Kentucky’s new statewide business concept and business plan competition is designed to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship by rewarding participating student teams from the commonwealth’s eight four-year state universities. Winning teams will be those judged as having the best new business concepts and business plans for proposed new ventures. (Existing businesses or proposed ventures having previously received funding from investors are excluded from the competition.)

Student teams have to be selected by their university to participate in the state competition. Interested students or teams of students should contact their school’s faculty advisor(s) listed on the Teams page for more information.

Written entries will be submitted for review in advance of the on-site elevator pitch and oral presentations to be held in Louisville, April 18-19, 2008.

The contest is open to almost any type of product, service or charitable activity a proposed for-profit or non-profit venture would offer. However, a team’s chances of winning at the state level improve if the entry is judged as having more potential to succeed in the real marketplace – versus just being a clever idea.

There are graduate and undergraduate tracks in both the business concept and business plan categories. Each state university can send up to four teams to the state competition (limit one per track) and up to eight teams total can win cash prizes.

The competition places emphasis on business concepts and plans that are scored by independent judges as most likely to result in successful, high-growth ventures. This “ready for the real world” emphasis ensures that winning teams will have the best chance of providing a return on the state’s investment by creating high-paying jobs in Kentucky.

Additional prizes will be awarded for entries based on a high-tech product, high-tech service or high-tech intellectual property.

“High-tech,” for purposes of the competition, is defined as a product, service or intellectual property derived from scientific research and development, and is based on, employs, or represents the most advanced technology currently available.