Drum Roll Please

The Six Finalists for IdeaWF 2011 are:

 Big League Dirt Company

Buffalo O’ Bryants Craft Brewery, LLC

Integratest, Inc

Kenny’s All Purpose Seasoning

Offbeat Enterprises, LLC

Texas Casket Company 

These entrants now enter the final phase as they update their business plans based on feedback from the judges.  It’s up to them to evaluate the feedback and incorporate any needed changes.  We also hope the entrants will work with mentors to provide some independent feedback and advice over the next month.  Part of that mentoring is the SBDC’s session this Thursday evening at 5:30 PM in the Dillard College, Room 133  on how to make an effective oral presentation to the judges (and later to potential investors).  This session if open to all IdeaWF entrants and the public, not just the finalists. 

We have great hopes for the finalists.  The judges thought each can succeed and create new jobs in our area.  And that ultimately is the purpose for IdeaWF – new jobs in our region based on exciting new ventures.

Deadline Approaching

Just a reminder to our IdeaWF contestants that the business plans are due not later than Monday, February 21^st at 5 PM to the Lalani Center.  Please bring six copies of the plan.  Unlike if you were submitting the plan to a potential investor, please don’t put your plans in a nice folder.  A simple staple in the top left corner or a very basic folder will do.  Nice folders add too much bulk to the process as we get the plans to the judges.

Good luck!  I suspect many of you will be very busy this weekend as you put the finishing touches on your plan.  I look forward to reading the plans for the next hot 15 businesses in our region.

Two Weeks to Turn-in

Today marks the “two week to turn-in” point for our teams preparing full business plans for IdeaWF.  Developing a business plan is a lot of work, though the actual writing is not the hardest part.  In the process of developing the plan entrepreneurs make lots of decisions – for example, what is the best market for my product, what features my product should have, and how much should I charge?  Making good decisions requires a lot of thought and research, and that’s the hardest part.  I’m confident the entrants will breathe a big sigh of relief when they hand in their plan!  And that happens in just two weeks.

The IdeaWF judges have made their decisions, inviting 15 entrants to submit full business plans.  The choices were not at all easy.  Some of those not selected had very interesting ideas that, for a variety of reasons, were just not as a good fit for IdeaWF as the entrants selected to go forward.

I’ll have the packages bundled from the judges and available for pickup tomorrow, Tuesday, November 23^rd at 8 AM.  The packages will be available all day on the 23^rd and then again on the 29^th (and following).  The judges worked hard to provide specific feedback, and I encourage you to pick up the packages.  As I have said several times, expect to read some hard questions and hard comments.  They will help you improve your idea!   I’m happy to provide more insights on what the judges said about your executive summary, so please feel free to ask questions when you pick up the package. 

The first “how to write a business plan” session begins at 7 PM, Tuesday, November 30th in the Dillard College, Room 189.  Even if your summary was not selected by the judges you are still welcome to attend this valuable training.

 Firms’ Invited to Submit Full Business Plans for IdeaWF

(Words/Letters Sometimes Left Out to Protect the Business Idea)

Air Dog

Big League

Blue Sky

Bomb Baguettes

Buffalo O’Bryant

Decimalplus

Dinner____.com

In your own words

Integra Test

IsoBlinds

Kenny’s All Purpose

Offbeat Enterprise

Studio 24

True Victory

Texas C____ Company

Congratulations to all!

More Precious Than Gold

The judges are not only ranking the executive summaries they are giving the entrants something more precious that gold (even at today’s prices).  The judges are giving the entrants unvarnished feedback.  That feedback is an absolutely precious commodity at this point.

There’s a good chance that so far our entrants have only talked about their ideas with a friendly audience; an audience that is unlikely to take a critical look at the idea or give negative feedback.  The judges won’t be that way.  They’ll ask hard questions and point out rough spots in the proposal.  In so doing, the judges are doing our entrepreneurs a huge favor.  The reality is that the average “Big Idea 1.0”  isn’t anywhere ready to succeed in the marketplace.  Lots of changes are needed, if only the entrepreneur could figure out what to a change.  Thanks to the judges, IdeaWF entrants will get some great ideas of what needs to change.  In the long run (and maybe even in the short run) the entrepreneurs will realize the judges’ comments were vital to success.

Does this mean that the entrepreneur has to do everything and anything the judges recommend?  No.  In fact, it’s possible one judge’s recommendation will directly contradict that of another judge.  You see, in reality no one really knows whether a venture will succeed, or even if it’s on the right path.  Just ask Google.  Its Android software for smart phones is a huge success.  Google’s own smart phone – the Nexus One – is basically a flop.  You can bet Google didn’t expect that outcome.   So if even Google gets it wrong from time to time our judges, brilliant as they truly are, can’t guarantee their advice is 100% perfect.  And that’s the beauty of entrepreneurship!  Entrepreneurs get to listen to a lot of advice and then do what they think is best because it’s ultimately their decision.

Judges Hard at Work on 20 Plans

We had 20 entries at the end of November 15^th.  I like to joke that everyone is a “college student at heart” in that everyone waits until the last minute to turn things in.  IdeaWF entrants are no different.  All 20 plans arrived in the Lalani Center on the last day!

The ball is now in the judges’ court.  I gave them their copies of the summaries on Tuesday, and they have the week to review and comment on the summaries before selecting the top 15 entrants.  While the judges’ task is not an easy one, I can assure the entrants that each judge feels honored by the task of being a judge and is committed to providing the entrants with solid feedback on the executive summaries.  I’ll have more to say soon on the importance of feedback.

ENTER TODAY!!!!

Today is the last day to enter IdeaWF.  Come to see us at the Lalani Center and register by 5 PM today.  We’ll be here all day, including the lunch hour, to receive your entries.  Parking places are tight around the university; please just consider it yet another test of your perseverance on the march toward entrepreneurial success!   The Lalani Center is located in room 257 of the Dillard College of Business at MSU.  If you enter toward the east side of the Dillard College building you’ll see an elevator.  Take that elevator to the second floor and exit the elevator to the right.  The Center is located down that hallway.  Don’t be afraid to ask for directions—people in the building can help you find the right place.  Call us at 397-4634 if you get lost.

As a reminder, here are the items that must be submitted when you enter:

1)  A signed application form (note that your business partners must also sign)

2) Six copies of your executive summary.  Please don’t put the summaries into fancy folders—they become too bulky when we send the summaries to the judges.

3) A check/money order for $100 made to the Lalani Center.  Yes, we do take cash but can’t take credit/debit cards.

Again, all of these items must be turned in to the Lalani Center by 5 PM.  Email/fax entries are not allowed. 

Only a Few More Days to Polish Those Executive Summaries

The 5 PM, Monday, November 15^th deadline for entering IdeaWF is fast approaching.  Of course, we’ll accept the entries earlier than Monday, but we typically see folks enter on the last day.  As a reminder, here are the items that must be submitted when you enter:

1)       A signed application form (note that your business partners must also sign)

2)      Six copies of your executive summary.  Please don’t put the summaries into fancy folders—they become too bulky when we send the summaries to the judges.

3)      A check/money order for $100 made to the Lalani Center.  Yes, we do take cash but can’t take credit/debit cards.

All of these items must be turned in to the Lalani Center by 5 PM.  Email/fax entries are not allowed.  The Lalani Center is located in room 257 of the Dillard College of Business at MSU.  If you enter toward the east side of the Dillard College building you’ll see an elevator.  Take that elevator to the second floor and exit the elevator to the right.  The Center is located down that hallway.  Don’t be afraid to ask for directions—people in the building can help you find the right place.

C’mon, Send it in!

Here’s just a reminder that the sooner you turn into the Small Business Development Center your draft executive summary the more likely it is that they’ll get it back to you in time for a possible second review.  The SBDC provides a great review service – they have a lot of experience and can help you have your executive summary in top form before you formally submit your entry to the contest.  Call the SBDC at 397-4634 for more details.

Get Those Exec Summaries to the SBDC for Review

Remember that the SBDC would like your first draft of your executive summary by November 1^st (Monday afternoon) if you intend to use their free (and outstanding) services.  You’ll have plenty of time to incorporate their comments and improve your summary if you get them the draft soonest.