Feb. 1, 2006
Phurnace Software Defeats Stiff Competition in Texas MOOT CORP®

After months (or years, in some cases) of work on their respective business ventures, the final four teams of this year’s Texas MOOT CORP® competition presented their business plans to a panel of judges Feb. 1. In the end, Phurnace Software took the top prize, winning a year’s free office space with the Austin Technology Incubator—a service that guides burgeoning businesses through the early stages of growth—and securing a spot in the prestigious Global MOOT CORP® competition.

Daniel Nelson, MBA '06, president and founder of Phurnace Software, has spent the last six years developing his award-winning software, J2Install, a product that automates J2EE (the dominant technology in enterprise web applications) configuration and deployment. J2Install dramatically reduces deployment times and configuration errors, allowing companies to focus on the program—not on how to install it.

“Our vision is to be the InstallShield of the enterprise market,” Nelson said.

Nelson sees his success at the competition as a springboard for his company’s future.

“MOOT CORP® has been such a great experience,” he said. “Through the competition, I have met advisors, investors and even potential customers, as well as getting top-notch advice from some of the best people in town. The exposure has been phenomenal. It’s just the beginning for Phurnace, but I can’t think of a better way to start.”

The Texas MOOT CORP® competition, hosted by McCombs, was the first of its kind focused on entrepreneurship and is the oldest operating inter-business school new-venture competition in the world.

“Competitors this year were focusing on medical and computer technology, which reflects the current trends of institutional venture investments,” said Rob Adams, director of MOOT CORP®. “The judges had a tough decision. All four teams represented companies with viable investment potential.”

The three other finalists, all from The University of Texas at Austin, were:

• CleanLine Technologies is building the world’s first service designed to filter the Internet as it enters the home for all devices plugged into the broadband network. CleanLine’s launch product will focus on parental control over Internet content for gaming consoles and computers.
• Extension Eleven’s hosted software solution encourages customer collaboration in the prioritization of generational development and simplifies the process of collecting and aggregating customer feedback.
• Remedy Diagnostics’ initial product, STAT DetectTM, is a 3-D imaging solution offering superior performance for breast cancer detection. This pain-free test should reduce health care costs, improve cash flow for physicians, revolutionize preventive care for women and increase survival rates for cancer patients.