Mar. 29 - Entries Sought for Minnesota Cup Contest

ST. PAUL – Aspiring entrepreneurs are encouraged to enter their breakthrough business ideas in the 2010 Minnesota Cup competition.

Participants in the sixth annual contest will compete for more than $130,000 in prize money awarded in six divisions: clean technology and renewable energy, bioscience, high tech, social entrepreneur, general and student. A grand prize of $20,000 will be awarded to a winner chosen from the division champions.

“The Minnesota Cup competition has always featured a high degree of innovation,” said Dan McElroy, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), which is a sponsor of the event. “The competition also equips entrepreneurs with the skills and resources needed to turn their great ideas into thriving businesses.”

The Minnesota Cup helps improve the chances that start-up businesses will succeed by awarding them cash prizes that can be used for seed money, by connecting them with investors, advisers, business professionals and partners during event receptions, and by exposing them to media coverage.

HealthSimple, a 2005 finalist, was acquired by Johnson & Johnson of New Brunswick, N.J., while 2006 winner VAST Enterprises Inc. of Minneapolis formed a partnership with Fabcon Inc. of Savage. Last year’s grand prize winner was Alvenda Inc., a Minneapolis company that helps merchants develop “shoplets” on the Internet. The company, which was founded in 2008, recently announced that it received $5 million from a venture capital fund.

Minnesota Cup entrants are judged on the value of their ideas, plans for turning the ideas into successful businesses and the quality of their presentations in later rounds of the contest. Separate review boards will judge each division of the contest and select a winner for the division.

The contest, which is free and open to Minnesota residents, attracted more than 1,000 entries last year. People interested in entering the 2010 contest can submit their proposals at www.minnesotacup.org. The deadline is April 23 to enter in the social entrepreneur division and May 21 for all other divisions. Each entry must contain a description of the product or service, an explanation of the market size or opportunity, a sales and marketing summary, and a brief operating plan.

Contest organizers will seek more detailed information as the pool of competitors is pared down in later rounds. Division winners will be announced on Aug. 31, except for the social entrepreneur division, which will be announced in a separate event on June 17. The grand prize winner will be announced on Sept. 9.

The winners in each division will receive $20,000, except in the student division, where the award is $5,000.

DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and our services, visit us at www.PositivelyMinnesota.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PositivelyMN.

Upon request, the information in this news release is available in an alternative format such as Braille, large print, audiotape or computer disk.

Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development
Communications Office
Phone 651/259-7161 or 1-800-657-3858 ∙ TTY 1-800-657-3973
www.PositivelyMinnesota.com