MADISON
– Entrants in the 2014 Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest will once again compete for more than cash this year. The entry deadline for the 11th annual contest is 5 p.m. Jan. 31 at www.govsbizplancontest.com.
Wisconsin
companies have stepped up to offer a variety of service prizes, such as legal assistance, accounting, video production,
marketing and more. For many contestants, these services will provide an
important jumpstart in getting their businesses rolling.
Among
the prizes will be office space suitable for startup companies. The following companies have pledged to provide free space to a finalist or
finalists in the contest, which will culminate in June at the Wisconsin
Entrepreneurs’ Conference.
- University
Research Park in Madison will provide up to two suites for two companies for
one year: one laboratory suite and one office suite at the MGE Innovation
Center.
- Pieper
Properties Inc. will provide an office suite for one year at their LEED-CS
Silver certified building in Milwaukee.
- Cresa Madison will contribute one incubator space at their offices
located in Machinery Row in Madison.
- American Family Insurance will provide office space for one finalist
for three months.
- 100state will donate a membership to its co-working
community in Madison.
Additional cash and in-kind prizes have been pledged by the following
companies to date: 5Nines; Aberdean Consulting; American Transmission Company; AT&T;
BDO; Cleantech Open; Exact Sciences; Madison Gas & Electric; Makin’ HEY!
Communications; Marshfield Clinic Applied Sciences; Michael Best &
Friedrich; Mortenson Construction; Murphy Desmond; Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren
s.c.; Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media; Smith & Gesteland; Tweedee
Productions; and UW-Madison Office of Corporate Relations.
The
Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. has been a lead sponsor since the
contest’s inception.
For the second year, “clean technology” entries that advance to
the top 25 will have their application fee waived for the 2014 Cleantech
Open Accelerator and will receive a discounted ticket to
Cleantech Open’s Midwest Innovation Summit in October. Cleantech entries
reaching the “Diligent Dozen” round will gain a full tuition scholarship for
the accelerator, which includes both the application and participation fees.
The
2014 contest is accepting entries online at www.govsbizplancontest.com
until 5 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31. The
contest is designed to help entrepreneurs turn their ideas into business plans,
prepare them to launch a company, get feedback from judges, and to interact
with investors and other professionals.
About
$1.7 million in cash and other prizes were awarded in the contest’s first 10 years,
when more than 2,600 entries from more than 280 different communities across
the state were received. Winners of other selected business plan and “pitch”
contests in Wisconsin will have an opportunity to segue into the BPC in a later
round.
To
enter the contest or learn more about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.govsbizplancontest.com
or contact contest administrators at info@govsbizplancontest.com.
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