PROVIDENCE – The Rhode Island Business Plan Competition today launched its 2008 season. With a record $150,000-plus in prizes, the contest will rank among the richest such competitions in New England, organizers said.
“Each year the competition attracts more applicants and sponsors, which shows that there is a strong interest in supporting emerging entrepreneurs in Rhode Island,” said competition Co-Chair Garrett B. Hunter, the president of the Business Development Company of Rhode Island.
Twenty-five Rhode Island organizations – led by Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP; Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co. Ltd.; Seyfarth Shaw; Brown University; Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP; Embolden Design Inc.; and Nortek Inc. – are supporting the annual contest with cash or in-kind contributions.
“The next new great idea can come from anywhere, but developing it into a growth business takes a lot of work,” said contest Co-Chair Charles Kingdon, associate vice president of Brown Technology Partnerships at Brown University. “Winning the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition has been shown to significantly help a young company on its way.”
Applicants need not be based in Rhode Island, but must agree to use any winnings to expand or establish operations in the state. Last year’s competition attracted applications from across the United States and awarded $125,000 in prizes to the winners in two tracks: student and entrepreneur. This year’s will also award prizes to runners-up in each track.
A kickoff meeting on Oct. 3 will introduce and explain this year’s competition. Then, on Nov. 7, the Business Plan Competition and Brown Center for Enterprise will co-host the second annual “$1K Rhode Island Elevator Pitch-Off,” where cash prizes will be awarded for the best 90-second presentation of a business idea.
A series of workshops will follow – hosted by Johnson & Wales University at its Harborside Campus – to help prospective competitors to hone their applications. “We’re delighted that Johnson & Wales will host this year’s workshops,” Hunter said. “It’s a terrific site just a few minutes drive from downtown Providence with plenty of free parking.”
Topics will include “How to Develop Financial Projections,” “How to Write a Business Plan,” and “How to Present Your Business Plan.”
A panel of 10 business leaders will serve as judges. Besides Kingdon and Hunter – the contest co-chairs – this year’s judges are : Richard L. Bready, chairman and CEO of Nortek Inc; Larry Davidson, a principal in Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co.; Sixcia Devine, the Providence metro regional director for the R.I. Small Business Development Center; Richard Evangelista, vice president of Federal Electronics; Margaret Farrell, a partner in Hinckley, Allen & Snyder; Ann-Marie Harrington, president of Embolden Design; Lisa Nelson, director of product management at Agfa Healthcare; and Weng Tao, CSO and vice president of research and development at Neurotech USA.
The winners will be announced at the May 6 meeting of the Brown Forum for Enterprise, to be held in conjunction with the Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce’s annual Business Expo.
Additional information on the 2008 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition – including contest rules and guidelines, application procedures and business-planning recources – is available at www.ri-bizplan.com.
