth and scale” of development in China. Suthram said he was particularly amazed at businesses’ growth — some posting 270 percent growth – and easier access to capital than in the U.S. To be successful, Chinese businesspeople must stay on top of the fast changes there.

“It was very motivating to spend a week in Beijing … You realized the value of being able to shape something into reality while observing someone who’s already done it. Then you realize you’re capable of the same thing,” Suthram said. “That’s something that never goes away.”

Neil J. Campbell, chairman and CEO of Mosaigen Corp. in Germantown, which often does work in China and other Asian markets, said international entrepreneurs often display a resourcefulness and an understanding of the way other nations operate that he wishes he could instill in more U.S. entrepreneurs. Mosaigen develops software and other technology for the life science and other sectors.

“China is the world’s No. 2 economy and by 2015 will likely surpass the U.S., so we must learn to collaborate and compete globally in the economic markets,” Campbell wrote in an e-mail to The Gazette, adding that only 33 percent of Americans hold a passport and even fewer speak a second language.

“The world is changing and we need to as well,” Campbell wrote. “These trips and interactions are crucial to global commerce.”

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