James Tolbert’s brainstorm could pay off big for one lucky local entrepreneur.We’re talking 50 G’s and a whole new career.
Tolbert, Ivy Tech Northeast’s business administration program chairman, can’t shut off his active imagination, even while watching mindless reality TV.
Somehow, Tolbert saw the potential to fashion a local business plan contest using elements of reality competitions "Shark Tank," "Survivor" and "American Idol."
"It’s just a refreshing twist for a business plan competition," said Steve Franks, Student Venture Lab program manager at the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center.
The Innovation Center previously worked with IPFW on a business plan competition funded by the Lilly Foundation. That program has ended.
Franks prefers this version because the winner will get more than the standard $1,000 to $5,000 prize.
The organizers – and two classes of business students – are approaching various sources for donations. The center has pledged $11,300 – as long as the business has a high-tech component. The target amount for the prize, Tolbert said, is $50,000.
The catch to winning?
"The money has to be spent on opening the business," he said. "We don’t want them to buy a Harley or something. We want them to start a business and create jobs."
That stipulation is just fine with Olivia Fabian, who is competing for the prize. The 22-year-old Churubusco woman is a karate and figure-skating instructor who wants to sell stylish swimsuits made with a moisture-wicking fabric that would allow women to easily transition from the pool to driving the carpool.
Fabian, an Indiana Tech marketing student who earned two two-year degrees at Ivy Tech, wants to build on her mother’s international success making and selling figure-skating costumes.
"There’s more people who wear swimsuits than skate competitively," she said.
Fabian already launched her business – www.ofabz.com – but is revising her business plan for the competition.
Tolbert plans to promote the summer-long contest in weekly online installments and grant immunity from elimination based on the student who garners the most "likes" for the video presentations.
The group judged the loser of each week’s assigned task will be asked to vote out one participant.
Between the online element and the board of about 30 judges from the community, Tolbert hopes each of the participating students might ultimately walk away with financial backing.
Ivy Tech is seeking donors, judges and participants. Tolbert expects 10 to 15 participants. Six are already entered.