€2 Million Competition to Find Ireland’s Best Young Entrepreneurs & Start-Ups #IBYE

Are you 30 or under with an outstanding idea/commercial venture

for a start-up or existing business?

At 22, Richard Branson started Virgin. At 27, Mark Zuckerberg brought us all closer with

Facebook and at 28, Denis Bronson started the Kerry Group. More recently, Ireland has

produced more than its fair share of outstanding young entrepreneurs, Patrick and John Collison

(Stripe), James Whelton (CoderDojo) and Chris Kennedy (Trustev) are just some of the names

that spring to mind.

Now the search has begun to find the next batch of outstanding young Irish entrepreneurial

talent.

Irelands Best Young Entrepreneur Competition (#IBYE)

“The IBYE Competition is designed to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland and to

encourage the establishment of new innovative businesses by Ireland’s best young

entrepreneurs”. It’s part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 and was recently launched by

Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.

€2 million fund

The competition will be run by the Local Enterprise Offices and has a total fund of €2

million available to invest in winning businesses and entrepreneurs in every

county. Winners at LEO level will be eligible for an investment of up to €20,000. Winners at

national level can receive an additional investment of up to €50,000. Almost any young person

with a business idea can enter: Individuals, Venture Teams, Partnerships, and Existing

Businesses with a new idea and People Overseas who will HQ in Ireland.

The Competition is broken down into three categories:

1. Best new idea (not yet established).

2. Best start up business (up to 18 months).

3. Best established business with a new add-on (over 18 months).

There will be 3 category winners per county and 1 overall county winner -> 93 winners will be

short listed to 24 winners at regional level -> These 24 winners will progress to the National

Final.

Application Process and important dates:

Application Phase - Submit application (and optional video) to your Local Enterprise Office, or

online on or before 30th June 2014.

Screening Process - Applicants screened on assessment criteria (See relevant section on

website). Participants selected for County Entrepreneur Bootcamp. July 2014.

Entrepreneur Bootcamp - County Finalists will enter into a specialised Entrepreneur

Bootcamp to help develop the skills required to take an entrepreneurial idea from concept stage

to reality and to build a viable business plan to commercialise the opportunity. Mid August

2014.

Final Pitch and County Finals - Participants from the Entrepreneur Bootcamp will submit their

final business plan and make a pitch to the County Assessment Panel. This Panel will consist

of a minimum of three judges to be selected by the Local Enterprises Office. Three Category

Winners and from these Winners one overall County Winner will be selected. All three Winners

will progress to the Regional Final.End of September 2014.

Regional Finals - In total 93 County Winners will progress to the Regional Finals. Each

Regional Finalist will receive additional mentoring and business support prior to making a pitch

to the Regional Assessment Panel. In total 24 Category Winners will be selected to progress to

the National Final. End of October 2014.

National Final - The 24 Finalists will compete for the three National Category Awards for Best

Idea, Best Start Up and Best Existing Business with add on. In addition Irelands Best Young

Entrepreneur for 2014 will be announced. First week of December 2014.

Contact(s):

Find your Local LEO

IBYE on Facebook

IBYE on Twitter

Hasgtag: #IBYE