Next week nine of the entrants who made the final shortlist will pitch their business ideas to the Judging panel on the Cable Car. This is the final phase of the 2008 Cable Car Challenge business plan competition which this year received nearly 200 entries.

The final nine shortlisted entrants each have only seven minutes, on the cable car’s climb to the top of the hill, to convince the judges that they should be the $50,000 major prize winner.

Business ideas selected by the judges for the final stage were extremely diverse and ranged from the utilisation of technologies such as GPS and mobile internet through to more traditional businesses such as clothing manufacture and beverages.

Over the past two months shortlisted entrants have received high value business coaching and specialist advice from competition partners such as Deloitte, Bank of New Zealand, Escalator, Ellis Verboeket and Terry, Foundation for Research Science and Technology, Rogen SI, The Business Centre and Grow Wellington.

After receiving all this, nine businesses have been selected to pitch their ideas to some of the Wellington region’s most successful entrepreneurs. Most of the Judges from last year have returned including Sam Morgan of TradeMe fame, Rod Drury from Xero, Dion Mortenson from Movac and venture capitalist Mark Dossor. Sarah Gibbs of Trilogy has joined the panel this year along with Mark Blumsky who will chair the judging panel.

The winners will be announced on Thursday night at a function hosted by Wellington Mayor Kerry Prendergast on behalf of the major sponsor Wellington City Council. The shortlist include:

BIMcache
BONZ
Instinct Entertainment
Knowhere.co.nz
Life Inc
Skinny malinky
ToBe
Unite and Prosper
Valuecruncher

Due to the large number of quality entries the judges and competition organisers have chosen 26 applicants to go through to Stage 2.

Successful applicants are

Baby Angel
Beyound the Grid
BIMcache
BONZ
Create-Ed
Deluxe Industries
Final Furniture
Gabrielle Sorenson
Getsmart
Instinct Entertainment
Katalyst Lighting
Kathleen Ferrier
Konrad Hickson
Knowhere.co.nz
Life Inc
LittleBell Productions
Miki Szikszai
Ooortnews
Skinny malinky
The Boyd Method
Tinker Doodle
ToBe
Unite and Prosper
Valuecruncher
Webstruxure
Webstuffdone

Congratulations if you have been shortlisted for Stage 2.

Stage 1 has now closed and we are pleased to say that we received 172 entries to this years competition. We’re also pleased to see that the quality of entries has improved from last year,we wanted to see more quality than quantity and are happy with the result achieved.
Our judges are busy reviewing the entries and we will advise everone who entered their status by 5.00pm 23rd September.
We’ll also be posting information on where to go for further help or advice for your business or business idea so watch this space.

Because of a technical problem Stage 1 is staying open until September 12th. If you`ve already submitted your entry and have`nt had a response please phone 4940975 or e mail clare@cdanz.com

Good luck

Stage 1 of the competition has been extended to September 12th. If you have already submitted an entry please phone 04 4940975 or e mail clare@cdanz.com to confirm receipt of your entry.
Stage 1 winners will be notified by 23rd September if they have made it to Stage 2.

Throughout the 2008 Cable Car Challenge business plan competition a number of free events will be held to help give you the best chance to win.

Stage One

How to Write a Winning Business Plan Summary

July 22nd – 5.30pm – 7.30pm & July 29th – 5.30pm- 7.30 pm

90-minute workshop on how to organise and develop your business plan summary so it communicates clearly your proposition and persuades investors to invest. It will also talk about IP issues to consider at this stage of the process. This event is open to anyone interested in, or considering applying to, the 2008 Cable Car Challenge but you’ll need to reserve a place now.

Venue- The Business Centre ?Ground Floor?Radio New Zealand House?155 The Terrace?Wellington

E mail info@cablecarchallenge.com to reserve your place.

Stage Two (Venue information provided later)

Show the Value of your Market
90-minute workshop with Q&A session that will have you thinking about your potential market, customers and marketing approach. This will enable you to show judges or investors the value in your idea. Only shortlisted finalists will be able to attend.

How to Develop Financial Projections
90-minute workshop with Q&A session on how to develop financial projections for your business. This will help give you answers to fundamental questions about profitability and cash requirements. Only shortlisted finalists will be able to attend.

How to protect your Intellectual Property
90-minute presentation with Q&A session that will identify and prevent some typical legal headaches of early-stage ventures. This session will cover IP law basics for the entrepreneur and key legal issues for new ventures. Only shortlisted finalists will be able to attend.

How to Present Your Plan
90-minute presentation with Q&A session on what investors listen and look for when entrepreneurs tell their story, and tips on how you can make your best impression. Only shortlisted finalists will be able to attend.

Stage Three
How to Pitch
Specialists in helping small and medium enterprises access capital, the NZTE Escalator specialists will tell you how to improve your chances of making a winning pitch. This is a closed session and finalists will be invited to attend.

The Cable Car Pitch
October 29th - Closed session on the Wellington Cable Car.
You’ll be given up to nine minutes on the Cable Car to make your pitch and sell the judges on your winning idea. This is a closed session and only finalists will be invited to attend.

Prizegiving
October 30th – 5.30pm
Celebratory event featuring 2 minute presentations from the shortlist of the 2008 Competition and announcement of winners. Invited guests only.

The competiton has opened but we are still experiencing a few teething problems so more information will be available on this site later in the week. We will have the two page business plan template available with in the next day or two so check back to download it.

Stage One of the competition is open until August 16th so there is plenty of time to write that winning business summary.

Project Manager 9th July

We will be launching the 2008 Cable Car Challenge Business Plan competition on the 8th of July.Your business or idea could win you $50,000. Enter your business or business idea into the Cable Car Challenge - Wellington business plan competition and you could win $30,000 of seed capital and $20,000 of business services. Second prize is $10,000 seed capital and $5000 for business services.

So check out www.cablecarchallenge.com on July 8th to find out about the competition and how to enter.