Five competitions this month will identify top ideas
Comet staff report

The inventor of an alarm clock that monitors sleep patterns, a would-be organic baby food maker, a designer of cargo trays for trucking, and the creator of a process that could detect early cancer cells through blood tests are among those who hope to impress judges with their new business ideas as part of Incubicity, an economic development competition. Eighty-eight innovators from north-central Indiana will present their ideas during five local "elevator pitch" competitions this month in Monticello, Wabash, Kokomo, Williamsport and Lafayette.

An elevator pitch is so called because it must be an idea brief enough to be described in a short elevator trip, meaning it must be dynamic, hit only the high points and hold the listener's interest.

Following this model, contestants in these competitions will have two minutes to make their pitch to a panel of successful entrepreneurs and economic development officials. In each local competition, the contestant with the most viable idea will win $1,000. He or she will also have a chance to develop the idea further and compete in a regional competition, where the top idea will win $25,000 and a chance at becoming a real business. Second and third-place winners in each local competition will take home $500 and $250 respectively, and will also have a shot at the regional event.

The competitions are part of Incubicity, a regional initiative to boost economic development in north central Indiana. Incubicity is a project of the Indiana Venture Center funded by a WIRED (Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development) grant.

The competitions are open to anyone 18 or older who lives or owns a business in Benton, Carroll, Cass, Clinton, Fountain, Fulton, Howard, Miami, Montgomery, Tippecanoe, Tipton, Wabash, Warren and White counties. The events are free and open to the public, and family and friends are encouraged to come out to support these local innovators and discover what ideas are growing in their community.

For more information on Incubicity, including videos and competition schedules and details, go to www.incubicity.com.