New Contests for SMBs and Entrepreneurs


Welcome to this week’s list of contests and competitions. Note that there are quite a few deadlines coming up in the next few days and weeks!

This list of contests, competitions and awards for small businesses is brought to you every other week as a community service by Small Business Trends and Smallbiztechnology.com.


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Startup Open
Enter by October 31, 2010

Startup Open is a competition for startups created during Global Entrepreneurship Week (November 15-21). The GEW 50–the 50 most promising startups launched during the Week–will be announced, and one entrepreneur will receive a free trip to Richard Branson’ s private island to network with experienced entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs expecting to have a “startup moment” during Global Entrepreneurship Week can enter until October 31. A panel of judges will review each of the entries and select the GEW 50 based on a range of criteria including strength of concept, growth projections and knowledge of the market.

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ACCO Brands Everyday Heroes Contest
Enter by October 31, 2010

What is an Everyday Hero? It’s a person who knows how to use his/her office tools to make things run smoothly; a person to whom everyone turns to pull it all together in a crunch; an individual who quietly gets the job done — often without being recognized. Everyday Heroes can enter the contest now at accoheroes.com. ACCO Brands will award a grand prize of $1,000 redeemable at office product dealers to one winner in each of three categories — business, home/home office and school.

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Pitch The Switch Contest
Enter by October 31, 2010

Infusionsoft is holding a contest for customers to answer the question, “Why did you ditch your other systems and switch to Infusionsoft?” Post your answer in a two-to four-minute video on YouTube by October 31, 2010, for a chance to win $10,000 and Infusionsoft Basic free for one year. See website for entry details. Additional prizes include an Apple iPad, iPod Touch and HD Flip camera.

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Show Us Your Office Contest from Regus
Enter by October 31, 2010

Contestants can enter a photo or video of their current, less-than-ideal workplace, and site viewers will be able to vote for the entry most deserving of a new office. The 10 entries with the most votes will proceed to the final round of judging. One lucky winner will receive a year of fully furnished, fully equipped office space at any of Regus’ more than 400 U.S. locations. Nine runners-up will receive Virtual Office Plus packages from Regus, allowing them to work more productively on the go.

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Constant Contact Developer Challenge
Enter by October 31, 2010

Design and submit an app for a chance to win prizes up to $15,000! Looking to attract innovative, functional and original applications to feature in the Constant Contact MarketPlace, Constant Contact is opening the opportunity to outside developers.

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2010 Technology 500
Enter by October 31, 2010

The Technology 500 is a competition for the fastest growing technology companies in the past 3 years. Rankings are determined by yearly revenue growth from the first year (2007) to the last year (2009) in terms of percentage. Prizes include a grand prize of $25,000 worth of advertising on the Lead411 website and a $5,000 advertising campaign on TechCrunch, Mahsable or ReadwriteWeb.

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The Cleantech Open Ideas Competition
Enter by October 2010

Cleantech Open runs the world’s largest clean technology business competition and is looking for the best clean technology ideas from around the world. Just for sharing your idea, you could win a prize package of services worth $100,000 to help you start a business. Winners of each individual National Competition get to represent their country as Global IDEAS finalists at the annual Cleantech Open Awards Gala on November 16, 2010, in San Francisco.

There, your idea will be presented in a five-minute pitch in front of a crowd of 3,000 investors, entrepreneurs, sponsoring companies, corporations, members of academia, press and others interested in hearing your ideas and getting involved.

The crowd will vote via text message for the “People’s Choice,” and you could win $100,000 in marketing support, legal advising, conferencing services and more to help launch your business. See the site for entry details, and sign up to receive the newsletter to get updates.

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Business.com’s 10th Birthday iPad Giveaway
Enter by November 1, 2010

Enter to win one of 10 Apple iPads and enjoy special discounts from Business.com partners including Vistaprint, Dell, TelecomRush, Intuit and others.

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Breakthrough Innovation Grant Competition (BIG)
Enter by November 5, 2010

BIG is an international competition sponsored by the Fisherman Foundation and the SEVEN Fund, in partnership with MicroVentures Inc.’s Hapinoy Program in the Philippines.

This business concept competition is open to all who aspire to create prosperity and alleviate poverty in the Philippines through new and viable business ideas that can be offered through the Hapinoy sari-sari store network. Proposals must be innovative, resourceful, scalable and fit the particular needs of the Philippines. See website for more details about the program and entry rules. Cash prizes range from US$2,200 for first place to US$500.

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CMIT’S MAKEOVER CONTEST
Enter by November 12, 2010

CMIT Solutions is accepting entries for its $75,000 office technology makeover. Tell them what makes your IT setup so “scary” and you could win …
• Dell server, laptops/desktops and peripherals
• Microsoft Windows 7 operating system and Office 2010 software
• Desktop/workstation care, backup, e-mail filtering and security services from CMIT Solutions

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SBA Small Business Week Awards 2011
Enter by November 12, 2010

National Small Business Week 2011 will be celebrated the week of May 15, 2011. Leading up to National Small Business Week (SBW), the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), often in conjunction with public- and private-sector partners, will host special events at the local and state levels to honor and present awards to the nation’s entrepreneurs and those who support and champion small business. Many of the award winners from those local and state events will be invited to Washington, D.C. for SBW ‘11 — Celebrating National Small Business Week. See local SBA websites for entry requirements and categories.

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Name This Software Makeover Contest
Enter by November 14, 2010

This free contest offers the grand prize winner over $10,000 worth of marketing products and services designed to give their business a custom marketing makeover. All other entrants will receive a ‘Business Boost Package’ designed to help increase sales. This package includes free consultations, discounts and much more from companies including Infusionsoft, Postcard Mania, and the Small Business Development Center.

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Laplink Laptop Giveaway
Enter by November 14, 2010

Laplink’s Laptop Giveaway features two free Lenovo® ThinkPad® Edge laptops. To enter fill out the entry form: http://www.laplink.com/laptopgiveaway, “Like” the Laplink Facebook fan page and “Follow” Laplink on Twitter. Once the entry is complete, participants can get additional entries by talking about Laplink and its products using approved keywords and interacting with the Laplink team on Facebook and Twitter.

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PC Mall Small Business Network Supreme Office Makeover Contest
Enter by November 30, 2010

The PC Mall Small Business Network Supreme Office Makeover contest is targeted towards small businesses with 1 to 100 employees and runs until November 30, 2010. Featuring a prize valued up to $17,500 for businesses with 11 to 100 employees and a prize valued up to $7,000 for businesses with one to 10 employees, the Makeover includes PCs, notebooks, printers, small business networking equipment, backup software and more.

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Love a Local Business Hiring Grant Competition
Enter through December 2010

Enter by submitting a few sentences about why you love serving your customers and community. Each month between October and December 2010, winners of a $25,000 Intuit Hiring Grant will be chosen by popular vote on http://lovealocalbusiness.com. Judges will review the three monthly winners and choose a grand prize winner of an Intuit Hiring Grant worth $50,000.

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DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award
Enter by January 7, 2011

The DREAM BIG Small Business of the Year Award, sponsored by Sam’s Club, is designed to honor U.S. job creators and recognize their significant contributions as drivers of economic growth. View the eligibility and criteria at the website to learn more and check out the Application Process FAQs for tips on filling out the application.

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Launch Lewiston-Auburn Maine Contest
Enter by January 2011

The Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council (LAEGC) and the Androscoggin County Chamber of Commerce have launched an entrepreneurial contest that has an ambitious goal of connecting with youth who have roots in the local community, and encouraging them to consider starting a business in Lewiston-Auburn, Maine. The program, called Launch L-A!, features a contest inviting young entrepreneurs to submit a proposal to start a business in L-A.

The winning entrepreneur will receive an equity infusion of $10,000 to $20,000 in seed money, along with a number of in-kind services for a year, including business consulting, accounting services, legal fees, advertising agency services, rent and more — all provided by Chamber members. Runners-up may also receive in-kind services. See website for entry rules.

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To find more small business events, contests and awards, visit our Small Business Events Calendar. In addition, we also have a giveaways page; click to learn more about our small business giveaways section.

If you are putting on a small business contest, award or competition, and want to get the word out to the community, please submit it through our Small Business Event and Contests Form. (We do not charge a fee to be included in this listing — it is completely free to submit your award or contest for our review. )

Please note: The descriptions provided here are for convenience only and are NOT the official rules. ALWAYS read official rules carefully at the site holding the competition, contest or award.

1 Comment ▼

Laura Leites Laura Leites plans and manages events for clients through her company, L2 Event Production. Laura's projects include the Small Business Influencer Awards, The Small Business Summit, and many of SmallBizTechnology's live and virtual events, including the five-city Small Business Technology Tour.

One Reaction
  1. BA’s Face of Opportunity contest is still open as well!