Business Plan Forums

The Business Plan Contest 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 no later than 5 p.m. Jan. 31, 2011.

ince its founding five years ago, the Cleantech Open has become cleantech’s most influential business competition. EcoFactor, a Redwood City startup that makes "smart" thermostats, won the Grand Prize in 2009 and went on to raise $5.9 million in venture capital.

Corvallis-based Columbia Power http://www.columbiapwr.com/ , which has ties to Oregon State University, is developing technology to convert wave energy into electricity.

This year’s roster, to be announced this morning, is:

Zino Society, the Seattle-based investor and entrepreneur network, just wrapped up one of its biggest annual events—the Zino Zillionaire Investment Forum. Now it’s time to follow up on who made the initial cut in the competition for its two $50,000 investment prizes.

I found it very interesting to see how past competitors have used their business plan competition experience to succeed in their careers.

If you have a start-up company seeking between $100,000 and $1 million, you are encouraged to enter the business plan competition.

The competition fuels innovation-based business growth by uncovering the best and brightest new business concepts from local and global entrepreneurs, exposing those opportunities to potential investment capital and fostering their growth within Michigan.

Entrepreneurs are the engine of the economy, and business plan competitions often serve as the spark that gets them going.

Business-plan competitions have fostered a "contest economy" that promotes start-up activity and much-needed innovation.