The Final Four competitors of the 2012 Shocker Business Plan Competition will pitch their business plans during the competition's final round at 2 p.m. Friday, April 27, in 107 Devlin Hall at Wichita State University.

WSU's Center for Entrepreneurship is inviting the public to attend and observe.

Competitors will have 20 minutes to present their business ideas to judges from the local community. Winners will be announced at the banquet later in the evening.

The competition is open to all universities statewide and is designed to encourage student innovation and venture creation by providing a forum where students can present new business ideas to local business and community leaders.

The eight semi-final competitors' abstracts can be found at www.wichita.edu/bp.

The banquet and the Shocker Business Plan Competition Awards Ceremony will come at the conclusion of the competition and will begin at 6 p.m. Friday, April 27, at the Drury Plaza Hotel Broadview.

Banquet tickets are $35 each, or a table of 10 can be purchased for $300. The banquet is open to the public, however reservations are required. Please RSVP by 4 p.m. Friday, April 20.

Reservations can be made by contacting the Center for Entrepreneurship at (316) 978-3000 or www.wichita.edu/CFEBanquet.

The 2012 Shocker Business Plan Competition Sponsors include: Mitchell & Richards, Intrust Bank, Delta Dental of Kansas, Gary Parker, J.P. Weigand & Sons, NetWork Kansas, IMA Financial Group, Peter Weigand, Foulston Siefkin LLP, Sweetly Scrumptious, and the Wichita Metro Chamber of Commerce.

The keynote speaker will be Bill Simon, co-founder, CEO and president of Freddy's Frozen Custard & Steakburgers. Simon is a Center for Entrepreneurship Advisory Board member and a past Entrepreneurship Forum panel speaker.