Have a business idea? You can pitch it and win money.
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REXBURG — You can pitch your business idea in 60 seconds and compete for hundreds of dollars in cash prizes in an upcoming event this month.
The City of Rexburg Economic Development Department is putting on the Big Idea Competition. It’s an entrepreneurial event open to students, professionals, community members, and anyone in eastern Idaho, even if they don’t live in Rexburg.
It’s on Wednesday, June 17, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at 343 East 4th North in Rexburg.
“We really like to focus on growing local businesses from community members that have great business ideas, and one of those events is the Big Idea Competition,” said Aaron Denney, economic development assistant with the city of Rexburg.
He explained that the event is designed to be low-pressure, where people share their business ideas in 60 seconds. Then, there are 90 seconds of questions and answers with the judges.
“It allows them to share their business idea with professionals — judges who are real business professionals — and get some feedback. That’s probably one of the most valuable parts of the competition is getting that feedback from the judges,” Denney said.
The judges are volunteers, local business owners in the community, who have already started businesses and are growing them. Sometimes, the judges are business professors from Brigham Young University-Idaho. There are typically three to four judges.
There are cash prizes for the best ideas. The first-place winner gets $500, the second-place winner gets $300, and the third-place winner gets $200.
Below is the evaluation criteria based on a 1-5 scale:
- Problem clarity — Did the pitcher articulate a real problem?
- Solution fit — Does the solution actually address the problem?
- Market awareness — Do they know who would pay for this and why?
- Coachability — How did they handle the Q&A?
Every pitcher will receive personalized written feedback from each judge, delivered within 48 hours of the event, according to information provided online.
Denney said new businesses have been created from different events the city has held.
“We’ve seen businesses start up like Syphon Sound. It’s a local business that competed in our competitions, and also Citius Composites is another,” he told EastIdahoNews.com.
Denney said these types of events are always fun, and he invites people to come out.
“My favorite part of the event is just seeing all the creative ideas. We have a lot of really talented people. People share their business idea, and then of course, it’s even more exciting to see that business actually get up and get going,” he added.
If you are interested in participating in the Big Idea Competition, register for free by clicking here.