The Robert K. O’Brien Next Big Idea Contest helps Worcester State students develop an idea for a business or social venture. It was the inspiration of Robert K. O’Brien ‘58 to encourage Worcester State students to make an impact with their ideas.
During the 10 week program, the participants have access to valuable information, entrepreneurial tools, knowledgeable mentors, and the option to work on their ideas during three interactive workshops. Five finalists get to pitch their ideas to some really nice judges, and compete for thousands of dollars in cash prizes and seed money. The pitch is five slides in five minutes followed by a five minute Q&A.
The five finalists are selected based upon the quality of their written business brief. The program provides the guidance and resources needed to help each participant develop a competitive business brief. Check out the Sample Business Brief for a fictional venture called “India in a Box”. In addition, the program helps the finalists prepare for their pitch.
The business brief is a 4-to-5 page document that provides:
Contact Elaine Vescio, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship.
Your time in the 10-week program will give you the experience and knowledge you need to be a successful entrepreneur. Benefits of the program include:
What past participants loved most about being a part of the program is meeting other entrepreneurial minded students, developing new skills, and making significant progress on an idea in one semester.
Tran won 1st place in the contest, earning $2500 for his sneaker restoration business, The Pablo Way.
Echavarria won 2nd place in the contest, earning $1000 for his investment consulting company, The Pleb Investor.
Hutchins won 3rd place, earning $500 for her affordable stylish clothing company, Wimagine Outfitters.
Shrum won 4th place, earning $250 for his hockey apparel business, Grizzled Hockey.
Dukuly won 4th place, earning $250 for his non-profit organization, The Grow Education Project.
