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Best Business Plan Competitions For Entrepreneurs

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As an entrepreneur, sometimes it may seem like your idea is everything. After all, without your ingenious idea, there is no company to build. Yet, there are many steps to take in order to develop that idea. Having a strong business plan is a must.

Through the research and writing it requires, the plan takes what was initially nothing but an innovative idea and makes it into a possibility. It helps you lay out every conceivable aspect of your business, including the executive summary, a company and team description, the copyrights involved, your market research, and the business’ financial plan.

Each section allows the reader to get to know your business, its profitability, expenses, and market impact. They also help you and your team to keep track of the company’s growth through the weeks, months, and years.

In any startup business plan that you may download from the best business templates site, the most important function is its ability to attract funding, and not simply through loans, investors, or credit unions. A strong business plan can bring your company independent capital through business plan competitions, a well-capitalized but underutilized resource for entrepreneurs.

The competitions usually consist of elaborating on your business idea in a concise business plan, a pitch deck presentation, and (often) a display of the company’s product or service. The presentation is done in front of an acclaimed panel of judges formed by local industry leaders, other investors, or entrepreneurs.

The panel judges your presentation based on the competition’s specific criteria and performance metrics. On some occasions, like during the 2005 Rice University Business-Plan Competition, the venture capitalists present can offer the participants even more than the original prize.

You can find business plan competitions focused on a variety of markets. Some are focused on a single industry, some are specifically for college startups, and others are open to anyone with a great marketing and financial plan. Here is a list of five competitions you could apply to.

tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition

For over two decades the Northeastern Pennsylvania based organization now known as tecBRIDGE has made an effort to promote technology-based economic development, entrepreneurship, and innovation in its region.

Since 2002, the tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition has been a platform for their mission. The competition is divided into collegiate and non-collegiate divisions. Non-collegiate participants must have gross revenue of $250k or lower since the founding of the business. They must also submit a plan which identifies commercial solutions for technical products or services. Team registration deadlines for the annual competition are due in February.

Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition

For 10 years, Penn GSE and the Milken Family Foundation have joined forces to help kickstart educational businesses. The Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition allows educational entrepreneurship ventures from around the world to present their plans in front of a panel of industry experts.

The ventures can address any educational issue, from workforce learning to early childhood education to special education, but they may not have raised nor earned more than $500k in gross revenue since their legal foundation.

Besides the usual sections of a business plan, the competition’s application includes the submission of a digital slide deck presentation with a maximum of 15 slides and a 60-second video pitch. The annual competition is a great platform for potential funding and for great networking.

Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

In 2001, German professor Günter Faltin started the Entrepreneurship Foundation with the goal of helping people of all ages around the world to create sustainable businesses. The foundation’s Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition is meant to encourage business owners and innovators around the world to do just that.

Their venture, project, or idea must have some sort of societal impact which affects one or more of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs include poverty, world hunger, health and well-being, quality education, responsible consumption and production, and development of industry, innovation, and infrastructure.

The competition is divided into a Youth section for those between the ages of 13 and 29. The Adult Citizen Entrepreneurship category serves applicants who are 30 years old and older.

Get in the Ring

Frustrated by the number of startups they saw fail every year because of funding and resource needs, the technology scouting company Unknown Group created Get in the Ring. The group’s goal is to give these ventures the tools they need to thrive, and they do so through three platforms—a competition, a challenge, and a global meetup.

The annual competition, which began in 2012, invites entrepreneurs with ventures that contribute to the solving of today’s grand challenges. It is divided into five competitions that meet different needs—clean energy, food and agriculture, health, workforce augmentation, and impact (which focuses on the SDGs).

The winners of the competition are welcomed to the global meetup, a three-day retreat where startups from 150 countries present their innovations to hundreds of investors, industry experts, and other business owners.

Rice Business Plan Competition

For 20 years, Rice University’s competition has given collegiate entrepreneurs a chance to get real-world experience and opportunities in business launching. Only two of the team members need to be Rice students and another member must be a graduate-level student. The competition is aimed at businesses in the sectors of energy and sustainability, science, technology, and other innovation.

The application consists of a 20-question survey and the submission of a two to five-page executive summary. Participants are encouraged to add a 60 to 120-second video pitch. Only 42 of the hundreds of annual applicants get a chance to participate in the competition, where a group of 200 judges made up of industry leaders, venture capitalists and national investors choose worthy winners.

Last year, more than seven teams won awards of $100,000 or more.

Choose the right competition for your business, prepare your plan, and pitch for when the deadlines open and get ready to compete.

The idea of Bigtime Daily landed this engineer cum journalist from a multi-national company to the digital avenue. Matthew brought life to this idea and rendered all that was necessary to create an interactive and attractive platform for the readers. Apart from managing the platform, he also contributes his expertise in business niche.

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Business

How Buttonwood Property Management Navigates the Challenges of Property Management in a Thriving Market

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A thriving real estate market is full of new opportunities for investment, but it is also rife with significant challenges. One perfect example of this is Toronto’s real estate market, which is bursting with activity due to Toronto’s status as the fastest-growing city in all of North America. Part of Toronto’s fast growth can be attributed to its status as a highly transient city, as 50% of Toronto residents were not born there, but are more recent immigrants or transfers from other nearby cities. As a result, there is a pressing need for more and more residential properties, as well as commercial properties, for companies seeking to take advantage of increased foot traffic. 

The challenges of investing in real estate in an urban hub such as Toronto include managing a supply of properties that may not be able to keep up with the demand, as well as keeping property values high in an ever-competitive market. Also, real estate investors struggling to keep up with a highly-demanding market may also experience difficulties with the day-to-day operations of physically maintaining a residential or commercial property.

For these reasons, property management companies have sprung up to address the needs of real estate investors who want to save themselves the time, effort, and stress of tending to all of their properties’ needs. A good property management company should also be capable of paying attention to details and addressing the specifics of relevant regulatory requirements and providing clear communication and dialogue with tenants. 

While all of these traits are necessary for property management in Toronto, Buttonwood Property Management has gone above and beyond the call of duty by adding another element to its core ethos. In addition to careful consideration of clients’ needs, Buttonwood Property Management puts people at the heart of everything they do. 

“Clients trust us with their most valuable assets because we never compromise on our ethical standards,” Buttonwood Property Management’s [insert name and role of representative here] says. “We specialize in helping owners enjoy peace of mind while ensuring tenants feel right at home.”

In its 14 years of existence, Buttonwood Property Management has built its reputation on long-term relationships with clients and tenants. By thoroughly screening potential tenants, the company has cultivated a spotless reputation, ensuring that rent is always paid to clients on time. Buttonwood Property Management has also provided residential and commercial property management and rental services in the Greater Toronto Area, such as bookkeeping, paying bills, rent collection, initial property inspections, and major renovations.

To date, Buttonwood Property Management has spread its ethos to neighborhoods in Toronto and other nearby areas such as North York, East York, Scarborough, and Mississauga. Through its continuous service, the company has demonstrated that any organization can navigate the challenges of Toronto residential property management by prioritizing quality over quantity and combining expertise with integrity. This has resulted in the company receiving industry awards from organizations such as Kingsway Real Estate Brokerage and iPro Realty Ltd., including the organization’s Platinum Award in 2020.

In the case of property owners, Buttonwood Property Management provides customized solutions to maximize returns while minimizing stress. The company’s experts and specialists take care of everything from tenant screening to maintenance coordination. In the case of tenants, the company seeks to make them feel at home by maintaining properties to the best standards and addressing their concerns promptly. This dual focus has not only strengthened the company’s reputation but also helped create thriving, harmonious communities. Combining professionalism with that personal touch has made Buttonwood Property Management stand out in the very competitive real estate market in Toronto, proving that it is through trust and relationships that sustainable success is realized.

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