It's been quite a winter for Jake Heckathorn, Brian Oehler and Jeff Matthews, the second-year MBA candidates representing technology startup Corrosion Solutions in investment competitions both here and abroad. Just four days after placing third in the University of Cincinnati's Spirit of Enterprise Graduate Business Plan Competition, the team headed to Thailand to test their skills in the mai Bangkok Business Challenge. After gaining a spot in the finals thanks to a last-minute win in the competition's wild-card round, the team soared to first place, winning $12,000 in cash and admittance to the Bangkok executive entrepreneurs training center ($14,000 value), among other prizes. The team's journey started last summer, when--as part of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship's Venture Launch Pathway--they participated in the UO's Technology Entrepreneurs Program. After assessing ten proprietary technologies developed through research at the UO and other organizations and universities, the team chose to focus on Corrosion Solutions--an innovative surface treatment for lower-grade stainless steel--and spent the fall term developing the company's business plan. What's next for the team? On April 5, they'll be in Portland competing in the Lundquist College's New Venture Championship. And the adventure doesn't stop there: after graduating this June, all three team members plan to keep working with Corrosion Solutions. “What started maybe as an academic exercise has now evolved into a real, viable company and solution," said Matthews, the group's 29-year-old chief financial officer.