GCC students urged to enter business plan contest, vie for $10,000 prize

Germanna students are encouraged to enter the Made in FredVa business plan contest to be held Oct. 30 at the University of Mary Washington's Dodd Auditorium. The winner will receive $10,000 toward starting up a business. See details and  link to application below, provided by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce's Next Generation of Business Leaders group, which is organizing the event.

About

 Made in FredVA is a business plan competition organized by the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Next Generation of Business Leaders. Made in FredVA’s mission is to encourage entrepreneurs in the Fredericksburg Region to pursue their business ideas here in the community, and contribute toward an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the area. The competition will culminate with an event in the fall of 2013 at which, the finalists will “pitch” their business plan to a panel of judges.

Who can apply?

Anyone is eligible to apply for Made in FredVA; however, in order to receive the grand prize, the proposed business must be located in Planning District 16, which includes Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties and the city of Fredericksburg. The proposed business must be a company that is not yet established or a new division of an already established company.

 Judging

Made in FredVA will consist of two rounds of judging. For the first round, a panel of ten judges will read each application and select five finalists. Once the five finalists have been chosen, each finalist will be assigned a mentor to advise the applicant and assist in refining the applicant’s business plan. The second round of judging occurs at the final event in the fall of 2013. At this event, the five finalists “pitch” their business plan to a second panel of judges. This panel of judges will pick the winner and award him/her with the competition prize. All of the Made in FredVA’s judges are successful members of the local business community.

Prizes

Each of the five finalists will receive a medal for their participation in the competition. The winner of Made in FredVA will receive $10,000 towards start-up costs for his/her proposed business.

 Receiving the prize money

The prize money will be awarded to the winner in the form of reimbursements for approved business expenses. The Next Generation of Business Leaders’ Board of Directors will approve all submitted expenses before issuing any funds. Businesses operated outside the Fredericksburg Region will not be eligible to receive the funds. All money not disbursed within 12 months of the 2013 contest date (by Oct. 24, 2014) will be retained by the Next Generation of Business Leaders for future Made in FredVA events.

 
 To apply

• All Applications must be submitted by 5 pm on Sept. 5, 2013. There is no fee to apply.
• Complete all the answers; if there is a reason that a specific question is not applicable, please explain.
•  Applications must be typed. For an electronic version of the application, please contact Whitney Watts at whitney@fredericksburgchamber.org.
•  Send completed applications to Whitney Watts at the Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce
•  By email at whitney@fredericksburgchamber.org
•  By mail at P.O. Box 7476, Fredericksburg, Va., 22404 or;
• By fax at 540/373-9570

Questions?

Contact Whitney Watts at 540-373-9400 or whitney@fredericksburgchamber.org.

Source: Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce