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The GreenBizz Innovation Challenge 

Entrepreneurial endeavors are a vital part of our economic traditions. Entrepreneurs helped this country to become an industrialized nation and the economic leader that we are today. Entrepeneurialism has been, and remains an important part of the American Dream. However, our race to develop and acquire wealth has brought many unforeseen consequences which we are now forced to address. Global warming due to an over-reliance on fossil fuels is a global concern with more violent weather patterns emerging and sea levels on the rise. Our ground water is increasingly polluted and our fresh water resources in many areas of the world are drying up. Additionally, there exist large areas of the world where new technologies, processes and services are essential to address widespread environmental degradation. New entrepreneurs and new ideas are needed to usher in a new way of doing business that respects our planet and its resources. The old way of doing business is not going to serve us in the long-term.

New Companies, New Products

During this project you and your team will develop a company with a sustainable business plan and prepare to bring your first product to market. However, the product you create must be socially responsible and either address the major environmental issues of our world directly or create a way to make everyday, necessary goods and services have a less negative impact on the environment. The rules for developing products, as well as some examples of these industries follow.

Plans, Fairs, Presentations and Competition

Creating a sustainable business and positive product for the planet is only part of your problem. As a start up company you will need to seek money and investors. You will need to write a compelling business plan showing the potential marketability and profitability of your product, create marketing materials that will bring it attention, and develop television commercials. You will need to create an effective trade show presentation to bring in small investors. Finally, you will need to present all of this to our panel of venture capitalists to get the millions of funding available to top team in the competition.

The 5th Annual Greenbizz Innovation Fair takes place at the Concord Hilton on Thursday, January 21st. At the fair all Greenbizz companies will compete before judges from the business community. This high energy showcase of your talents will crown the winning companies in this year's competition. The evening begins with an investor's fair during which over 30 companies will hustle the crowd for virtual investments. Each attendee of the fair receives $50,000 in virtual cashier's checks to invest as they see fit. With over 30 companies represented, competition for those investment dollars will be intense. In addition, there will be several anonymous "million dollar investors" circulating - secure investments from them and you'll go a long way towards winning the investor fair competition. 

The Innovation Fair culminates with the finals of the Business Plan Competition in which the 5 top companies present their company on stage before the audience and vie for the overall competition title before our panel of venture capitalists. 

To make it to the finals companies will have to be strong in the three major areas of the competition. First is the formal business plan itself. This document outlines your entire strategy for creating and selling your product as well as providing financial projections and an environmental impact analysis. Second will be the preliminary business plan presentations during the morning of the 21st. These presentations will take place in front of a panel of outside judges who will rank and score the companies before the evening presentations. Third is the investor fair itself. The five companies with the highest overall combined scores in these three areas will move to the finals and a chance at winning the overall title. 

This project represents a semester long journey through the world of business and economics. It will be hard. It will be fun. It will test your mettle. It will show you through authentic experiences the kinds of success awaiting those willing to put in the time, effort and work to be great. The remaining pages of the wiki provide the details and instructions for each component of the project to get you and your team to the finish line. 

Good Luck.