I could call the Governor’s Business Plan Contest a canary in the coal mine of entrepreneurship in Wisconsin, but coal mines are out of favor these days so perhaps the more apt analogy is a canary in a gold mine. That’s certainly true for the competition’s first-round contestants, most of whom are hoping to strike gold some day with their plans for business success. Launched in 2004 and conducted annually ever since with the help of prize sponsors, mentors and judges, the contest is a path for young companies — or simply people with ideas — to submit a brief business outline and expand its scope over the course of four months.
Many BPC finalists over time have turned their ideas into the “gold” of business success, often because they’re on the leading edge of a trend or technology that escaped the attention of others. That could be the case again with the crop of 150 or so entries submitted Jan. 31 and now under review by judges and mentors recruited by the Wisconsin Technology Council.