Are you a business owner and need capital to start your business?
If so, you only have a few days left to apply for the City of Houston’s exciting launch of its third annual business plan competition – Liftoff Houston.
Liftoff Houston is a City of Houston entrepreneurial initiative aimed to empower Houstonians, who have a new business or business idea, by providing them with free business startup workshops, business mentoring and the opportunity to potentially win $10,000 to help start their business.
To be eligible, applicants must:
- Be in the start-up phase of their business which means they must be in operation for less than one year with revenue of less than $10,000
- Live in the Houston city limits with their business in the Houston city limits
The competition will take place over a four month period from July to November.
Contestants will participate in a myriad of workshops ranging from business plan basics to access to capital. The goal is to enable individuals to successfully research and develop their business plan. Contestants will also receive additional support from professional mentors from SCORE Houston and Capital One Bank to further refine the business plan for submission. Capital One Bank is the key sponsor for this event providing cash prizes totaling $30,000.
There are three prize award categories: Product, Service, and Innovation.
- $10,000 – Awarded for top “Product” Based Business Plan (Retail, resale, merchandise, etc.)
- $10,000 – Awarded for top “Service” Based Business Plan (Food, labor, consulting, etc.)
- $10,000 – Awarded for top “Innovation” Based Business Plan (Software, hardware, inventions, new market businesses, etc.)
The competition launches July 1, 2015 with the opening of application process. Deadline for application is 2:00 PM Friday, July 24th, 2015.
Apply for the competition by visiting the website at www.liftoffhouston.com and complete the Liftoff Houston Application.
Liftoff Houston is also inviting non-competing individuals to be a part of the workshop series and mentoring to help them create a business plan and start their business! To participate, please email Liftoff Houston at liftoffhouston@houstontx.gov or for more information call 832-393-0954.
The Liftoff Houston competition is a City of Houston Program, and is a collaborative effort between the Office of Business Opportunity, the Houston Public Library, and Capital One Bank, and is designed to engage and empower Houstonians seeking to start a business using the robust resources of the City of Houston.