Why didn't I write at least one business plan in college?
I'm amazed at how many business plan competitions are occurring around the state, and even more amazed at how many are directed specifically at college entrepreneurs...and yet even more amazed at the prizes being given out.
Here's another competition I just learned about. The deadline for
submission is February 8th and I'm being told that the number of
entries is low. I'm even being told there's still time to write a
potentially winning business plan.
Evansville New Venture Creation Competition
Friday, Feb. 8-Online registration due
Friday, Feb 22-Electronic Business Plan Due
Friday, March 7-Announcement of Teams
Friday, March 14-Business Plans Due (hard copy)
Friday, April 4-Competition (U of E in the Brand new Smyth Lecture Hall)
Prizes
1st place $10,000
2nd place $5,000
3rd place $2,500
Clearly all kinds of Indiana communities from towns to regional cooperatives to universities are turning to business plan competitions to spur economic development and to emphasize a culture of entrepreneurialism.
In general, it seems the demand for business plans to fill out the competitions is high, while the supply remains relatively low - great news for anyone holding even the most underdeveloped business plan. I wouldn't say it's easy to win, but the odds are high for serious entrepreneurs. (better than winning institutional money for sure, cheaper too)
Posted Friday, January 18, 2008 by
Brennan Knotts
Check out this recent article in Indiana Business Magazine where Mark Hill discusses how investing in entrepreneurship is the best way to spur economic development. I've included the full article below.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Curtis Magazine Group, Inc.
EVERY EXPERIENCED investor knows the value of a balanced portfolio. "Safe" options like bonds and money market funds provide slow, steady returns. But it's the more aggressive investments that carry a higher risk, and also the greatest potential rewards.
The same principles apply to economic development. Larger, more mature companies can help anchor a regional economy, even account for a significant share of its jobs and tax base. But it's entrepreneurial success that's the real catalyst for dynamic growth.
Now more than ever, entrepreneurship is the critical ingredient for a diverse, thriving economy. Let's look at how entrepreneurial activity can drive Indiana towards our stated economic vision, defined by the Daniels administration in its "Accelerating Growth" strategic plan: Reversing our decades-long decline in per capita income to meet the national average by 2020.
Economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland studied the factors that contribute to rising wages in a recent report, "State Growth Empirics: The Long-Run Determinants of State Income Growth." Their conclusions confirm what most policymakers already realize: Human capital, measured primarily by percentage of college graduates in the workforce, and innovation, measured here by patents-per-capita, are the best predictors of income growth. Entrepreneurial companies contribute significantly to both.
First, human capital--entrepreneurial firms employ a greater percentage of scientists and engineers than the labor market as a whole. Exciting, plentiful careers with fast-growing companies also help attract and retain more college-educated workers. To quote a Small Business Administration research summary: "The most entrepreneurial regions possess the highest proportion of the population with a college degree ... the average for the most entrepreneurial regions is more than 42 percent higher than the average for the least entrepreneurial regions."
By their very nature, startups are major contributors of innovation. A churn of ideas allows new companies to grow, but also helps the better-established firms in a region succeed. According to the Council on Competitiveness ("Where America Stands: Entrepreneurship"), "Large firms often depend on small firms for new ideas and technologies ... Procter & Gamble now gets about 35 percent of its ideas from outside the company, and its goal is to reach 50 percent ... as the pace of innovation increases, tapping into the creativity of entrepreneurs is the only way to keep up."
With Indiana ranking among the bottom third of states in per capita income, educational attainment and patents-per-capita, it's clear that boosting our entrepreneurial ambitions should be an economic-development priority. The state is making some progress-from 2002 to 2006, TechPoint's Indiana Technology Index reports that Indiana experienced 50 percent growth in venture capital investment and more than a 200 percent increase in federal SBIR/STTR grants (two key sources of seed funding).
We're boasting more and more entrepreneurial success stories. Just in software technology, companies like Interactive Intelligence, Aprimo, Exact Target, Baker Hill and Pan Testing stand out.
We all know that entrepreneurship is important. But more and more evidence suggests that building an entrepreneurial economy should be the top priority. As "investors" in our state's economy, it's time to skew our portfolio towards entrepreneurial ventures, and make every effort to encourage these economic pioneers.
Mark Hill is managing partner of Collina Ventures LLC, a private investment company focusing on technology companies: Hill also serves on the board of directors for the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.
COPYRIGHT 2007 Curtis Magazine Group, Inc.
EVERY EXPERIENCED investor knows the value of a balanced portfolio. "Safe" options like bonds and money market funds provide slow, steady returns. But it's the more aggressive investments that carry a higher risk, and also the greatest potential rewards.
The same principles apply to economic development. Larger, more mature companies can help anchor a regional economy, even account for a significant share of its jobs and tax base. But it's entrepreneurial success that's the real catalyst for dynamic growth.
Now more than ever, entrepreneurship is the critical ingredient for a diverse, thriving economy. Let's look at how entrepreneurial activity can drive Indiana towards our stated economic vision, defined by the Daniels administration in its "Accelerating Growth" strategic plan: Reversing our decades-long decline in per capita income to meet the national average by 2020.
Economists from the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland studied the factors that contribute to rising wages in a recent report, "State Growth Empirics: The Long-Run Determinants of State Income Growth." Their conclusions confirm what most policymakers already realize: Human capital, measured primarily by percentage of college graduates in the workforce, and innovation, measured here by patents-per-capita, are the best predictors of income growth. Entrepreneurial companies contribute significantly to both.
First, human capital--entrepreneurial firms employ a greater percentage of scientists and engineers than the labor market as a whole. Exciting, plentiful careers with fast-growing companies also help attract and retain more college-educated workers. To quote a Small Business Administration research summary: "The most entrepreneurial regions possess the highest proportion of the population with a college degree ... the average for the most entrepreneurial regions is more than 42 percent higher than the average for the least entrepreneurial regions."
By their very nature, startups are major contributors of innovation. A churn of ideas allows new companies to grow, but also helps the better-established firms in a region succeed. According to the Council on Competitiveness ("Where America Stands: Entrepreneurship"), "Large firms often depend on small firms for new ideas and technologies ... Procter & Gamble now gets about 35 percent of its ideas from outside the company, and its goal is to reach 50 percent ... as the pace of innovation increases, tapping into the creativity of entrepreneurs is the only way to keep up."
With Indiana ranking among the bottom third of states in per capita income, educational attainment and patents-per-capita, it's clear that boosting our entrepreneurial ambitions should be an economic-development priority. The state is making some progress-from 2002 to 2006, TechPoint's Indiana Technology Index reports that Indiana experienced 50 percent growth in venture capital investment and more than a 200 percent increase in federal SBIR/STTR grants (two key sources of seed funding).
We're boasting more and more entrepreneurial success stories. Just in software technology, companies like Interactive Intelligence, Aprimo, Exact Target, Baker Hill and Pan Testing stand out.
We all know that entrepreneurship is important. But more and more evidence suggests that building an entrepreneurial economy should be the top priority. As "investors" in our state's economy, it's time to skew our portfolio towards entrepreneurial ventures, and make every effort to encourage these economic pioneers.
Mark Hill is managing partner of Collina Ventures LLC, a private investment company focusing on technology companies: Hill also serves on the board of directors for the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership.
Posted Wednesday, October 31, 2007 by
Brennan Knotts
Does anybody reading this not know about the upcoming Entrepreneurship Week happening November 5th through November 9th? Sponsored by the Indiana Economic Development Corporation and Techpoint, Entrepreneurship Week encompasses a variety of events happening around the state, everything from an Entrepreneurship Bootcamp at the University of Southern Indiana to an elevator pitch competition in Muncie.
The pinnacle of the week is Thursday, November 8th which has been dubbed "Indiana Entrepreneurship and Innovation Day" and includes a day's worth of free activities happening at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. Two elevator pitch competitions - Venture Idol and Collegiate Idol - will showcase some of Indiana's latest commercial innovations as well as its up and coming, plus a number of presenters will be providing invaluable information to entrepreneurs throughout the day.(for a list of the Venture Idol Contestants check out the Venture Club's website, for the Collegiate Idol, we'll just have to wait and see) I think even the most savvy and well-informed entrepreneurs have something to gain from hearing about Indiana's grant programs and new IP and patent tax laws - not to mention the networking opportunities.
The price seems right (did I mention its free?) so you can bet I'll be there, hopefully with a camera because I'm sure there will be an Indiana Entrepreneur story or two.
