Rhode Island Business Plan Competition to Launch 2014 Competition on Oct.16

PROVIDENCE, RI – The Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, New England’s leading community supported business plan competition, today announced that its 2014 competition will launch next week and culminate next May with the awarding of prizes to winners and finalists.

A Kick-Off, the first of a series of events and educational workshops—all free and open to the public—will be held Wednesday, Oct. 16, to help people learn about launching a business.

The launch event will be held 5:30 – 7:00 p.m. at the offices of Betaspring, 95 Chestnut St., Providence. Pre-registration is required and may be completed online at www.ri-bizplan.com.

Winners from last year’s competition, who, with finalists, last May took home prizes valued at more than $200,000, will speak at the Kick-Off, sharing their experiences and insights on what it takes to apply and win.

Competition Co-Chair Peggy Farrell, partner in the law of firm of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP, said, “The Rhode Island Business Plan Competition is all about helping entrepreneurs build the next generation of companies in Rhode Island, and we’re looking forward to a strong year.”

The competition, which is free and open to everyone whether or not they already have started a business, is organized along two tracks: an Entrepreneur Track for those age 18 or over and a Student Track for students enrolled in college or graduate school.

Sponsors of the 2014 Competition

Lead sponsors of the 2014 competition are Cumulus Media-Providence, Davol Inc., Embolden, Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP, Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., Ltd., and the Providence Journal Charitable Foundation.

Also supporting the competition are: Bank Rhode Island, Biomedical Structures, Bryant University, Business Development Company, Care New England Health System, Center for Women and Enterprise, Centreville Bank, Cherrystone Angel Group, Collette Vacations, FM Global, GTECH Corporation, Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services, InsureMyTrip.com, Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, Rhode Island School of Design, Rhode Island Small Business Journal, Santander Sovereign Bank, Teknor Apex, Slater Technology Fund, Tech Collective, and Utilidata.

About the Competition

Established in 2000, the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition recently was named one of the top 40 business plan competitions in the country. To date, it has awarded more than $1.4 million in prizes to competitors developing companies across many industries.

In addition to awarding prizes, the competition hosts educational events in the months leading up to the application deadline in early April. They include business development, financial planning, and presentation skills workshops. In addition, the competition hosts the annual Rhode Island Elevator Pitch Complete competition information, including rules, application procedures, guidelines, and business plan resources, is available at www.ri-bizplan.com.

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