Big Idea contest now open to Elk and McKean County residents
RIDGWAY - In partnership with the PA Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, The Appalachian Regional Commission, and The Pennsylvania Wilds, Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central and Northern PA is looking for innovators with Big Ideas in Cameron, Elk, Forest, McKean, or Warren County.
The Big Idea Contest encourages people with innovative ideas to come forward and receive technical assistance and funding to commercialize them. Ben Franklin of Central and Northern PA serves a predominantly rural market, so this program helps prospective entrepreneurs get noticed by Ben Franklin and other entrepreneurial development service providers.
For entry eligibility, the Big Idea Contest 2023 focuses on Cameron, Elk, Forest, McKean, or Warren Counties. Each applicant receives access to advice, funding resources, networking, and training to help them transform their ideas into viable businesses that create jobs in rural areas. Startup entrepreneurs can also self-identify as prospects for their region’s economic development community, such as North Central in Elk and McKean Counties.
John Siggins, Portfolio Manager for Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central & Northern PA, spoke to the North Central PREP meeting on Tuesday, introducing the contest to members of the organization.
“It’s a great opportunity for someone from one of these five counties to win $50,000 and if you don’t think it could happen to you, neither did last year’s winners, Siggins said. “Esperanzo Wilcox of the PA Mushroom Company of Clarion, or Jeff Billett of Billett Electric, based in Jefferson County, both of their companies have experienced growth from the award and the mentorship they received from Ben Franklin.”
Ben Franklin Technology PArtners is looking for entrepreneurs developing or crafting a product, process, or innovation related to the maker economy, outdoors and recreation, forest products, manufacturing, and technology.
The winner will receive up to $50,000 in cash, a chance to win an additional $2,500 in the People’s Choice Award, an opportunity to pitch the business concept for a $10,000 Seed Grant from Ben
Franklin, a guaranteed spot in a business accelerator program offered by either Ben Franklin or Penn State’s LaunchBox network and business mentoring and support by Ben Franklin’s Transformation Business Services Network.
Entrepreneurs qualify if their home or business is located in Cameron, Elk, Forest, McKean, or Warren County, they have not previously received Ben Franklin funding or a cash prize from either a Big Idea Contest or a TechCelerator program, they plan to commercialize the innovation and do not have more than $1 million in annual sales revenue (as an established business).
The entry deadline is 5 p.m. on Tuesday, April 18, to go to BIGIDEA.BenFranklin.org, read the rules, and fill out an online form to access the contest application, and read some of the frequently asked questions about the Big Idea.
This is the last year the contest will be available to Elk County residents, as next year, the contest switches to Cameron, Clinton, Lycoming,
Potter, and Tioga counties.
The finalist entrepreneurs pitch their Big Ideas live and to a virtual audience simultaneously for a chance to take home up to $50,000. The plan and presentation are shared with the contest judges, who also listen to the finalists’ oral presentations on the day of the final judging.
Audience attendees can vote on their favorite Big Idea to award the People’s Choice award money of $2,500. Later that day, the winner(s) are announced publicly during a networking/ media reception event to which members of the region’s business community, along with local and state government officials, are invited.
For 40 Years, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central & Northern PA has provided startup funding and business support services to tech-based startups and small manufacturers in PA. As an ongoing initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and funded by the Ben Franklin Technology
Development Authority, the program invests not only in the marketable innovations developed in their service area, many of which come to light from their annual Big Idea Contests but also in business mentoring and support initiatives such as the Transformation Business Services Network and the BF TechCelerator Business Startup Boot Camps. For more information on Ben Franklin Technology PArtners of Central & Northern PA, visit cnp.benfranklin.org.