Plan for the Future™ Business Plan Competition
Young entrepreneurs from across the United States can win one of ten $1,000 scholarships and up to $7,500 in seed capital as part of a business plan competition sponsored by BizFilings and the National Federation of Independent Business through its non-profit education organization, the Young Entrepreneur Foundation.
The annual Plan For The FutureSM, a youth business planning competition designed to enhance the entrepreneurial capability and strategic planning expertise in the next generation of U.S. entrepreneurs, accepts entries from U.S. college and high school students.
The two students who submit the top two business plans from each of the NFIB’s five regions may receive a $1,000 scholarship (a total of ten awards).
- Students submitting the top three business ideas nationally will receive seed money for their business: $7,500 for first prize, $5,000 for second prize, and $2,500 for third prize.
About The Competition
Students must submit a detailed and viable business plan, of no more than 20 pages. Elements of the plan must include: overview/profile of the business; SWOT analysis; market analysis; sales and marketing strategies and financial analysis. Participants must be either a high school senior or full-time college student.
Plan for the FutureSM entries will be judged by an independent panel based on the quality, creativity and viability of the business plan. Entries will be accepted from March 15, to May 1, 2007. Winners will be notified by June. Prizes are awarded to the top three entries in June at the NFIB National Small Business Summit in Washington, D.C.
2007 Timeline
- Entries Accepted: March 15, 2007 – May 1, 2007
- Judging Period: Judging complete by June 1, 2007
- Winners Announced: Mid-June
2006 Competition Winners
The grand prize winner is Jonathan “Jon” Fischer, a 17-year-old from Lunenburg, Mass., who just finished his junior year of high school. Fischer won $7,500 in seed money for his business, Speed-Demon.
Speed-Demon is a high-tech startup that has developed a product which allows parents to monitor the driving habits of their teenagers. A portable box mounted on a car dashboard will record speed and GPS data. Once parents remove the device, they can plug it into a PC loaded with Speed-Demon software, which uses Google’s map technology, and see what roads their teenager traveled and at what speeds.
Speed-Demon was first developed by Jon for a state science fair and he currently has a patent pending. Once launched, the product is expected to cost $149. While the main goal of the company is to be profitable, a secondary purpose is to spark a dialog between parents and their teenagers about safe driving.
Winning the $5,000 second-place prize is DeVon Ellis-Grant of Summerville, S.C. Presently a junior at Savannah College of Art and Design, DeVon is pursuing a BFA in Film and Television Production. His business, D.E.G. Productions, LLC, is an independent, comprehensive multi-media production company.
The third-place prize of $2,500 goes to Matthew Schuster of Hampton Cove, Ala. Matthew, a sophomore at Auburn University, created a business plan for MS Productions/Sound Source Productions, a sound and lighting business currently serving the southeastern United States.
The following students won $1,000 prizes in the Plan For The Future(SM) competition:
- Whitney Boyce, Vanderpool, Texas.
- Mark Zimmer, Marne, Mich.
- Fantashia Stevens, Cleveland, Ohio.
- Natasha Spedalle, Astoria, N.Y.
- Sierra Brown, Memphis, Tenn.
- Elisabeth Ortiz, Overland Park, Kan.
- Faith Rivers, Charlotte, N.C.
- Joseph D'Agostino, Newark, Del.
About NFIB
The NFIB Young Entrepreneur Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization promoting the importance of small business and free enterprise to the nation’s youth. The Foundation is associated with the National Federation of Independent Business, the nation’s largest small-business advocacy group. A nonprofit, nonpartisan organization founded in 1943, NFIB represents the consensus views of its 600,000 members in Washington and all 50 state capitals. More information is available at www.NFIB.com/YEF.
To accomplish its mission, the Young Entrepreneur Foundation depends on support from companies, such as BizFilings, which are interested in strengthening our country's commitment to teaching the values of free enterprise and entrepreneurship.
About BizFilings
BizFilings is the leading Internet provider of incorporation and related services to business owners. BizFilings professionally forms corporations, LLCs, and nonprofits faster than anyone else. The company also offers Ultimate Business Planner software to help new businesses succeed.
BizFilings is a part of Wolters Kluwer, a leading multinational publisher and information services company. Wolters Kluwer has annual revenues (2005) of €3.4 billion, employs approximately 18,400 people worldwide and maintains operations across Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.
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