Applications for the CSUF Business Plan Competition are due this Sunday (March 12) at 11:55pm but it’s definitely not to late to come up with a winning concept!
CSUF student-entrepreneur leader Vanessa Ganaden, hosted an “Innovation Rush” workshop to get students prepared for the CSUF Business Plan Competition and here are some of the key takeaways that you can use to come up with a concept for the competition fast.
- Create a list of words that relate to business ideas and skills that you have or about things that you are interest you; this helps to get your creative juices flowing.
- Pick two or three of these words and get to work developing a concept. For example, if your words are “bike” and “app” you can start developing your concept for an app that will tell people where there are good biking trails.
- Now that you have your concept give some thought to what your market is, how you will reach this market, how you will create your product or service, and who your competitors are.
- If you can, work on the concept with a team or at least try to get some feedback on your concept. Being able to work with people to develop your concept will make it stronger and improve your odds of advancing in the competition.
- Now that you have your concept, don’t forget to fill out and submit your application!
The purpose of this process is to “show them you can think of ideas no matter how different they are and you can try it out,” according to Vanessa.
In addition to having the opportunity to win a share in the more than $5,000 of scholarships and expert mentoring, Vanessa sees the competition as a way “to validate their product and see if it could be an actual business.” Feedback is important for every startup.
“I do recommend it for students to try it. I’m a huge proponent of students stepping outside of their comfort zone and doing something they wouldn’t normally do. It is scary to be judged, but it helps you see a perspective and see if this is something you would be able to do.”
What do you have to lose? Make sure to submit your application and you might be on your way to creating a business that will benefit the world and yourself for years to come!
Written by Traci Muldoon. Edited by Travis Lindsay.
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For more details on CSUF Entrepreneurship: http://business.fullerton.edu/Center/Entrepreneurship/
For more details on how we help people become entrepreneurs: http://business.fullerton.edu/Center/Entrepreneurship/Incubator
For more details on how CSUF Consulting can help businesses thrive: http://business.fullerton.edu/Center/Entrepreneurship/Consulting
Attend one of our events for entrepreneurs or sign up for a free mentoring session: http://bit.ly/CSUFEntrepreneurEvents