Business pitches worth up to $1,000 during Big Idea Kearney

KEARNEY – Got an amazing idea for a business or product?

It could be worth $1,000.

The University of Nebraska at Kearney’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Rural Development is accepting entries for its annual Big Idea Kearney competition.

In its ninth year, the contest is open to anyone at least 10 years old who has a concept for a business or product. Entries do not have to be complete business models.

Here’s what you do need:

  • a description of the product or service
  • what need it serves
  • its target audience
  • and how it would be made available to customers

To enter Big Idea Kearney, upload a two-minute video of your pitch to YouTube, then submit the URL at unk.edu/bigideakearney. The contest is free, but entries must be received no later than Oct. 25.

Finalists in two divisions – college students and community members – will present their ideas 6:30 p.m. Nov. 6 at Cunningham’s on the Lake, 610 Talmadge St., in Kearney. Winners, as selected by an audience vote that night, receive $1,000 for first place, $500 for second and $250 for third in each division.

Big Idea Kearney, which promotes and supports entrepreneurship throughout central Nebraska, is sponsored by the UNK College of Business and Technology, Economic Development Council of Buffalo County, Invest Nebraska Corporation, NUtech Ventures, Nebraska Enterprise Fund and Cunningham’s Journal.

For more information, visit unk.edu/bigideakearney or call 308-865-8199. Assistance with recording and uploading videos is available by contacting the Center for Entrepreneurship and Rural Development at that number or by visiting the office located in Room 127E in West Center on the UNK campus.