Today Grow Utah Ventures, and Zions Bank announced the next ‘Concept to Company’ Innovation Contest for Northern Utah. This contest focuses on general technology, specifically new products, services or innovations that utilize technology as its core process.

The application deadline is July 5th, 2011.  Entrepreneurs and small business owners interested in participating can apply online at www.ConceptToCompany.org.  The contest is open to any Utah-based entrepreneur or small business with a new product or service innovation involving technology.

A group of finalists will be selected and have the opportunity to present their concepts to a panel of expert judges on July 20, 2011 at the Northfront Business Resource Center in Kaysville.  One grand prize winner and two runners up will be named.  The grand prize winner will received a cash and service prize up to $18,000.  Each runner up will receive a cash and service prize up to $8,000. Service prizes are being offered from Kunzler IP Law, Forthgear Marketing, Ballard Spahr Law, and Advanced CFO Solutions. The cash prize is being offered by the Northfront Business Resource Center and SEED Weber-Davis-Morgan.

“Since we began the ‘Concept to Company’ contests two years ago, we’ve been amazed by the quality of ideas and the response from Utah entrepreneurs,” said T. Craig Bott, President and CEO of Grow Utah Ventures. “As we’ve conducted these contests and worked with the winners it’s reaffirmed our belief that the support they get from us and our sponsors is critical to their ongoing success and that it really is entrepreneurs that will stabilize the economy and help strengthen and move it forward.  We’re confident that this contest will produce concepts that, with our support and mentoring, will yield the same results that we’ve become accustomed to seeing from these contests.”

The “Concept to Company” contests are designed to encourage and support entrepreneurs with the intent of helping them turn their concepts into a company. This is the second contest conducted in 2011.  The first one, in Southern Utah, recently wrapped up and awarded three entrepreneurs cash and services to help get their idea off the ground.  To date, the “Concept to Company” contests have distributed more than $400,000 in prize money/services and helped nearly 30 companies bring their business idea to fruition.