MBAs Compete in US$5M Business Plan Competition: MBA News

By QS Contributor Updated Jun 15, 2014

Save

Introduction
Startup funding initiatives are efforts to kick start the Buffalo economy

MBAs Compete in US$5M Business Plan Competition: MBA News main image

The city of Buffalo, New York, is set to hold a global business plan competition offering US$5 million in total prizes to entrepreneurs with the best new business ideas.

The 43North business plan competition, named after the city’s latitude, hopes to attract over 1,000 business concepts over the coming months with the overall aim of selecting 11 new businesses to bestow with startup funding.

Nearby east-coast institutions with entrepreneurial focus such as the Fuqua School of Business and Tuck School of Business will no doubt have MBA students wanting to become involved, but also, as 43North is a global competition, MBAs from all over the world interested in starting their own businesses also have the opportunity. Similar contests that have been hits with MBA students include Entrepreneur Week in New Orleans which is set to return in March of this year.

Funded by the New York Power Authority, there are four awards of US$250,000 and six of US$500,000 up for grabs in addition to the US$1 million of startup funding for the overall winner. The winning business will also receive free office space and support services for a whole year. In return, the business is required to begin its venture in Buffalo and remain there for at least a year.

The motivation behind this last point is to stimulate growth in Buffalo and western New York as a whole, with entrepreneurs and business students from all over the world welcomed to apply. Governor Cuomo of Buffalo has pledged US$1 billion towards continuing economic growth in the region and the 43North business plan competition is just one initiative, aiming to incubate new business ventures which will bring new jobs and increased revenue to the region. “[We will] attract promising start-up ventures and innovators from around the world to Western New York,” Governor Cuomo said.

Startup funding initiatives are efforts to kick start the Buffalo economy

The plan, according to Howard Zemsky, co-chairman of the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council, is to hold a number of similar competitions over the next four years. He says, “These businesses won’t have a 100 percent success rate, but you can’t be paralyzed by fear of failure. The heroes of economic development are the risk-takers. They don’t ask, ‘What if I fail?’ They ask, ‘What if I succeed?’”

Past initiatives similar to 43North, have shown how much of an impact startup funding can have on a company as well as the economy in which it resides. The Henry A. Panasci Jr. Technology Entrepreneurship Competition, hosted a decade ago, awarded three University of Buffalo students a top prize of US$25,000 from which they created Campus Labs and 100 new jobs within Buffalo to date.

There are three rounds to the 43North business plan competition, with round one currently underway. Applications will be accepted until May 31^st 2014 via their website 43North.org.

Learn more about studying for an MBA in entrepreneurship ›