by Marcia Layton Turner

Many members of the WomensNet community have asked us about more opportunities to get start-up money.  Well, here’s an idea that might help you.

Business plan creation is an exercise required of many MBA students, as a teaching tool, which is why many colleges and universities sponsor business plan competitions – to help students apply what they’ve learned in class. Winners of these contests often receive a combination of startup cash, mentoring, and other resources to help them get their venture off the ground.

A number of successful companies have come out of these competitions, which may be why more organizations and institutions of higher education have begun admitting non-students to these events. There are also business plan competitions open to anyone, student or not.

If you’re looking for ways to land early stage funding, or to network with fellow entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, it may be worth your time to enter a business plan competition. Winning means money and bragging rights, which can open doors to other opportunities.

Deadlines for entries vary throughout the year, so if you’ve missed this year’s window, next year’s window of opportunity will be here before you know it. Most have no entry fee, though you’ll want to read the fine print to see what you’re responsible for (such as travel expenses).

Here are 15 of the best business plan competitions worth your attention:

Arch Grants Global Startup Competition

For entrepreneurs currently residing in or willing to move to St. Louis, Missouri. Prizes include a $50,000 equity-free grant and free business support services, as well as becoming eligible to pursue up to $1 million in follow-on funding for winners. Idea-stage to pre-Series A companies are welcome to apply.

Codelaunch

“Where software startups are launched” is how Codelaunch bills itself, which is a combination competition and startup networking festival held in Frisco, Texas. You need to have an idea for a software product or app to participate, with the prize being training and mentoring. There is also an annual seed accelerator for entrepreneurs with ideas for apps in search of funding.

Get in the Ring

While not as much as competition as a networking event on steroids, Get in the Ring brings together 150 startups to participate in three days of workshops to “unlock business opportunities” with 350 mentors, investors, and advisors. In Berlin.

Jack Daniels’ Pitch Distilled

According to Jack Daniels, “Pitch Distilled is a multi-city pitch competition…pairing aspiring entrepreneurs with a diverse cast of judges tasked with helping them kick-start the next big idea.” The grand prize is $5,000.

MassChallenge Accelerator

Not quite a business plan competition, MassChallenge involves selecting the “highest-impact and highest-potential startups” to participate in an accelerator program. There are locations in Boston, Rhode Island, Texas, and Switzerland. The accelerator session involves receiving mentoring, business services, and, ultimately, the chance for funding if your company is selected as a finalist.

Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition

The Milken-Penn Graduate School of Education (GSE) business plan competition may be the best-funded competition around, having awarded more than $1 million in prize money in the last ten years and sparked more than $135 million in follow-on funding. It is open to anyone in the world, but particularly “entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in education.” Its goal is to foster innovation in the field of education.

New York Start Up! 2019 Business Plan Competition

This competition is for residents of New York City, the Bronx, and Staten Island only. Businesses must not have generated more than $10,000 in revenue since startup. The top prize is $15,000, plus access to guidance and resources available through the New York Public Library.

Next Founders

Canadian entrepreneurs should apply for the annual Next Founders program, which is designed to help build the skills of the company founder(s) and provide training, mentoring, and access to capital to help scale promising business concepts and companies.

North of Boston Business Plan Competition

Entrepreneurs currently operating a business on Boston’s North Shore, or are willing to commit to locating the company in the area, are eligible to compete in this annual competition. “The purpose of the Competition is to identify and support businesses who want to grow and expand on the North Shore and thereby build the region’s economy.” The top prize is $10,000, with runner-up awards of $6,000 and $4,000.

Pistoia Alliance President’s Startup Challenge

This competition is for startups focused specifically on informatics and technology. Two winners receive six months of mentorship from industry experts and $20,000. Five finalists also receive $5,000 each.

The Pitch

This U.K.-based event isn’t so much about winning free cash, but about participating in a free boot camp. The top 300 startups are invited to participate, rubbing elbows with mentors and investors, as well as peers.

Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation New Venture Challenge

The Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge, now based at the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center, is one of the leading business accelerators. It is “a year-long business launch program” that involves idea generation, critical feedback from advisors, and pitches to the investing community.

Startup Festival

Dubbed “the music festival for startups,” the 2019 Startup Festival, held in Montreal, provides numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs to pitch their startup concept to potential investors. Those pitches could result in funding or enhanced visibility, with the chance to pitch to the crowd or a group of grandmother judges. More than $750,000 in funding is on the line here.

tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition

Students are separated into their own division in this competition for companies in the Northeast Pennsylvania region, with non-students in another. Early stage entrepreneurs from the area are welcome and can compete for prizes valued at more than $100,000. Concept must be technology-based and have had sales of no more than $250,000 in the prior 12 months to qualify for inclusion.

Y Combinator

Perhaps the best known business accelerator, Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator sponsors an annual competition to identify startups worthy of funding. Successful applicants are flown out to Mountain View, California for meetings and those funded are expected to spend 90 days in the area receiving support services.

Whether you’re looking for feedback on your new product idea, are looking for an advisory board, need space in which to locate your company, or really just need funding, these competitions will connect you with some of the most supportive startup organizations out there.

by Penny Bauder

Penny Bauder is an environmental scientist with a passion for STEAM education. She’s the founder of Green Kid Crafts, a nationally-acclaimed, green company that provides kids around the world with convenient and sustainable STEAM activities through the company’s subscription program. The company has shipped over 1 million themed activity boxes designed to help inspire the next generations of creative leaders, scientists, artists, and engineers.

Great companies aren’t only about making money. They also have a strong brand identity shaped by values.

Core values – principles your company follows in all aspects of operations – are vital. Strong core values act as a cornerstone and influence decision-making by providing a roadmap for future decisions. They help you to recruit the right employees, attract customers, remain accountable, create strong business partnerships, and serve your customers better. Having well-defined values help you lead efficiently and gives the rest of your team structure.

Building a values-driven company doesn’t have to be difficult. Just follow these 4 steps…

Define your own personal values

Before launching your company, define your own set of personal values. What do you believe in? What do you stand for? It’s difficult to create core values for your company if your personal values are unclear. If these sets of values match, your company is that much stronger. 

So, what are some examples of core values? Things like integrity, self-discipline, and creativity are all great examples of core values. Much like company core values, your personal values are there to guide behavior and choice. As a company leader, your values soak into everything you do. Get them right and you’ll be efficient, disciplined and focused in your decision-making.

Leave them undefined or vague, and you’ll constantly find yourself floundering. Your personal core values help you select relationships and friendships and wisely manage your personal resources such as time and finances. They are what keep you true to yourself.

Many people think they understand their own values, but you may not really know them until they are articulated clearly in writing. So, take some time to define your personal core values —then put them down on paper.

Define your company’s core values

What does your company value over revenue? Innovation, product quality, fun, and social responsibility are examples of things your company may value beyond making a profit. Ask your team to participate in the brainstorming as founders aren’t the only ones who should mold the business belief system. Your employees are caretakers of the company’s culture, and therefore should be part of the value formation process.

Consider that your company values arise from your mission. Create your mission statement and your values evolve naturally from that. Know what each of your core values means to your business before you begin, so that as your business starts to take shape, you can return to those core values when tricky decisions arise.

Any company will face adversity. But when your business has enduring core values, customers see that, appreciate it, refer it, and ultimately spend their money on something that speaks to their own values.

Stay true to your core values when making any business decision

Discipline yourself to keep to your core values, no matter what. It will almost always be less expensive to run your business a different way, but decisions that comprise core values will hurt your company.

Never underestimate the fact that customers deeply respect that you practice what you preach. Consider that not every decision should be based on how it affects the bottom line. For example, choosing to source materials from local, high quality and recycled resources and using sustainable packaging is more expensive versus conventional sources. Yet if the environment is part of your company values, then this decision is the right one.

At Green Kid Crafts, we believe that as a green company with the core values of environmental sustainability and integrity, it’s natural that we are committed to ensuring that all our activities have little environmental impact. Our products and packaging are made from recyclable and recycled materials and we offset 100% of the carbon dioxide generated by our business to help fund the development of renewable energy projects across the globe.

Further, our core values of promoting STEAM education, fun, and creativity guide our work to foster the next generation of creative leaders, scientists, and artists with our STEAM science and art kit subscription program. Regular customer surveys indicate that these core values put into action are very important to our customers and a driving factor in their purchasing behavior.

Embody your company’s values

Remind your customers why they should buy from you over competitors by dependably messaging your core values through storytelling, marketing, advertising, and through affiliate channels and partnerships.

Customers will understand that you strive to provide them with a values-driven product or service and be left feeling good about their decision to spend their money with you. Promote and communicate openly about how each of your values guide key company decisions. This helps strengthen the meaning and significance behind each value you hold.

For example, at Green Kid Crafts, we weave stories about our company values throughout our social media channels, email marketing activities, product packaging, blog posts, and affiliate marketing creative. In this way, our core values have become associated with our brand.

Ultimately, core values are the heart and soul of your company. However, they need to be put into action to mean anything. You must live and breathe them; and you must make them yours. At Green Kid Crafts, our commitment to being an environmentally sustainable, green business is at the heart of our company and a part of every aspect of our work. When everyone on your team makes that conscious effort to communicate and embody your core values, there’s no limit to what you will achieve.