HIplan Competition Underway

Fifteen Hawai‘i Island entrepreneurs will make their business pitches to judges as they compete for seed money at the fourth annual HIplan competition.

Semi-finals start today, with contestants presenting their plans during round two of the competition at Palamanui Campus in Kona. The third and final round in the competition is scheduled for Oct. 26.

HIplan is a nonprofit dedicated to the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem on Hawai‘i Island. The competition encourages individuals and teams, for-profit and nonprofit, to develop and polish their business plans.

Life-long serial entrepreneur Edmund Olson will sponsor the Edmund C. Olson Entrepreneur Award of $25,000 to the winner. The Edmund C. Olson Trust II is a private land owner invested in sustainable agriculture, natural resource conservation, community development, education, cultural legacy preservation and renewable energy.

Local entrepreneur Ed Olson is sponsoring the HIplan competition’s grand prize this year. (Submitted)

“We are pleased to sponsor the Grand Prize for the HIplan Competition, as it will provide much needed seed money to get a viable business off the ground,” said Olson. “It’s important that we continue to diversify our island economy and look for new business opportunities that will have a positive impact.”

The HIplan competition is conducted in three rounds. Round one is submission of a 7-page business plan based on the HIplan template. The plans are reviewed by a team of judges and the top 15 plans move forward to round two, which is a 12-minute live presentation before judges.

The top 8 plans move forward to round 3, which involves a live two-minute elevator pitch and a 12-minute presentation. Each Round has its own set of judges and the public is welcome to attend Rounds 2 and 3.

The third and final round will take place on Oct. 26 at 9 a.m. at Palamanui. For more information, see www.HIplan.biz or visit Facebook/HIplan808.