4th Annual Queens StartUP! Business Plan Competition

Competition Rules & Eligibility                                   

The 4th Queens StartUP! Business Plan Competition will select and honor nine (9) original Business Plans from prospective Queens entrepreneurs.

The Queens Economic Development Corporation has decided to focus its competition on early-stage ventures. These are companies that are either in the concept phase of their business or who have made less than $10,000 in annual revenues at the time of application. QEDC excels in business development, training, and counseling of early-stage companies, and the organization prides itself on nurturing ideas from inception through launch to growth.

The competition is open to Queens's residents, entrepreneurs, or teams containing at least one resident of the New York City borough of Queens who are starting a new business operating in Queens.

To be eligible to apply, an entrant must be 18 years and older, U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents, and must attend one Queens Business Plan Competition orientation session. The team leader i.e. company president must be a resident of Queens.

Application. Entrants to the competition must complete an eligibility application to enter

the Queens StartUP! Business Plan Competition. Applications will be distributed only at

the Orientation Sessions. Completed applications must be postmarked or received at

the Queens Economic Development Corporation no later than 5pm, Friday, November 20, 2009.

Location. The business proposed in the applicant's Competition application must

operate in the Borough of Queens, New York.

 Residency and Age. All individual applicants and team members must be legal

residents or U.S. citizens. All individual applicants and team leaders must be residents of Queens.

Documentation will be required of the finalists. Also, Competition applicants must be at least 18

years of age and must be residents of Queens. Documentation will be required

Stage of Business. All businesses must have ideas or business concepts that require startup

capital. Existing and operational businesses that exceed $10,000 in annual revenues are not

eligible. If your venture has an existing Employer Identification Number (EIN) issued by the IRS

and/or has structured itself previously as a Sole Proprietorship, General Partnership, Corporation, or

Limited Liability Company you will be asked to explain on the application form why your business is

a start-up.

 Individual and Team Entry.

One or more people (up to five individuals) may submit an entry as part

of a team, all team members involved in the proposed business described in the plan must be listed

on the application. Competition entrants may enter only once, either as an individual or as part of a

team. The team must appoint one individual as the main contact and one other as the secondary

contact. All team members will sign the application reflecting their understanding and acceptance of

the stated rules. The Competition purse awarded represents the financial amount in total that will be

given to: a team's main contact to be disbursed to use for the purposes stated in the Competition

plan.

 Orientation Sessions. All eligible applicants must attend one of the Competition orientation

sessions at the Queens Library. This session will cover the competition requirements and will review

the process that will be used to judge the business plans and disburse awards. Applications for the

Competition will be distributed only at the orientation session. Signed applications are due by

5pm, Friday, November 20, 2009.

eligible team will be required to attend three of four educational workshops held December through

March 2009-2010. These classes will assist the entrepreneurs with preparing the business plan.

Deadline. All business plans must be submitted by 5pm, Tuesday, April 6th, 2010.

Applicants must submit two (2) hard copies, (1) bound and (1) unbound and  (1) an uploaded online

form on our website

Ineligibility. Queens Economic Development Corporation and Queens Library, trustees, competition

sponsors, or their family members are not eligible to enter the Queens StartUP! Business Plan

Competition either individually or as any part of a team. Employees of participating sponsors and

partners are not eligible. No relatives of judges are allowed to participate.

 Finalists. Finalists must be available to present their plans during the presentation round. Finalists

who do are not able to present their business plans will automatically forfeit their position to the next

eligible participant.

Expense Reimbursement. The competition sponsors will not reimburse entrants for any expenses

related to or developing from the compilation or assembly of any business plan for entry in the

competition. Working models or prototypes will not be accepted but can be presented to the judges

in the presentation round. The business plan will not be returned after the competition has ended.

Disbursement of Funds. Prize monies will be awarded to each winner following the end of the

competition. The check will be released at QEDC. Immediately following the competition winners

should agree to schedule a follow up counseling session at the QEDC where they will present their

sources and uses of funds as stated in the business plan. The funds must be used only for intended

business purpose and nothing else. A QEDC counselor will assist you with the necessary tools to

launch or grow your business. Unless the sources & uses plan demonstrates an immediate need

otherwise, the funds for the top three prize winners will be distributed in two equal disbursements. All

other awards will be given in one lump sum.

 The first disbursement will be in the above mentioned session following the competition and the second will be in a follow-up counseling session ninety days after the receipt of funds or at an otherwise scheduled review of the initial use of funds and progress of the business. The winning competition entrant or team will have sole responsibility for deciding how to allocate use of its prize proceeds on the business. Please note that these awards are taxable and the Queens Economic Development Corporation must have each winner complete an IRS W-9 Form before a check can be issued.

The proposed business plan should be for a business that is headquartered in Queens currently or will be established in the Queens County. Home-based businesses are allowed.

 Confidentiality. Queens Economic Development Corporation recognizes that entrants may be

concerned about the confidentiality of their business plans. Business plans will not be copied for any

purpose other than the competition. Entrants are also permitted to exclude any information they

regard as confidential. The short description of your business     idea will be considered a "public

summary" of your plan and may be used in public documentation related to the competition. While all

reasonable measures will be taken to ensure the protection of intellectual property and preserve the

confidentiality of each submission, Queens Economic Development Corporation cannot take further

responsibility to protect the intellectual property or other rights of each contestant. Protection of such

rights is ultimately the responsibility of each applicant.

Disqualification. Violation of any one or multiple rules for eligibility may result in disqualification from

the Queens StartUP! Business Plan Competition at any point of the discovery of the violation.

 Binding Document. The Eligibility Requirements and Competition Rules document is a legal and binding document. The signing of this document represents your understanding and acceptance of the rules and requirements set forth within this document.

Submitting Your Business Plan

We thank you for participating in this year’s competition and wish all of you,  the best of luck!

For more information on the Competition please contact the Queens Economic Development Corporation at 718.263.0546

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