looking for the next great breakthrough business idea

Growing the economy of Northwest Minnesota by outfitting the next generation of homegrown innovators for success in the global marketplace.

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Important Dates

1
Sept.

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The Fifth Year of the IDea competition begins

Calling all innovators !

Welcome to our website! With IDEA now entering its fifth year, we've got a lot to celebrate. Since we started, we have awarded over $250,000 in funding and ten of our winners have already brought their product to market.

If you have a breakthrough idea, the competition will begin accepting applications again September 1, 2012.
Read more about entering the competition!!!

Resources

Judging Criteria

There are four primary judging criteria for the competition:
~ Innovation
~ Commercial viability
~ Investment opportunity
~ Entrepreneur Team

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Judging Rounds

There are three rounds to the competition. In each round, applications are scored by a panel of judges, with only the highest scoring applications advancing to the next round.

~ Round one deadline: Nov. 30
~ Round two deadline: Feb 15
~ Round three deadline: April 10

"The IDEA Competition helped us focus our efforts and we are still seeing the benefits. Business is booming and we are growing rapidly..."

Mr. Jason LaValley (Bemidji) more
" Being a contestant in the IDEA Competition was like working on a 'mini-MBA.' It was a very practical learning experience."

Ms. Nancy Fisher (Warroad)
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" The IDEA Compeition has given us additional exposure to the market and the technical assistance is invaluable..."

Mr. Fred Hartman (Thief River Falls)
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"The professional advice from the judging panel and additional technical assistance forces you to sharpen your skills to see the big picture and look at every detail. Not to mention, winning the $10,000 was a big help! The whole process is awesome!”"

Mr. Jeff Sullivan (Bemidji)
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"Working through the stages of the IDEA competition was a great boost to the development of Craft Night Out. With each round of the competition we were able to focus our plans and gain valuable feedback from the judges!”

Ms. Kiki Anderson (Thief River Falls)
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