New ventures having a "startup moment" during Global Entrepreneurship Week registered to compete for the Startup Open grand prize—a trip to Richard Branson's private Necker Island to network with experienced entrepreneurs. 

Olivier Ceberio of Boston won the top prize by presenting a business plan for Resolute Marine Energy. Resolute Marine Energy (RME) aims to develop wave energy converters (WEC) that generate clean energy from ocean waves. The goal of RME is to aid the 1.2 billion people worldwide that lack access to safe drinking water. Ceberio will travel to Branson’s private island in the British Virgin Islands, courtesy Maverick Business Adventures, where he will have the opportunity to network with successful entrepreneurs. Startup Open also is sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and DYMO Labeling. 

Ceberio was featured in a story on TechCrunch. 

“Winning this competition gives me the unique opportunity to exchange ideas with leading entrepreneurs and learn the ‘tricks of the trade’ from experienced business owners – all while in paradise,” said Ceberio. “Our company is not just an idea; our goal is to commercialize a wave-driven seawater desalination system by 2012 that operates completely ‘off-grid’ and fills a huge gap in the market for seawater desalination systems.”

“Global Entrepreneurship Week engaged millions of aspiring and inspiring entrepreneurs, helping them embrace imagination and ingenuity,” said Carl Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation. “Startup Open not only recognizes many of the companies that made a start during GEW, but it also puts a spotlight on companies that represent what entrepreneurship is all about – innovation and growth.”

A startup moment could be any event related to launching a new business such as incorporating a company; officially opening the doors for business; completing a first sale; and securing outside funding. A panel of judges, which included representatives from the Kauffman Foundation and DYMO Labeling, reviewed more than 100 applications. Applicants were judged on concept, growth projections and knowledge of the markets.

Second and third place winners will have two days of one-on-one mentoring at Kauffman Labs for Enterprise Creation, a Kauffman Foundation program. They are Stas Samarin of PulmoCAD, LLC (St. Louis, Mo.), developers of Computer-Assisted Diagnostic tools for early non-invasive diagnosis of lung cancer, and Kahoru Watanabe of Wing Power Inc (Sarasota, Fla.), makers of vertical platform small wind/solar hybrid turbines, whose installed capacity in the United States is projected to grow tenfold from 100MW 2009 to 1000MW by 2015.

As part of the competition, 50 of the most promising startups from around the country that had a startup moment during Global Entrepreneurship Week were named and recognized as the “GEW 50.”

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