Paly senior Doreen Bloch and her brother, freshman Michael Bloch, received $500 by placing third in the Microsoft’s Venture Capital Roundtable business competition last Thursday in Mountain View.

While the top two teams’ businesses were both service-oriented, the Blochs’ business, "Evigilert," showcased new technology.

Both Blochs recognized sleep deprivation, which can cause drivers to fall asleep at the wheel. The function of their product was to measure physiological indicators that would alert you if you began to dose off while driving.

The product was modeled after a medical device designed for epileptics that would notify them that they were having a seizure before it actually occurred.

A team from Monta Vista High School whose business featured an "Experience Asia" tour agency earned first place, and a team from Homestead High School interested in starting a Mediterranean fast food restaurant claimed second place.

Teams delivered a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation in the final round to judges, event organizers, family, friends and fellow competitors. After each group presented, judges assigned points based on criteria from a rubric. The team with the most points received $1500, with the second place receiving $1000, and $500 for third place.

"Basically, we both were happy," Doreen said. "But, we were also slightly disappointed in ourselves because we made silly errors in the final presentation."

Doreen, president of Paly’s FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) Club, and her brother believe their performance was successful, especially considering that they put together their final platform two days before the competition.

"There was an intense level of competition," Doreen said. "For how much work and effort we put in, we had a good output."

According to Doreen, the other teams rehearsed their presentations for months at FBLA conventions, and had collected feedback and suggestions, which they integrated into their performance on Thursday. Doreen’s brother, Michael, said he plans to participate again next year, but is debating whether to compete as an individual.

"In my opinion, it’s best to have two people because it breaks any monotony," Michael said. "But what’s more important is how prepared you are and how well you convey your ideas."

The one aspect that the Blochs’ team didn’t focus on ahead of time was that the competition strictly evaluated business plans without emphasizing the proficiency of the actual business.

"We learned that essentially it’s a business plan competition and not a business competition," Doreen said. "It makes a huge difference. This way, you’re not graded on how good your idea is, but how you frame it. We probably had the best idea in terms of what venture capitalists would invest in, but our presentation had flaws."

This is Doreen’s second year participating in the competition. Last year, Doreen, along with now-junior Astasia Meyers and now-senior Max Hammer, received the "Most Interesting Technology Award." Now-seniors Kenzie Lee and Natalie Shih won second place overall out of a pool of eight finalists.

This year, Venture Capital Roundtable, based in Silicon Valley, sponsored the contest for the second time. According to the group, this competition is part of the "Education Outreach Project," connecting high school students and their advisors with Venture Capital Roundtable mentors.

For the competition, each school was partnered with a member of the Venture Capital Roundtable to assist in the creation of a business plan.

"Last year, we actually had no correspondence with our designated mentor though," Doreen said.

The competition consisted of a preliminary elimination round and a final presentation. Each participating team submitted a three page written executive summary plan, to be reviewed by the presiding venture capitalists. The executive summary plan, a shortened version of a full business plan, normally elaborates on details which include the company mission statement and specific financial information.

This year, six teams passed the preliminary elimination round, and made it to the finals. Of the six, two teams were from Paly. Aside from Doreen and Michael, the other team composed of freshmen Anastasia Nicolaou and Young Hsu. The other finalists included two teams from Monta Vista High School, one from Livermore High School, and one from Homestead High School.

"I was so impressed by layout, especially the amazing venue," Doreen said. "There’s just such a professional atmosphere."

"The venture capitalists have incredible credentials," Michael added. "It’s awesome that they give us feedback based on their own expertise. We’ve been given a great opportunity that other people never get the chance to have."