BizStarts business plan competition partners with statewide Governor’s business plan contest
BizStarts Milwaukee, an organization that works with entrepreneurs and start up companies in the Milwaukee 7 region, has announced that the winner of it’s Collegiate Business Plan Competition will advance into the final round of the statewide Governor’s Business Plan Contest in 2011.
BizStarts competition involves students from a number of Milwaukee-area colleges and universities who write business plans with the aim of moving their ideas beyond the concept stage.
“Like the Mark Zuckerbergs, Michael Dells and Bill Gates who came before them, this generation of college students is serious about starting companies,” said Dan Steininger, a Milwaukee investor and vice president of the BizStarts board of directors. “Tapping into the brainpower of those students is just what Wisconsin needs.”
The BizStarts competition included $15,000 in total prize money last year. Three other regional or collegiate contests including the G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition at UW-Madison, the Marquette University Kohler Center for Entrepreneurship Business Plan Contest, and the Northeast Wisconsin Business Plan Contest will join the BizStarts Milwaukee competition and feed into the statewide competition.
“It’s important to build a network of regional and college contests that can augment the Governor’s Business Plan Contest, which remains one of the premier statewide competitions for entrepreneurs working in the tech-based economy,” said Tom Still, president of the Wisconsin Technology Council. The Tech Council produces the Governor’s Business Plan Contest which is entering its eighth year.
The BPC has attracted about 1,800 entries in its first seven years, with roughly 160 finalists sharing in $1 million in cash and other in-kind prizes. The contest begins with a 250-word abstract that is filed online at www.govsbizplancontest.com no later than 5 p.m. on Jan. 31, 2011. The contest opens in mid-November and the grand prize is $50,000 in cash and services.
The contest has four categories: Advanced manufacturing, business services, information technology and life sciences. In the first stage, contestants cover four topics: Product or service description; customer definition: their needs – your solution; market description, size and sales strategy; and competition.
The contest is conducted in three written phases, culminating in oral presentations at the Wisconsin Entrepreneurs’ Conference in Milwaukee in June. Mentoring is available after the first phase, and participants will be eligible to take part in a “boot camp” in February. The contest is judged by more than 70 experienced entrepreneurs, investors and service professionals.
