Tycoons Row

SmartMoney.com and Sony have teamed up to challenge Entrepreneurs to come up with best business plan. The challenge seems simple enough; Submit an original idea for a new profitable business plan.  Easier said than done.

After I looked at this challenge deeper, I found that it might be more difficult than I thought. It’s not only the submission process, but it’s also, coming up w/ the idea, the judging phases and judging criteria is what makes this challenge worthwhile.

The Original Idea: “Smart Start”, as it is called, is seeking submissions of an original idea. This would be simplistic enough for Web 2.0 start-ups to jump on this, however, they are also seeking original ideas that have a clear path to profitability. Not that Web 2.0 companies have that path, but, are there additional ways of making money besides ad-sponsored models?

Here is a breakdown of the challenge:

The Submission: After you ‘D-Based’ yourself by creating a username & password you have to answer a series of questions describing the idea. So, in effect you are not writing a business plan but explaining the concept of one.

Judging Criteria: The idea must have a “clear path to profitability,” be believable and demonstrates knowledge within an industry.

Judging Phases: After your submission, 20 entrants will be selected to go on to phase 3 in which 8 entrants will be selected. The 8 will be judged through a tape-recorded interview in which out of the 8, 1 will be selected for the Grand Prize.

The prize includes a laptop computer (Sony Vaio), advertising in Smart Money (magazine & online) and a package worth $5,000.

We just reported on another large company, Visa, marketing to an audience through online contests. I think we will see more of these opportunities from companies in the future. Right now, the wave is “YOU”, as the marketing agency. In this case, the focal point is to feature the Sony Vaio. I haven’t tested this product out, however, Engadget has their take on it here