Hosts: SBA InnovateHER 2017
Small Business Administration
Innovation for Women Business Challenge
May 22, 2017, 6 – 9 p.m.
Pitch event will be held at the Palladium
253 5th Ave N, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
2017 InnovateHER Judges :
Deborah Duffey, President & Chief Product Development Officer, Dermazone
Dr. Cynthia Johnson, Director SBDC, Pinellas County Economic Development
Tonya Elmore, President & CEO, TEC Garage
The SBA has launched a nationwide prize competition to find the innovative products and services that help impact and empower women’s lives.
Subject of Challenge:
The SBA is looking for innovative products and services that help impact and empower the lives of women and families. Our workforce looks very different from 50 years ago. Women now make up nearly half of the labor force and play a critical role in our nation’s economic prosperity. Most children live in households where all parents work. And as our population ages, families are increasingly caring for aging parents while balancing the needs of work and home. As the demands on women and families grow, the need for products and services that address these unique challenges increases. This Challenge will provide a platform to fulfill that need. Contestants must develop a product or service that meets the following three Challenge criteria:
• Has a measurable impact on the lives of women and families (30%);
• Has the potential for commercialization (40%); and
• Fills a need in the marketplace (30%).
Eligibility Rules for Participating in the Challenge
This Challenge is open only to: (1) citizens or permanent residents of the United States who are at least eighteen (18) years of age at the time of their submission of an entry (or teams of such individuals); and (2) private entities, such as corporations or other organizations, that are incorporated in and maintain a primary place of business in the United States. Individuals submitting on behalf of corporations, nonprofits, or groups of individuals (such as an academic class or other team) must meet the eligibility requirements for individual contestants. An individual may belong to more than one team submitting an entry in this Challenge. SBA employees are not eligible, nor are Federal entities or Federal employees acting within the scope of their employment. Individuals or organizations that are currently suspended or disbarred by the federal government are not eligible for this Challenge.
Registration Process for Participants
The Challenge launched on December 29, 2016. The initial round of the Challenge will take the form of local competitions that will be run across the country beginning no earlier than December 29, 2016, and ending on June 3, 2017.
You must REGISTER to participate in the competition. During registration, you can sign up to pitch live on May 22nd at The Palladium – St. Petersburg. NOTE: There is limited availability to pitch live on May 22nd. Please note that the event is open to the public.
Prize for Winners
Cash prizes totaling $70,000 will be awarded to the three highest-rated contestants in the final round of the Challenge in the following amounts:
- 1st Place – $40,000
- 2nd Place – $20,000
- 3rd Place – $10,000
For winning entries submitted by teams of competitors, prize money will be awarded to the self-identified project leader for distribution to the rest of the team at their discretion and independently from SBA.
For more details on contest rules, please visit the SBA InnovateHER site and download the .pdfhere.
A special thanks to our community partner:
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