Applications being accepted for 2015 biz plan competition

SUBMISSIONS ARE being accepted for the R.I. Business Plan Competition, which will award prizes valued at $200,000 to winners and finalists.
SUBMISSIONS ARE being accepted for the R.I. Business Plan Competition, which will award prizes valued at $200,000 to winners and finalists.

PROVIDENCE – Submissions for the 2015 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition are now being accepted.

Winners and finalists are expected to take home prizes valued at about $200,000. The online application is available through the competition website – at ri-bizplan.com/. The deadline is 5 p.m. March 30.
The competition is free and open to everyone age 18 or older, whether or not they already have started a business, and is organized along two tracks – an entrepreneur track, which is available to anyone, and a student track, available for those enrolled in college or graduate school.

“Writing a compelling business plan takes time, which is why we suggest applicants start working on their plan now and use it to file their application near the deadline,” Peter Lowy, executive director of the competition, said in a statement. “Since the judges won’t evaluate applications until after the deadline, there is no advantage to applying early. It’s better to use the time to flesh out your idea.”

Semi-finalists will be selected on April 6, and asked to submit complete plans by April 14. Semi-finalists will meet briefly with judges on April 22, and finalists will be notified at that time. On April 29, finalists will meet with judges.

- Advertisement -

Winners will be announced in May, exact date to be determined, at an awards ceremony at The Garage, a half-day business development conference sponsored by the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, held at the R.I. Convention Center.

Lead sponsors of the 2015 Competition are Cumulus Media-Providence, Edwards Wildman (which thanks to a merger, will become Locke Lord, Edwards LLP on Jan. 10), Embolden, Focus Vision Media, Hinckley Allen & Snyder LLP, Kahn Litwin Renza & Co. Ltd., and the Providence Journal Charitable Fund.

Also supporting the competition are Bank of America Corp., Brown University, Bryant University, Center for Women and Enterprise, Envision Technology Advisors, FM Global, Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, Hatch Entrepreneurial Center, Johnson & Wales University, Providence Business News, Roger Williams University, Slater Technology Fund, University of Rhode Island and Utilidata Inc..

Additional supporters include Bank Rhode Island, Business Development Company, Care New England, Centreville Bank, Cherrystone Angel Group, Citizens Bank, Deepwater Wind LLC, Delta Dental of Rhode Island, Dimeo Construction Company, Gencorp Insurance Group, GTECH, The Moore Company, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Navigant Credit Union, Nortek Inc., R.I. Student Loan Authority, Santander Bank, Teknor Apex, The Washington Trust Co. and Ximedica.

Additional support is provided by AAA Southern New England, Bank Newport, Betaspring, Biomedical Structures, Community College of Rhode Island, CVS Health Corp., Freedom National Bank, Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services, InsureMyTrip.com, Rhode Island College, Starkweather & Shepley Insurance Brokerage Inc., and Tech Collective.

Established in 2000, the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition has awarded more than $1.6 million in prizes to competitors developing companies across many industries.

No posts to display