FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Net Impact and Walmart Announce Winning Team in 2014 Walmart Better Living
Business Plan Challenge
The University of Texas at Austin students take home $20,000 grand prize
BENTONVILLE, Ark. – May 7, 2014 – Walmart, in collaboration with Net Impact, recently announced the
winners of its annual Better Living Business Plan Challenge, a sustainable business plan competition for
college and university students across the U.S. The Challenge provides students the unique opportunity
to pitch their ideas to business and sustainability experts, get invaluable feedback and win seed funding
to pursue their sustainable business plans.
Earlier this year, 54 teams competed in eight regional competitions across the country. The regional
winners faced off for the Grand, First Place, and Second Place Prizes on Thursday, April 10 in
Bentonville. These semifinalists presented business plans on topics such as state of the art fuel efficiency
technology, closed loop cotton recycling, and integrating compost tea into golf course maintenance,
among others, and received individualized feedback from a judging panel that included both Walmart
executives and a diverse group of business experts.
“This year's competition was especially strong with a wide range of backgrounds and proposals,” said
Greg Trimble, Sr. Director, Global Energy Development & Reporting at Walmart. “All the teams
delivered great plans with passion and enthusiasm - but Prepify stood out. It's very rewarding to play a
part in helping these students deliver on their potential.”
The three teams that came out on top of such a competitive and diverse pool were students from the
University of Texas at Austin, the Kellogg School of Management, and Colorado State University. The
finalists were announced Thursday, April 10 at a dinner after the competition day.
Donned in “Prepify” T-shirts and thick-framed glasses, the UT-Austin team stood out among the
competition with Prepify, their online SAT prep platform that enables students of all income backgrounds
to earn admission and merit scholarships from elite colleges and universities. Prepify walked away with
the $20K Grand Prize. The next team to win judges over was Better Together, the duo from Kellogg
School of Management. Better Together works to improve the quality of life for seniors by allowing them
to stay in their homes longer and proudly accepted the First Place Prize of $10K. Colorado State came in
Second, gaining $5K toward their work using waste straw from rice farming in Vietnam to grow and sell
mushrooms.
Congratulations to UT-Austin, Kellogg, Colorado State and all the regional winners!
2013 Walmart Better Living Business Plan Challenge Semifinalists:
 Bainbridge Graduate Institute
 Colorado State University
 Kellogg School of Management
 Massachusetts Institute of Technology
 Penn State
 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
 University of Arkansas, Little Rock
 University of Texas at Austin
About Walmart
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE: WMT) helps people around the world save money and live better – anytime
and anywhere – in retail stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, more than 245
million customers and members visit or more than 10,800 stores under 69 banners in 27 countries and ecommerce websites in 10 countries. With fiscal year 2013 sales of approximately $466 billion, Walmart
employs more than 2.2 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability,
corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found
by visiting http://corporate.walmart.com and http://www.walmartgreenroom.com/, on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/walmart and on Twitter at http://twitter.com/walmartgreen. Online
merchandise sales are available at http://www.walmart.com/ and http://www.samsclub.com.
Reporter form link: http://news.walmart.com/reporter
About Net Impact
Net Impact is the leading nonprofit that inspires a new generation to use their careers to tackle the world’s
toughest social and environmental problems. We empower student and professional leaders to act locally
through our vibrant chapter network and connect globally online and through our flagship conference.
Together, we make a net impact that transforms our lives, our organizations, and the world.
Contact
Joanna Spoth
[email protected]
150 Spear St
San Francisco, CA
Ph: 415-495-4230
www.netimpact.org
###