Overview

Presented by New York City Economic Development Corporation in collaboration with Columbia University, this contest can put you at the forefront of the City's latest business breakthroughs.

Disclaimer: All terms and conditions are subject to change and are at the sole discretion of NYCEDC. Please check back frequently for any changes.

2012- 2013 Competition

Winner

KisiBox has won the fourth annual NYC Next Idea competition. KisiBox, whose team is from Germany, is developing smartphone-managed entry security systems for buildings, apartments, and other spaces, and was selected from a highly competitive and diverse pool of more than 220 applicants submitted from 40 different countries. 

Finalists

• Glovico.org: A Fair Trade online language learning platform where teachers from Latin America, Africa and Asia teach their mother tongues via Skype. (USA and Germany)
• FitUsIn: Simplified, on-demand booking of excess gym capacity (Australia)
• BUZZtheBar: Point-of-sale system for accelerating sales volume at bars and nightclubs (USA and China)
• Cortex International: Medical Ethics Virtual Experience, a module-based, interactive ethics education program for use at medical schools and hospitals (USA and China)
• KisiBox: Smartphone-managed entry security systems for buildings, apartments, and other spaces (Germany)
• PlusMe: Simplified last-minute group event planning and booking (Germany)

Prizes

• All-expense-paid trip (including airfare and boarding) to New York City in March 2013 for the members of the six finalist teams
• Networking opportunities with New York City-based investors, entrepreneurs, professors, and government officials for all finalists
• Cash prize pool of $35,000

Eligibility

The largest change to this year's competition is the expansion of eligibility criteria for participants. As one main aim of the competition is attracting international talent to NYC, each team is required to have at least one non-US citizen (including non-US citizens already studying at US universities or located in the US). However, for the first time, US citizens located anywhere, including within the US, are welcome to take part by partnering with non-US citizen participants. All teams will be considered in one pool of applicants. A more systematic breakdown of the eligibility rules can be found below:

• Teams must have 2-5 members. Teams must attest that all team members were actively involved in developing the business idea.
• In the spirit of attracting global talent, for teams with 4 or 5 members, at least two members must be non-US citizens. For teams with 2 or 3 members, at least one member must be a non-US citizen.
• All team members must be students or recent alumni (graduated no earlier than October 2010) of an institution of higher education (graduate or undergraduate), anywhere in the world. For the purposes of the Competition, an institution of higher education is considered to be an institution recognized by the home country's government, or one which has received a certificate of accreditation from an association recognized by NYCEDC.
• Teams may consist of members from different schools and/or countries
• An individual cannot be a part of more than one team
• No individual under the age of 18 is permitted to participate
• Business plans must have a strong NYC operational component. Entries will be assessed for their viability in NYC. To this end, preference for business ideas in: Financial Services, Green, Not-for-profit, Bioscience, Fashion, and Media and Technology, but business ideas in any sector are eligible.

Employees of The City of New York, NYCEDC, or CTICE and the competition judges, or any of its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, and their immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and children and step-children) and household members (people who share the same residence at least three (3) months out of the year) of each such employee are not eligible.

If you have any additional questions about eligibility for the competition, feel free to check the "Rules and Requirements" section below and/or email bizplan@nycedc.com.

Format and Judging

Rounds

The competition consists of three rounds for each track:

• Round I: Executive Summary
• Round II: Formal Business Plan
• Round III: In-Person Presentations 

Judges

The judging panels, comprised primarily of New York City-based venture capitalists and angel investors, will make their decisions based on which business ventures they believe to be most NYC-centric and which they would likely fund.

Rules & Requirements

Please review the drafts of the Rules & Requirements and Additional Terms for the Competition below, or in the Documents portion of the website's sidebar. In order to be eligible to take part in the Competition, all participants must conform to eligibility and submission requirements. The Rules & Requirements and Additional Terms may be subject to change.

Next Idea Rules & Requirements 2012-2013

Next Idea Additional Terms 2012-2013

Next Idea FAQ 2012-2013

Past Competitions

View the finalists and winning teams from the 2010 and 2011 NYC Next Idea Competitions.