New Ideas for a New Carolina

It is our third annual business idea competition open to all South Carolina residents.

More cash prizes, more opportunities to win, and a chance to let South Carolina citizens participate in the New Ideas Tour de Bulb in a city near you.

The contest is designed to:

• Promote change and innovation at a grassroots level, and get South Carolinian's creative juices flowing.
• Encourage entrepreneurship in SC
• Bring together entrepreneurs with V.C.s, Banks, Business, Government and Education Leaders
• Connect innovators in the state.
• Help people grow their ideas into a business.

• January 28 -- The contest will be launched in Greenville and the Web site will officially be open to accept submissions
• March 25 -- Celebrate the halfway mark at InnoVenture in Greenville
• May 1 -- Last date to submit an idea
• June 4 -- Winners will be announced at the ThinkTEC Innovation Summit in Charleston

Anyone with a great idea who is 18 and older, and a resident of South Carolina.

Yes, you may submit up to three different ideas. Each entry should reflect a new business idea which has not yet been put to commercial use in South Carolina.

On-line at www.newideassc.org.

We will accept up to 5000 ideas. If your idea is not one of those 5000, you can submit it when we hold the fourth contest in 2009.

Up to 10 of you can win:

• $5000 Grand Prize
• $2500 First Prize
• $1000 Runners-up
• $100 Best Tour de Bulb photo

All winners receive a cash prize, a scholarship to FastTracSC and a ticket to the award's ceremony. FastTracSC is a coalition whose members represent the best of entrepreneurial resources in the state. The mission is to promote entrepreneurship and small business in South Carolina.

This year you will compete within your selected industry category or in the college category rather than in a general competition. If a sufficient number of ideas is not submit in a category or the ideas do not qualify based on the judging criteria, we reserve the right to roll those into the Other/Wild Card category.

Your idea will be judged based on the following three criteria:

• Viability: (makes credible and believable case, is concise and easy to understand, and demonstrates relevant industry knowledge (competition, market need, pricing etc..)
• Innovation/Vision: (demonstrates creative thought, revolutionary or new perspective on existing markets and businesses, extraordinary vision for business in South Carolina.
• Profit/Revenue Potential: (satisfies a need in a commercially significant market, demonstrates operational feasibility and/or expertise, and/or offers superior alternative to products or services available now from others).

For each of the industry categories, South Carolina leaders and industry experts from Angel Capital groups, Businesses, Non-Profit Organizations, Government entities and Educational Institutions will do the judging.

An idea out of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce to promote the FastTracSC program, New Ideas for a New Carolina is powered by New Carolina and its partners: FastTracSC, ThinkTEC, SwampFox, NEXT, the Florence Chamber of Commerce and SCLaunch!, the contest's main sponsor, plus a number of other state and local organizations with a shared vision for a brighter future for South Carolina.

The judging begins! 50 finalists will be selected and invited to attend the ThinkTEC Innovation Summit in Charleston. Pre-registration will be required. Please note that you are invited to attend even if you are not a finalist!

The 50 finalists may be contacted by the judging panel to conduct a telephone interview and may request additional information regarding the business idea submitted. The Final Category Winners will be selected and notified by phone or email and their win will be announced at the Awards Ceremony at the ThinkTEC Innovation Summit. The Grand Prize winner will be announced at the Awards Ceremony. All winners must be present to receive their cash prize. All decisions are final.

To see last year's Grand Prize Winner, 11 Firestokers, and 7 Innovators go to http://newideassc.com/2007-winners.php

We believe that promising entrepreneurs have many great ideas. Sometimes you have to throw your idea out there and see what comes back. And of course, there are risks associated with doing this. We encourage you to take the risk. We can assure you that only a small group of people will see your ideas. If you are very concerned, we suggest you do some research on copyrights, patents, and trademarks and get acquainted with copyright laws before submitting your application. For more information please see the Official Rules