Deadline for submission Monday; all students eligible
The Faber Entrepreneurship Center at the Moore School of Business, with the help of Student Government, is bringing back its Global Entrepreneurship Week Business Plan Competition with $3,000 in cash awards and over $6,000 worth of software giveaways.
The competition — also sponsored by the Maxient Corporation, Spanish Vines and EngenuitySC — began last year as an initiative to raise awareness of the possibilities of entrepreneurship in South Carolina. Students of any major from any USC campus have until Monday to submit their own original business plans online for review, either as individuals or in teams. Those chosen as the top five will present their proposals before a judiciary board at a public forum, where a $1,500 first-place winner, a $1,000 second-place winner and a $500 third-place winner will be chosen.
All participants will also receive a free download of Business Plan Pro, a software currently valued at $100, donated by the Pro Alto Software Company. Sixty plans have already been submitted so far, according to SG business secretary Jocelyn Paonita, a third-year international business and finance student who will serve as a guest judge. Paonita hopes this competition will attract business owners from the community and ascend to the regional success of other schools’ competitions, such as the University of Tennessee’s annual Entrepreneurship and Innovation Contest. She also hopes to synthesize the competition with
USC’s Technology Incubator, which recruits and supports start-up technology companies.
“We want students to see that this could become something that leads to their own business,” Paonita said.
For more details or to submit a business plan, visit http://gamecockbplan2011.istart.org/.