GreenPrint is now in discussions with the student-run fund about a potential investment in the clean tech software startup.

The competition began in April when the committee evaluated submissions from 83 companies. Ten finalists were selected in May and were invited to Oxford to present to the SBSVF selection committee comprised of students and faculty. At the end of the presentations, four finalists were chosen to present on May 27th to a panel that included Sir Philip Green, the UK entrepreneur whose retail empire places him in the top 10 wealthiest Britons, Sir Victor Blank, chairman of Lloyds TSB, and David Bonderman, who manages a $40 billion private equity fund, as well as to a standing room only audience of over 200 in Oxford's Nelson Mandela Theatre.

All four companies were given eight minutes to present, followed by 17 minutes of questions by the panel. At the end of the fourth presentation the panel adjourned to determine privately which companies they would recommend the fund invest in, and in which order. They emerged ten minutes later and announced GreenPrint as their first choice.

"I certainly won't forget the roar of the audience as we were announced the winner," said Hayden Hamilton, GreenPrint CEO who led the Oxford presentation. "When Philip Green stood up half way through our presentation and got out his checkbook, we knew we had done well, but we were still surprised and honored to finish on top with such a prestigious panel of judges and such strong competitors."

GreenPrint and the SBSVF are now in discussions about the terms of an investment in GreenPrint. Both groups hope to move ahead quickly. "We think there are huge advantages to being formally connected with Oxford," said Hamilton. "The introductions to CEOs that Philip Green and David Bonderman alluded to during the presentation alone would be invaluable. As a recent Oxford alum I'm also very excited about being connected to an SBS student-managed fund."

The Said Business School Venture Fund was started through initial investments by David Bonderman and Sir Philip Green in 2005 to promote student entrepreneurialism and provide a practical learning tool for MBA students. This was the competition's second year. The first competition resulted in one investment by the fund.

GreenPrint Technologies, LLC is the maker of GreenPrint World, Home Premium, and GreenPrint Enterprise software designed to reduce waste in home and office printing. The software eliminates wasteful pages before they are printed, incorporates a PDF writer to provide an alternative to printing, and provides easy options to save ink and toner.