On June 1, the Ben Franklin Venture Investment Forum, in conjunction with BFTP's central/northern office, sponsored the Seventh Annual Big Idea Business Plan Contest. Six finalists presented a 10-page business plan to a panel of judges at the Penn Stater Conference Center. Their proposals included a variety of products ranging from motion sensors, medical diagnostic tools, web-based publishing, overhead drilling tools, flow meters and even a recreational "flying" boat.
The winner, John Best, president of Best Instrument Company, a company that will manufacture liquid chromatography flow meters, took home $35,000 to help start his business. Best plans to locate in Huntingdon County at the Juniata College Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (JCEL) Business Incubator.
Submissions were accepted through April 13, 2005 from any manufacturing or tech-based business that resided in one of the eligible 34 counties covered by CNP. Applications, which consisted of a three-page business plan summary, were considered on the basis of degree of innovation, likelihood for commercial success and potential to create meaningful jobs in Pennsylvania.
From the July/August 2005 issue
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