Archive for October, 2009

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Are You In The Future Top 100?

October 30th, 2009

The Future 100 awards, supported by Striding Out, recognise the achievements of young entrepreneurs aged 18-35 who are running a business with a social and environmental impact. The awards aim to raise the profile and support this new generation of leaders who are paving the way in sustainable business.

The Future 100 Winners are applicable to be provided with:

  • Media and PR training
  • Exclusive London networking events and opportunities
  • Business coaching, training and professional mentoring support

 

The deadline for application is November 5th, 2009

How to Apply

To find out more and apply visit www.future100.co.uk or contact Quinn Simpson at quinn@stridingout.co.uk

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Posted in Commercial, Competition, Government, Other Agency

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How would your business spend £10,000?

October 29th, 2009

Viking Direct office supplies and WinWeb online small business software have announced a competition that provides small businesses the opportunity to win £10,000.

Entry is very straightforward. Tell them what you would do with the money! The competition is open to existing small businesses or those that are just drawing up a business plan.

You can enter the competition here.  The entries will be judged by judged by a panel led by Prof. Ian Angell of the London School of Economics. The deadline is short – get your entries in by 31 October 2009.

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Posted in Commercial, Competition

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GeoVation Awards – £21,000 of development fund up for grabs

October 26th, 2009
GeoVation  

 

GeoVation is an open innovation network aimed at developing new ideas based on geography. The project is backed by the UK mapping agency Ordnance Survey. 

 Anyone can enter an idea into the GeoVation Ideas Challenge for the opportunity to win a day out at Ordnance Survey, but you also have a chance of getting your hands on the £21,000 development fund for your idea by entering the GeoVation Awards Programme.  Both competitions are open from the 6 October 2009 until 4 January 2010.

You can enter an idea into the GeoVation Ideas Challenge here.  To go for the development fund create a venture here and fill in the Awards Programme Submission form.

All the information is on the GeoVation site, here.

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Posted in Competition, Government

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Still time to enter the Home Business Awards

October 22nd, 2009

There is still time to enter the Home Business Awards over at excellent home working site Enterprise Nation.

Categories

  • Home Business of the Year
  • Home Business Couple of the Year
  • Home Office of the Year
  • Young Home Business Owner of the Year (under age of 35)
  • The 5 to 9 Home Business (open to anyone holding a day job and building the business at nights and weekends)

Your entry will automatically put you in the running to win the title ‘Home Business of the Year’ but you can also tick a box to apply for any or all of the categories.

Prizes

It’s free to enter and winners will receive some amazing prizes. They include:

  • Prominent profile on the Enterprise Nation site and in a national newspaper
  • Thousands of pounds worth of prizes in home office supplies and technology from our sponsors including Regus, Staples, HP, Douwe Egberts, Access Storage and Moneypenny
  • A brand review with top creative agency, Jump To, who act for a number of home grown businesses such as New Covent Garden Food, Tyrrells and Bacheldre Mill
  • Free entry to the Enterprise Nation Conference
  • A romantic get-away break for the Home Business Couple of the Year!

Judges

Joining Emma Jones, (who runs Enterprise Nation) on the judging panel will be:

  • Rachel Bridge, Enterprise Editor, The Sunday Times
  • Mark Dixon, Chief Executive & Founder, Regus
  • Karen and Mike Hollands, co-founders of Toniks and 2008 Home Business of the Year 

How to enter

Entry to the competition is free and open to any home business in the UK. The closing date is Friday, November 6th and winners will be announced at the Enterprise Nation Conference on Home Enterprise Day, Friday 20th November.

The Entry form for the Home Business Awards is on this page

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Posted in Commercial, Competition, Media Group

The Technium Challenge – a competition for new or early-stage science and technology ventures

October 21st, 2009

The Technium Challenge is a UK-wide business competition run by the Welsh Assembly Government-backed business incubation network Technium. It is open to technology or science-based businesses that have been trading for less than two years.

Although prizes for 2009-10 are still being finalised, winners can expect to receive a cash reward and free office space at a Technium facility, along with free consultancy and marketing support.

Participating companies must demonstrate:

  •  A fairly well developed patentable idea or technology which involves a strong R&D element.
  • A strong interest in receiving practical advice from external advisors to generate new ideas and support to develop a business plan.

Interested entrants are asked to submit a basic application by 26 March, with selected proposals then given assistance and advice to develop a more in-depth business plan by 29 April.

An independent panel of judges will select up to eight contestants to give a short presentation of their business plan, from which the overall winner will be announced at an awards ceremony to be held at the Marriott Hotel in Swansea on 24 June.

Entries will be assessed against a broad range of criteria, including innovation and growth potential, financial sustainability, capabilities and track record, and viability.

For further information about the Technium Challenge 2009-10, visit the Technium website

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Posted in Competition, Government

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The Deloitte Business Competition

October 10th, 2009

The Deloitte Business Competition gives university students in the UK the opportunity to make their impact on the London 2012 Games. The Challenge is a vital component of the work that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) is currently undertaking. If you think you can come up with the most innovative solution to the Challenge you could be winging your way to the Singapore Youth Olympic Games in 2010 to support Team GB.  You will also receive two weeks of paid work experience with the Deloitte London 2012 team.

The Competition closes at 12.00pm on 1 December 2009.

Find out more about the The Deloitte Business Competition

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Posted in Commercial, Competition, University

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Pay to play business plan competition?

October 9th, 2009

This is an interesting spin on the business plan competition. An angel ‘investment’ group in the USA (Cambridge, MA) is proposing to run a business competition where the entrants “pay to play” and thereby fund the investment pool. The organiser of this venture says:

“…entrants will get not just a chance at the big prizes, but enough advice from a group of experienced advisors and service providers that the $4,995 entry fee could be a good investment even for teams that don’t win.”

Is this a good idea? Should start ups really be investing their limited financial resources in entering business competitions?

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Posted in Comment

Be a start-up success in Swindon!

October 9th, 2009

Have you recently started a new business in Swindon? Why not enter the Swindon Strategic Economic Partnership’s New Business Competition 2009 and prove your business is the best? With £3,000 and two runner up prizes of £1,000 each, free training and free membership of Swindon’s top business organisations for a year, your business will be an all round winner. Entries must be received by 30 October 2009. 

More information about the Swindon Strategic Economic Partnership’s New Business Competition 2009

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Posted in Competition, Government, Media Group

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The Shell Springboard Awards 2009/10

October 7th, 2009

The Shell Springboard Awards programme 2009/10 is now open for entries. Shell Springboard is a programme that provides a financial boost to innovative, low carbon business ideas from across the UK. £40,000 is awarded every year, no strings attached, to eight businesses with an innovative product or service that will lead to greenhouse gas emission reductions and is commercially viable.

The deadline for applications is midnight on Friday 6 November 2009 and awards will be made in early 2010. Judging will be carried out by three regional panels of independent experts. Up to two businesses from each region will then meet a national judging panel prior to the announcement of an overall UK winner.

Find out more about the The Shell Springboard Awards programme

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Posted in Commercial, Competition

Research Councils UK Business Plan Competition

October 5th, 2009

The RCUK Business Plan Competition provides researchers who have ideas with commercial potential the skills, knowledge and support needed to develop a first-rate business plan. This is provided through expert trainers, coaches and mentors.

The competition is open to researchers based in UK Higher Education Institutions (HEI’s) or Public Sector Research Establishments (PSRE) that are eligible to hold Research Council grants from across the whole spectrum of academic research within the remit of the seven Research Councils; from the arts and biosciences, to environmental physical and social sciences to technology.

Postgraduates, postdocs and academic staff who have a business idea arising from research and want to develop this further are encouraged to participate.

More information about the Research Council Business Plan Competition here.

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Posted in Competition, Government, University

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