Great Lakes Entrepreneurs’ Quest and the network of Michigan SmartZones announced a new $100,000 award for the 2010 GLEQ Business Plan Competition to an audience of 1,000 at the ACE’10 on January 21. The Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship (ACE) event, is in its 10th year, celebrating entrepreneurship in the State, conducting workshops, showcasing growing start-ups, and featuring a pitch competition between budding entrepreneurs with live judging and real-time winner recognition.

ACE also features the presentation of the fall class of GLEQ business plan competition winners. Entrepreneurs competed in two categories, New Business Idea and Emerging Company. Through the competition, these entrepreneurs and their teams were matched with expert coaches to guide them through their business plan development and introduced to the vast network of entrepreneurial resources throughout the state, such as the Small Business and Technology Development Centers. At the end of the cycle, business plans are thoroughly evaluated and given extensive feedback. Winners of the fall cycle are presented with awards ranging from $500 to $5000.

The next cycle of the GLEQ Business Plan Competition opens for registration on January 21 and introduces the $100,000 SmartZone Award. This new award is being sponsored by the fifteen SmartZones and is administered through the SmartZones’ Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund initiative. The GLEQ competition is open to all Michigan entrepreneurs that register to participate by March 5, but selection to compete for the SmartZone Award requires a SmartZone sponsor. Business plans are due April 23 for the SmartZone Award and May 7 for the New Business Idea and Emerging Company categories. Top prizes are: $5,000 in New Business Idea, $25,000 in Emerging Company and $100,000 pre-seed investment in the SmartZone Award category. Winners will be announced at the GLEQ SmartZone Awards Event on Thursday, June 10, 2010, in Lansing.

“The SmartZone Award is an exciting addition to the GLEQ competition,” according to Diane Durance, executive director of GLEQ. “We welcome this partnership with the SmartZones and their generous contribution to the competition through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. Every entrepreneur joining GLEQ to vie for this prize will benefit through connections with Michigan’s SmartZone Network of support services and advisors, meeting investors, and having real-world feedback on their plans.”

“The SmartZone Award is an investment that fills an important gap for ventures ready for pre-seed funding. It promotes relationships between emerging companies and the SmartZones and establishes an on-going relationship between the winning venture and the SmartZone Network,” adds Skip Simms, managing director of business acceleration, Ann Arbor SPARK, and manager of the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund. “The winning venture is not required to have an investor match to qualify for the award, which opens the competition to companies that may not meet the funding requirements of the Pre-Seed Capital Fund.”

The vibrant activity around the GLEQ business plan competition and the ACE event further demonstrate the entrepreneurial spirit has been and still is alive and well in the State of Michigan. Over the past decade the state has worked to seed an ecosystem in Michigan to support entrepreneurs and accelerate their innovation success. With the twelve Small Business and Technology Development Centers and fifteen SmartZones around the state, to the availability of seed and venture capital through the 21st Century Investment Fund and Venture Michigan Fund, now is a perfect time Michigan citizens launch an entrepreneurial venture with growth potential.

About Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest

GLEQ, now in its tenth year of continuous operation, is a Michigan-based 501 (c) (3) non-profit education program designed to accelerate the formation of high-growth companies.

GLEQ sponsors a statewide business plan competition twice each year. The competition accommodates ventures in various stages of development. Entrepreneurs with new business concepts compete in the New Business Idea category. Ventures in the early launch phases and those with grant income and customer revenue compete in the Emerging Company category. Ventures working with SmartZone advisors and seeking seed funding, can compete for the $100,000 SmartZone Award. Other awards, including Innovation Awards in Advanced Manufacturing and Alternative Energy and Regional Awards are also presented.

GLEQ leverages a portfolio of 185 volunteer business and investment experts to provide training, coaching, mentoring and judging. GLEQ was a past recipient of a 21st Century Jobs Fund Grant and current operations are funded by a Strategic Service Provider Grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. GLEQ award sponsors including Automation Alley, NextEnergy, Southwest Michigan First, University of Michigan Zell-Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, and Quantum Ventures.