KEARNEY – Big Idea Kearney has helped area entrepreneurs launch many successful business ideas in the six years since the contest was first hosted.
Past winners of the contest developed business models for a double-sided peanut butter jar, automatic irrigation shutoff and multi-directional skateboard wheels, among others.
Entries again are being accepted for the business idea contest, which is spearheaded by the Center for Entrepreneurship and Rural Development in the University of Nebraska at Kearney’s College of Business and Technology.
In its seventh year, the event has been expanded to include four categories: middle school, high school, adult college and adult non-college.
Big Idea Kearney is open to anyone with a new business concept. The idea does not have to be a complete business model, only a description of the product or service, what need it serves, its target audience and how it would be made available to those customers.
To enter, upload a two-minute video pitching a new business idea onto YouTube, then submit the URL to unk.edu/bigideakearney. The deadline to enter is 4 p.m. Oct. 9. Contestants must be age 10 or older.
Finalists will be invited to present their ideas Nov. 1 at The World Theatre in downtown Kearney. Winners will receive $1,000 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third. Various scholarships and other prize packages will be awarded to winners in middle school and high school categories.
The purpose of the event is to support a culture of entrepreneurship and provide contestants with feedback from other entrepreneurs and community leaders.
Big Idea Kearney is sponsored by the Economic Development Council of Buffalo County, Invest Nebraska Corp., University of Nebraska 4-H Extension, NUtech Ventures and Nebraska Enterprise Fund.
For more information, including how and where to submit the video, visit unk.edu/bigideakearney or contact Aliese Hoffman at 308.865.8199. Assistance with recording and uploading videos also is available by contacting Hoffman.
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Writer: Todd Gottula, Director of Communications, 308.865.8454, gottulatm@unk.edu
Source: Lisa Tschauner, Center for Entrepreneurship and Rural Development, 308.865.8135, 402.984.4260
