Get Your Business Funded: Creative Methods for Getting the Money You Need

Finding Business Plan Competitions

So this probably sounds like a pretty intriguing idea to you, and it should. The chance to fund your business by winning a competition and receiving funding (that you don't have to repay!) is pretty special. That you will meet the players in your community is even better.

One challenge you may encounter is that, as indicated previously, many of these competitions are for business school students. But there are two things to keep in mind:

1. “Many” is not “all.” There are plenty of competitions that are not for students.

2. The student competitions do not often require that all members of the team be students. You can team up with a student team, or get a student to join your team. That is perfectly acceptable. It may also be that it will suffice if you are simply an alumnus of the school.

Finding local business plan competitions is not difficult. Begin by checking out your local university, especially its graduate business school. Also check with your local SBDC and SCORE office. They are conduits for entrepreneurship news. And of course, a Google search of the relevant terms will also lead you in the right direction. One final suggestion: Many venture capital firms are now sponsoring their own business plan competitions. Check that out too.

“The Clean Tech Business Competition Deadline is May 30. The Clean Tech Open is a business plan competition that will provide more than $1 million in prizes for early-stage clean technology startups. Over ...