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Bang Ventures, a New York-based investment firm, has created a contest for aspiring startup CEOs. The contest, called "You Be The VC", calls for candidates to submit applications detailing their plans for a new internet startup company. All submissions will be judged using the "wisdom of the crowds" philosophy, guaranteeing unbiased results. You may submit and many ideas as you like, until the deadline in December of this year. When voting begins in March 2008, site members will choose which idea they like the best, and the idea with the most votes will win. Prize money is US $15,000 toward your new business, plus relocation and living expenses (winners must temporarily relocate to Cambridge, MA, where Bang Ventures has a branch). Winners will have access to the Bang Venture support network, be granted access to company resources and materials, and will have the opportunity for more funding.
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| In their own words | |||
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"Bang Ventures is making an open call for entrepreneurs to submit their ideas for new start-ups -- then we'll let the public decide on the next three companies we fund .after several rounds of tasks, analysis, and video pitches. That is You Be The VC in a nutshell.
Essentially the three selected companies get a company to run. Winners will get financing, programming/web development, expert mentoring, office space, legal, accounting, administrative and marketing support, as well as a $15,000 stipend to live and work in Cambridge.
In the process, a vibrant 24/7/365 community for entrepreneurs, investors, and those interested in the hottest new technology companies will be created at YouBeTheVC.com".
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| Why it might be a killer | |||
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Unlike other current startup contests like IdeaBlob, You Be The VC offers more money, more resources, and more opportunities for aspiring CEOs. It seems a little more practical, too; Bang Ventures requires relocation to their Cambridge, MA office in order to better collaborate with them.
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| Some questions | |||
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If you read the fine print, however, you'll see that unlike IdeaBlob, You Be The VC is actually not a contest that calls for votes from any site visitor. Rather, the voting "community" consists of handpicked professionals in the startup field. I feel this somewhat detracts from the "wisdom of the crowd" mentality that You Be The VC is advertising.
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4 comments
| Category: Marketing | tags:
grants funding investment venture capital startups contests youbethevc
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written by Paul 12 Months 7 Days ago | |
| As I read it, the $15k is just for living expenses. They also provide a marketing team, a programming team, a legal team, and administrative support. That's worth a lot more than the cash. I'd like my product launched someone who can get themself on CNBC and TechCrunch. What's that worth? | ||
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written by B 12 Months 10 Days ago | |
| Are they serious? Why not take out a credit card, leverage it up, and launch your product now, instead of waiting 6 months for a measely $15K. Waste of time, effort, and scarce entrepreneurial resources. | ||
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written by eric 12 Months 10 Days ago | |
| 2 points:1) 15K isn't enough to start a company. -you could run a small company of several employees for about 2 weeks on this amount of money.2) Anyone w/ a great idea will want to have their idea patented and/or incorporated before they start announcing their idea to the world. ....advertising your idea before these necesary steps is just opening your idea to be stolen. | ||
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written by Dan S. 12 Months 11 Days ago | |
| Please, this firm wants to take 25-33% initial ownership of your company for an investment of 15 k on their part (plus other limited perks). If I had an idea that beat out all others, meaning that it would be funding worthy, I would actually pitch it somewhere that I can get real funding.Read the official rules: http://www.youbethevc.com/rules | ||
