ANN ARBOR – A record 79 entrepreneurs entered the Spring Cycle of the Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest business plan competition by the April 18 deadline, besting the previous record of 47 teams registered for the Fall 2007 cycle. Winners will be announced June 12.
The GLEQ competition features two tracks to accommodate both ventures in the earliest stages of formation and those that are operating with up to $3 million in cumulative revenue. The competition is focused on start-up technology ventures in innovative fields such as life science, IT/Internet, advanced manufacturing and alternative energy.
Competitors are matched with a business coach who advises them during the competition. Each competitor must submit an Executive Summary or Business Plan by May 15. The plans are evaluated by judges from the investor community. Feedback from the judges, advice from coaches and connections in the community are among the key benefits of participating in GLEQ.
Information Technology and Internet-based ventures account for 43 percent of the registered companies. They include software-as-a-service (now commonly referred to as SaaS), Web 2.0, open source and middleware business ventures. The IT competitors represent ventures in health care, travel, publishing, research, animation, education, hospitality, management and numerous other fields.
Life Science companies account for 21 percent of the competing ventures. Included in the mix are diagnostic companies, contract research organizations, medical device manufacturers and bioinformatics ventures.
The competition includes seven Alternative Energy ventures and four Advanced Manufacturing companies. Also competing are 18 companies representing innovative new products and services in fields other than life science, IT, advanced manufacturing and alternative energy.
?The large increase in the number of competitors clearly underscores the growing interest in entrepreneurship in Michigan,? according to Diane Durance, executive director of GLEQ. ?I?m amazed at the number of entrepreneurs that have come forward and how prepared they are to launch and grow businesses in the state. I?m seeing genuine enthusiasm.?
For more information, click on GLEQ.Org
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