BRATTLEBORO — Sixty-eight thousand dollars in prizes is being offered for innovative business models and plans in the 2015 Windham Regional Business Planning Competition.
The competition is presented in collaboration of Strolling of the Heifers and the Brattleboro Development Credit Corporation. It is largely funded through the Windham County Economic Development Fund, which was created through the settlement agreement between Vermont Yankee and the state of Vermont.
Additional competition funding comes from the Windham Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation. Marlboro College Graduate School is providing partnership support.
Open to qualifying businesses throughout Windham County, the competition seeks to encourage innovation, entrepreneurship, business formation, and growth by helping business owners, prospective entrepreneurs, and students develop viable business plans, gain public attention, and earn financial rewards.
Contestants will gain practical experience in formulating and testing their business model, and they will develop business plan presentations suitable for potential funders. In the process, contestants will have access to experienced volunteer coaches and mentors.
Clients of the Vermont Small Business Development Center (VtSBDC) or Southeast Vermont Community Action (SEVCA) may receive additional coaching from those organizations in preparing their final business plan and presentations.
Contestants will also receive detailed feedback from the judges, who are being selected from the regional business and educational communities.
In evolving formats, this competition has been held most years since 2006, originally as a single-division general business competition organized by BDCC.
Over the years, it has awarded more than $300,000 in prizes, giving a boost to 86 businesses as finalists earning prize funds. Most of them are still in business today and collectively they employ well over 200 people.
The competition features five categories:
• Farm/Food Division - Existing Businesses
• Farm/Food Division - Startup/New Business
• General Division - Existing Business
• General Division - Startup/New Business
• Student Division (Farm/Food or General, Existing or New Business)
In each of the Farm/Food and General Business categories, there is a first prize of $10,000, a second prize of $3,000, and up to three runner-up awards of $1,000. In the Student Division, there is a first prize of $2,000 and up to four runner-up prizes of $500.
The registration period closes on March 3, when there will be an orientation workshop at Marlboro College Graduate Center.
Thereafter, in the contest's first phase (March 3 to April 23), participants will develop, analyze, and describe their business model; that is, a description of how their business will create value, through exploration and testing of answers to questions such as what the product is, who will buy it, why they'll buy it, who they see as the competition, how the product will be produced and distributed, and importantly, how the business will earn a profit.
Judges will select five finalists in each category who will advance to the second phase (April 30 to June 17). Finalists will continue to work on their business model and develop a more traditional business plan including operational and financial details.
On June 24, contestants will present their plans and business models to the judges. Awards will be presented on the afternoon of June 24 at the River Garden in Brattleboro.
To be eligible to compete, existing businesses must be physically located within Windham County, be in operation for six months or longer, be for-profit, and have revenue not exceeding $500,000 per year.
New businesses must be physically located within Windham County and must be for-profit and either not yet in business or in business for less than six months.
The student category is open to students at the senior level (12th grade) of high school, undergraduate college level, or graduate school who are enrolled full-time at Windham County institutions or who are Windham County residents actively enrolled full-time at schools or colleges elsewhere.
The Farm/Food Division comprises individuals and businesses engaged in food production, processing, distribution, packaging, restaurants, or retailing. Also eligible are those in the agriculture enterprises of wood products, equine-related businesses, and fiber production.
General Business contestants can come from any business sector not covered by the Farm/Food Division.