Small Companies Can Win Big Through Business Competitions

Startup companies looking for ways to gain notoriety might want to consider entering any of a growing number of business competitions being sponsored by universities, industry associations, journals, non-profits and large corporations.  A recent story in The Wall Street Journal contends that such competitions offer a number of powerful benefits.  These can include cash prizes (some up to six figures) and longer-term rewards such as increased exposure through p.r. and added ammunition for future marketing campaigns.  Even those who don’t win often come away with valuable insight from expert critiques. 

Locally, a number of startups have benefitted from their participation in various competitions.  For example, the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State organizes an annual Deloitte business plan competition in which teams (which must include at least one member who is an Ohio State student) present their business plan proposition to compete for top honors and awards.  The first place team is awarded, among other prizes, free office space for a year and up to $15,000 in business and professional services from TechColumbus to further investigate the viability of their business idea as a promising startup.  But the rewards don’t stop there.  Over the last three years, the top three teams placing in the Deloitte competition have gone on to receive further funding from TechColumbus through either the TechGenesis Fund or the TechColumbus Pre-Seed Fund (formerly the Regional Commercialization Fund) .  One such company, Traycer Diagnostics, received $500,000 from TechColumbus to further fund its award-winning startup. 

Dr. Wayne Poll, founder and CEO of Minimally Invasive Devices (MID), has received media coverage for the medical device startup by entering the company in a number of competitions sponsored by industry trade publications.  Last year, MID was distinguished as one of the “Best New Surgical Products” by the readers of Surgical Products magazine and this year as one the Top 50 Companies to Watch by the publishers of Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry.

And the founders of local startup Resort Rentals by Owner (RRBO.com) scored a public relations coup when they were selected for top honors during a global business pitch competition that was podcast on the very day the company went live with its online marketplace for timeshare rentals.  RRBO immediately parlayed this win into expanded earned media coverage on TV, radio and print. 

According to Tim Haynes, TechColumbus vice president of member services and marketing, the strength and popularity of the region’s Innovation Awards program continues to grow as members realize the benefits of this competition. 

“We constantly receive feedback from winners of the TechColumbus Innovation Awards about how their win has helped them expand their visibility in the media and with customers and potential investors,” says Haynes.  “Each year the number of entrants, finalists and attendees at the awards night grows exponentially.  We recognize how important this competition has become to the technology companies in the region and we’re very happy to be able to foster the continued growth of this program.”

A new site was recently launched to help organizations promote their competitions and to help potential entrants find appropriate contests.  AwardSync.com lets visitors search awards programs by category – for example by topic, by role or by region.  The site further allows organizers to get the word out about their competition, to outline judging criteria and to provide tips and hints for submitting entries – all at no charge.

To learn more about AwardSync.com and how startups can best take advantage of a variety of business competitions, see the story in the Wall Street Journal.

For more information on the recent win by RRBO.com in the international business pitch competition, see the June edition of the TechColumbus newsletter published in Business First

Continue to follow TechWeek for the Call for Entries and additional information on the 2010 TechColumbus Innovation Awards.