Students: win $1000 in 2 minutes

Posted on September 25, 2014

NCEC, 2 minutes to win it, two minutes, North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center

Some enterprising college student in Greensboro is going to earn $1,000 in two minutes.

This fall, the North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center (NCEC) at UNCG is holding its fourth annual “2 Minutes to Win It” business idea contest, open to full-time students at UNCG, NC A&T, Greensboro College, Guilford College, Bennett College, Elon University, Guilford Tech and High Point University.

Prizes include $1,000 for first place, $500 for second place, $250 for third place, and $250 for best presentation. The first-place winner also gets a guaranteed spot in the Greensboro Partnership’s Triad Startup Lab, co-working space at the new Greensboro Partnership Co//ab, consultations with an attorney and business adviser, and more.

Entering is easy. Students develop original ideas for any type of business or social entrepreneurship venture. The only exceptions are that ideas cannot be franchises or something that has already been started by the student. Students can enter multiple times, but all ideas must be submitted online at http://ncec.uncg.edu by Oct. 18.

“This contest is about action. Students can unleash their creativity and open their ideas to expert feedback, plus get the chance to walk away with cash and resources to turn it into a reality,” says Justin Streuli, director of the NCEC. “We try to make entering very simple. Students just need to come up with a catchy name, a brief description of products or services offered, a profile of target customers, and reasons why the idea will be successful.”

NCEC, North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center, 2 minutes to win it, two minutesFor students seeking help on how to come up with or refine an idea, a free StartMeUp! workshop will be held at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 25, at UNCG (Room 1204, Moore Humanities and Research Administration Building, 1111 Spring Garden Street). The workshop is free but students should register at StartMeUpUNCG.eventbrite.com.

Following the Oct. 18 submission deadline, a team of independent judges will select the best 20 ideas. The judges will review all entries in a blind process where only the idea itself is revealed. “The ideas are what matter, not the student’s year in school, background, major, or any other information,” Streuli says. “The majority of finalists are non-business students, proving that entrepreneurial ideas come from everywhere.”

Contest finalists will be invited to attend a workshop to get tips on how to make an elevator pitch. Then, on Nov. 19, the 20 finalists will gather at the Joint School of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering (JSNN), where each finalist will have two minutes to pitch his or her idea to a group of community entrepreneur judges. Winners will be announced at a reception on the same day. After the reception, Blanca Cobb, body language expert and founder of TruthBlazer, will speak as part of the NCEC Entrepreneurial Journeys Speaker Series.

The “2 Minutes to Win It” contest culminates during Global Entrepreneurship Week, a worldwide, yearly celebration encouraging community members to explore their potential as self-starters and innovators. Last year, over two dozen Global Entrepreneurship Week events took place in Greensboro alone.

Pictures from the 2013 “2 Minutes to Win It” Business Idea Contest


The North Carolina Entrepreneurship Center (NCEC) at The University of North Carolina at Greensboro provides co-curricular and outreach programs to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses, and to serve as a catalyst for the creation of sustainable and globally competitive enterprises in the Piedmont Triad, North Carolina and beyond. For more information, visit the NCEC’s website at ncec.uncg.edu or call 336-256-8649.

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