The “Pitch Your Plan” business plan competition, sponsored by The WesBanco Community Development Corp., based in southern Ohio, will have a new wrinkle this year: High school and college students will be part of the competition. The competition, which targets a 10-county region, offers a chance for participants to win start-up funds, network with investors and banks, meet important sponsors and resource providers, share experiences with successful entrepreneurs, and benefit from feedback on their business ideas from judges for the competition.

The competition includes three categories:

• Invention and New Technology — For any business that utilizes science-based approaches to producing goods and services. The business “must have intellectual property associated with the concept or illustrate the potential for intellectual property to be associated with the concept,” according to the rules.
• Business – For any start-up or early-stage business and any existing business introducing a new product line or expansion project.
• Student – To compete in this new category, high school and college students can submit conceptual plans that meet the criteria of either of the first two categories in an effort to win scholarship awards.

“[The competition] shows WesBanco’s commitment to the businesses of southern Ohio, and the belief that good business plans help businesses to be more successful,” says Meagan Barnes, business development specialist at Ohio State University South Centers in Piketon, which is a title sponsor for the event. The top prize in the Innovation/New Technology category is $10,000, with $5,000 going to the Business winner and more than $5,000 in scholarships divided between two student winners.

Source: Chillicothe Gazette

Posted November 10th, 2009 under Intellectual Property Marketing

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