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Contact: Debra Marino  »  DataCert, Inc.  »  (832) 369-6171  »  pr@datacert.com

DataCert CEO to Judge the Rice University Business Plan Competition

HOUSTON, March 24, 2008 – DataCert, Inc., the leading provider of legal and IP spend and matter management solutions, today announced that Eric M. Elfman, DataCert’s CEO and president, has been invited to judge at Rice University’s 2008 Business Plan Competition (RBPC). The intercollegiate competition, scheduled for April 3-5, gathers entrepreneurs from MBA programs worldwide to compete for $600,000 in prizes. 

The event is hosted by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship and the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University. The RBPC received a record amount of entries this year, with more than 230 applications submitted (three times the amount received in 2007). Thirty-six teams were selected from the applications to compete.

Elfman, a graduate of Rice University’s Jones Graduate School, has served as a judge for the competition for the past five years.

“As an entrepreneur myself, I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Rice Business Plan Competition,” stated Elfman. “These entrepreneurs represent the future of business and it is an honor to be included in a program that supports their endeavors.”

The competition features 36 teams of entrepreneurs that pitch their business plans through written and verbal presentations. The judges evaluate the presentations as if they were potential investors and score accordingly. The team with the highest score wins a $125,000 investment, $20,000 in cash and in-kind services. Each team profits from the contest, with a prize of $125,000 cash and three additional investment prizes distributed among the competing groups.  

This year, the RBPC has teamed up with FORTUNE Small Business to further promote the competition. In alignment with its mission to support entrepreneurship and small businesses, the magazine will feature the competition and its leading teams in a future issue.

About the Rice Alliance

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is Rice University's flagship initiative devoted to the support the creation of technology-based companies and the commercialization of new technologies. The Rice Alliance provides entrepreneurs with a collaborative network and forum for support, education, and exchange of ideas.  It offers entrepreneurs access to the human and financial capital needed for success. Since its inception in late-1999, the Rice Alliance has assisted in the launch of over 210 new technology companies, which have raised more than $350 million in early stage funding. 

About DataCert, Inc.

DataCert, Inc. is the largest and fastest-growing supplier of legal and IP spend and matter management solutions. Corporate counsel rely on DataCert’s products and services to manage legal activities and provide transparency into outside legal spend. With 72 Fortune^® 500 clients and customer connections in 126 countries, DataCert processes in excess of $9 billion of electronic invoicing data on an annualized basis. Visit DataCert at www.datacert.com for more information.