Student from Scotland Wins 2007 Global Student Entrepreneur Award

Super Jam product makes victory sweet in international competition



CHICAGO, Nov. 8  /PRNewswire/ -- Fraser Doherty of Scotland went against the conventional wisdom of his peer group's expertise with web-based business ventures and instead turned to an old family recipe.  He began making homemade jam in his parents' kitchen using his grandmother's recipes and selling the jam to neighbors and townspeople.

Before going off to the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, he devoted a year to developing a recipe for his "Super Jam" made entirely from fruit and fruit juice high in nutrients.  When he finished, he had a manufacturing partner and contracts at some of the biggest grocery retailers in the United Kingdom and Ireland.  Eat Super Ltd. was born.

Doherty emerged from a group of finalists to win this year's Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) competition -- the "Heisman Trophy" for top undergraduate student business owners -- representing collegians from 14 countries, more than 300 colleges and companies which have produced more than $13 million in annual revenues.

Winnowed down from more than 750 nominees, the 23 finalists -- representing Puerto Rico, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Australia and the United States this month made presentations to a judging panel of accomplished business leaders and educators assembled by the Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO).  These student finalists, whose businesses ranged from college-centric specialties to catering to communications, run companies with annual revenues from $30,000 to $4.3 million.

The EO, with support from its sponsoring partner Mercedes-Benz Financial, has annually searched the world since 2006 for the top student business owner. The organization assumed responsibility for the program originated in 1988 by Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business.

Doherty will receive $10,000 in cash, a year's tuition for the EO Accelerator Program (which combines peer mentoring with targeted classroom curriculum to aid early stage entrepreneurs withstand the pitfalls of business startups), attendance at the an EO conference, approximately $30,000 in donated services from EO member companies -- including Web services, public relations, general business consulting and printing -- and a year's mentoring by an EO member.  Additional prizes are awarded to all finalists, with those finishing in second and third places receiving cash as well as services.

Finishing in second and third place, respectively were: Kendal Harazny, University of Alberta, TicketGold; and Erik Fjellborg, Stockholm School of Economics, Calnet.  Others in The Final Six were: Andrew Cavitolo, Farleigh Dickinson University, Three Guys and a Girl; Michael Kopko, Harvard, Dorm Aid; and Sean Maney, University of Massachusetts, HairMax Software.

Further information about the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards can be found at http://www.gsea.org/.

About EO

The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global community enabling entrepreneurs to learn from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life.  EO comprises over 6,600 members in more than 38 countries, with an average member age of 39 and average annual revenue of $15.5 million (USD).  EO enhances members' lives through dynamic peer-to-peer learning and one-in-a-lifetime events.  Membership is exclusive and by invitation.  Just four percent of the 25 million businesses operating the United States qualify for EO membership.

About Mercedes-Benz Financial

Mercedes-Benz Financial, now in its 25th year of operations, provides financing for Mercedes-Benz dealers' inventories and their retail customers. Currently, over 400,000 drivers in the United States enjoy the benefits of leasing or financing their Mercedes-Benz vehicles through Mercedes-Benz Financial, which is part of DCFS USA LLC group of companies operating in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and parts of South America.  DCFSA USA LLC is part of the Daimler Financial Services Group, headquartered in Berlin, Germany, operating in nearly 40 countries.  Daimler Financial Services Group is one of the leading financial services enterprises worldwide.  For more information visit http://www.mercedesbenzfinancial.com/.

About Saint Louis University

Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business is EO's senior strategic partner for the Global Student Entrepreneur Awards.  The School founded the awards in 1988 as the Midwest Collegiate Entrepreneur Awards program.  Throughout the 1990s, SLU's Center for Entrepreneurial Studies extended the program within the United States, expanding in the past five years to Asia, Europe and Latin America.  The Entrepreneurs' Organization in 2006 assumed the administration of the awards. 

DATASOURCE: Mercedes-Benz Financial



CONTACT:  Jack Ferry for Mercedes-Benz Financial, [phone], Cell

[phone], ; or Michael Geylin of

Kermish-Geylin, [phone], Cell [phone], , for

Mercedes-Benz Financial



Web site:  http://www.mercedesbenzfinancial.com/

http://www.gsea.org/ 

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