South Carolinians Have Four Days to Enter Business Idea Contest

South Carolinians have big business goals and great ideas! The 2007 New Ideas for a New Carolina statewide business idea contest has been receiving many great submissions from around the Palmetto State since the contest opened March 28. Open to all South Carolina residents at least 18 years old, dreamers and would-be entrepreneurs have only four more days to enter for the chance to win seed money and access to a team of business mentors to make their business idea a reality. The contest closes April 15 and entries can be submitted at http://www.newcarolina.org/new-ideas.

To date, entries have come in from 16 counties with the Columbia metro area being most active, and the Charleston metro area a close second. The statewide breakdown is as follows:

-- Upstate - 27%

-- Midlands - 37%

-- Lowcountry - 37%

"South Carolinians are really showing up so far this year, and I can see it is going to be a healthy competition between the Midlands and the Lowcountry. Last year the Upstate led the pack, resulting in the majority of the wins coming from that area, so we certainly hope all those creative people in that region get their ideas in this week," said George Fletcher, executive director, New Carolina. "Statewide we expect to get many ideas competing for up to 12 prizes. We hope these ideas from the innovative people in this state eventually will create new energy and new wealth for South Carolina."

Prizes and People's Choice Voting

The winners will be announced at the ThinkTEC Innovation Summit in Charleston on May 7, 2007. The grand prize winner will receive $3,000 seed money for their business idea, a scholarship to FastTrac entrepreneurial training programs, tickets to the Innovation Summit and access to a Dream Team of Mentors to help the winner cultivate their ideas. The Dream Team consists of business leaders throughout the state, representing a variety of disciplines, who have committed to giving counsel to New Ideas for New Carolina winners.

There will also be winners in up to 12 different business categories, each receiving $1,500, a scholarship to FastTrac and tickets to the Innovation Summit. The runners-up in each category will receive $500. Lastly, the contest will feature a College Student category, also eligible for the Grand Prize, and a People's Choice Award. Beginning April 23 all state residents can go online to vote for their favorite entrant of the Top 20 ideas in the Wild Card business category.

Winning the New Ideas for a New Carolina contest can turn dreams into real businesses. "A year ago athletefocus.com was barely even a thought. Then I won the New Ideas contest. The beta phase of the site was launched in October 2006. Since October, athletefocus.com has had over 900,000 page views and we have over 400 registered users and are growing everyday," said Graham Fizer, owner of Athletefocus.com, a social networking Web site for action sports athletes to connect with other athletes, sponsors and fans.

The New Ideas Dream Team is made up of a coalition of representatives from SC Launch!, New Carolina - SC's Council on Competitiveness, FastTracSC, ThinkTEC, InnoVenture, and other organizations around the state.

About SC's Council on Competitiveness

Together with partners, SC's Council on Competitiveness is driving the movement towards a New Carolina -- a South Carolina with a brighter future and a competitive, winning economy. The focus is on a strategy to play to the strengths of the state's core industries, emphasize education, and build an environment that fosters innovation. For more information, visit http://www.newcarolina.org.

About FastTracSC

FastTracSC's mission is to promote entrepreneurship and small business in the state through the FastTrac programs and its Coalition Resources. The FastTracSC Coalition is comprised of representatives from 26 organizations around the state. For more information on FastTrac Programs, the FastTracSC Coalition, or general questions, please visit http://www.fasttracsc.org.

About ThinkTEC

ThinkTEC, an initiative of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce's Innovation Division, is an ongoing effort to accelerate technological growth to create and sustain a perpetual innovation economy for the Charleston tri- county region and state. These efforts include industry-specific conferences, public policy and legislative initiatives, program development, and educational events. For more information visit http://www.thinktec.org.

About SC Launch!

SC Launch! accelerates entrepreneurial growth for advanced technology startups by delivering key tools for success: seed-funding of up to $200,000 in loans or investments, ongoing mentoring and business counseling, as well as access to Resource Network Services. Our mission is to help generate knowledge economy jobs, enhance the state's quality of life, and provide opportunity for all South Carolinians in the new economy. SC Launch! is a collaboration between SCRA -- a technology R&D program management company -- and South Carolina's research universities -- Clemson University, The University of South Carolina and The Medical University of South Carolina.

About InnoVenture

InnoVenture is an annual conference of innovators and entrepreneurs building personal relationships to enhance products sold to existing customers, improve the productivity of existing processes, or create new markets. The fourth annual InnoVenture conference will be held March 27 and 28, 2007 in Greenville, SC. InnoVenture 2006 attracted over 650 participants from 250 organizations from across the southeast. Additional information is at http://www.InnoVentureSE.com.