Win R150 000 in seed capital, incubation services

Leading business and technology incubator, SoftstartBTI, has announced the start of its Launchpad competition.

Open to all entrepreneurs in the information, communications and electronics technology (ICT&E) sectors, first prize is R150 000 worth of cash and services they can use to propel their business into the commercial stratosphere.

"We are all excited about this competition," enthuses SoftstartBTI coaching manager, Craig Aaron. "The first prize is a genuinely amazing bundle of cash and services that will catapult the winning entrant forward and turn their entrepreneurial vision into a commercial reality."

First prize in the SoftstartBTI Launchpad competition consists of one year of free furnished office space at the incubator's new building in Midrand, including access to all of its state-of-the-art facilities, one year's worth of professional coaching and up to R60 000 of seed capital.

"Ten runners up will also each win a year's worth of free coaching from SBTI as second prize," clarifies Aaron, "covering everything from marketing and business strategy development to sales strategies, financial planning and assistance in obtaining funding."

Entrepreneurs interested in taking part in the SoftstartBTI Launchpad competition should submit an executive summary of their business plan or idea no later than 14 April 2007. "We're looking for a concise description that highlights what is unique or creative about the product or service being presented," notes Aaron. "The summary also needs to show that some market research has been undertaken and that a clear idea of why customers will buy the product has been established."

Launchpad entrants must also motivate how they will use the R60 000 of seed capital should they win the competition. "Although we will obviously allow for any changes that need to happen during the commercialisation process, we want to see their initial ideas," explains Aaron. "Ideally, we're looking for a combination of realism and ingenuity."

A full list of the required criteria and conditions of the competition is available from SoftstartBTI and the winners will be announced at the end of April. "We want to make sure we have plenty of time to elicit any further information we need from applicants and to confirm they satisfy all of the entry requirements," Aaron explains, "but we would also like to meet as many of the entrants as possible in person and the ideal opportunity to do so will be the Incubator Open Day on Friday 16 March."

SoftstartBTI will host an Open Day which will feature a short PowerPoint presentation on the Incubator (who we are, what we do, etc), a tour of the facility, and a question and answer period.

SoftstartBTI's custom-designed building is prominently situated between the Allendale and New Road junctions of the Ben Schoeman highway in Midrand.

Date: 16 March 2007
Time: Open House: 3pm-4pm
Entrepreneurs' Happy Hour: 4pm-6pm
Address: 220, 2nd Street, Randjiespark, Midrand
Directions

"This is a great opportunity for interested parties to come along and find out exactly what the incubator is about," observes Aaron. "Not only will Launchpad entrants get to see the facilities they could win for a year firsthand, but even those not yet ready to enter the competition can meet with us and sign up for a pre-incubation package."

A free and customised service designed to help entrepreneurs bridge their specific skills and expertise gaps, the pre-incubation package focuses on helping them approach the task of commercialising their business opportunity successfully. "Our purpose is to help all ICT&E entrepreneurs kick-start their ventures," maintains Aaron, "and since SBTI is a hub of a wide network of skills and expertise, we can usually help everyone who visits us."

Entrepreneurs interested in entering the SoftstartBTI Launchpad competition should forward their applications to Craig Aaron by e-mailing craig@sbti.co.za.

For a full list of the required criteria and conditions, or further details about the Incubator Open Day on Friday 16 March, please contact Simphiwe Mabaso (simphiwe@sbti.co.za) on 086 111 5021.

Please note that SoftstartBTI is focused solely on the needs of start-up and early stage entrepreneurs in the ICT and electronics markets.