Our own Director of Finance, Katy Riley, is a judge for the 2011 UW Business Plan Competition, which is holding its “Investment Round” today! We took a few moments to ask Katy 5 questions about her and her involvement in the event – good luck to all the competitors!!

1)      Can you tell me about your role at Parker?  I’m the Director of Finance, which at Parker means directing the daily accounting processes, as well as assisting with strategy, understanding business drivers, and setting relevant financial and commercial goals and objectives.

2)      What do you look for in a good business plan?  These are the key (4) questions to ask: Does the business seem well thought out?  Has the team demonstrated knowledge of the industry and potential customers?  Is there a real opportunity here?  Has the team answered my questions well?

3)      How did you get involved with the competition?  I first met Connie Bourassa-Shaw, Director at University of Washington Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, many years ago when I was working at Arch Venture Partners.  She invited me to be a judge this year.  I have been following the program a very long time.  I’m a huge supporter of what the program is trying to achieve.  It’s exciting stuff!

4)      What are your thoughts about the business plans so far?  There are a lot of amazing ideas and a huge variety of business concepts ranging from new consumer goods to brilliant medical innovations.  It’s very inspiring for me to see the creativity and hard work that goes into these plans.

5)      Any advice for competitors?  Stay clear, calm, and committed to your ideas, and everything will flow from there.  It’s a great opportunity to learn more about what works and doesn’t work with your business plan.  The competition truly helps the participants grow and refine their ideas, which is really how I define “winning.”