The problem that they may have with this contest is getting the word out. The same challenge that every ‘pure play’ internet venture faces…. Their window for apps is pretty tight (I just heard about the comp a few days ago and I have ‘google alerts’ etc.. looking for these)… Hopefully they have some good ‘real world’ partners who can put the comp in front of good targets (students in these fields at universities, etc)…

The most successful contest (on a number of measures) is Moot Corp at U of Texas. It was the first and has grown brilliantly and expanded through partnerships into a truly global event. They still focus on students at universities though, which limits their universe of entrants.

I like what Vator.tv is doing online with their contests and I think some policy makers (see Gov of Wisconsin’s BizPlan contest) are leading the way for those who want to use contests as an economic development tool.

Also, there is a huge rise in the green and social entrepreneurship categories. Some exist as stand alone contests and others are categories within traditional contests.

Contests are great teaching, engagement, and promotional tools for entrepreneurship and can serve as important ‘bridging’ events for firms/individuals that are still early stage and need feedback, networking, and funding in order to move forward effectively. Being an early stage entrepreneur is a lonely experience and events like bplan contests can be very helpful in some cases.