105 Student Entrepreneurs Take Over Downtown Double Tree for 3rd Annual Northwest Entrepreneur Competition Trade ShowGuest Post By Meagan Garrett, M. Garrett Consulting
On Thursday morning last week, March 3, more than 100 student entrepreneurs representing 6 regional colleges and universities and 4 local high schools gathered in the Downtown Double Tree Hotel ballroom for the 3rd annual Northwest Entrepreneur Competition Trade Show. The Trade Show is an opportunity for entrepreneurial teams to showcase their startups to competition judges, community members and peers. This year, teams presented to 28 judges and roughly 100 members of the Spokane business, entrepreneurial and educational communities.
The Trade Show is a critical component of round one in the Northwest Entrepreneur Competition; a competition that provides a place for college students in the Inland Northwest to pursue their entrepreneurial ideas and receive the startup support they need to turn their idea into a business reality. In Round one, teams in three categories-Emerging Technology, Modern Small Business and High School-submit a pitch video and an executive summary which are evaluated by competition judges. Then, each team participates in the trade show, where judges and community members are awarded wooden chips to “invest” in each venture based on their evaluation of the business model and likelihood of success. The video, executive summary, “investment” and participation in and performance at the trade show are all evaluated by competition judges and the 8 highest performing teams in each category are invited to move to round two.
Round two consists of teams completing and submitting a formal business plan. These plans are evaluated by judges and the 5 highest scoring teams in each category are invited to the final. In the final round of the Competition, each team gives a live pitch to a panel of judges. This Pitch Day will take place on Thursday, April 7, from 1:30-5:00 p.m. at Whitworth University. Following the pitches, there will be a hosted reception and awards ceremony where the winners in each category will be announced and will receive their prize money.
For more information about the competition, supporting the teams involved in the competition or attending the reception and awards ceremony, visit http://www.nwentrep.com/.
For Photos of the trade show event, click here.
