Welcome to Microsoft’s version of The Apprentice.
ideaWins:The Ultimate Challenge, a contest for small businesses.
The tagline:
Who has america’s best small business idea.
Microsoft sent a team across the country to listen to people pitch their idea. There were over 5,000 entries.
The winner:
The Mayhem Poets
The deal:
They get $100,000 in start up capital, a storefront in New York City for a year and of course a slew of Microsoft Products (the contest is sponsored by the Microsoft Office Accounting Express 2007 software group).
The Mayhem Poets will open a “spoken-word performance workshop and cafe that celebrates multiculturalism through education and workshops for children of all ages. At night, the cafe will turn into an open-mike space for spoken-word performances.”
Welcome to Def Poetry Jam 2.0.
Hats off to Microsoft for supporting an idea that includes poetry and performance. 5,000 small business ideas and business plans presented to one of the godzillas of big business and a slam poetry trio from New Jersey take the prize. Wow. This is the kind of thing that helps keep poetry alive. I just hope that in the small print of the contest rules they’re not signing away their success.
Among the Mayhem Poet’s inspirations are Basquiat, Stevie Wonder, Salvador Dali, Dr. Seuss , and the Michael Moore film “Bowling for Columbine.
These three guys from Jersey have crossed the bridge.
Oh and the ideas of the runners up are:
-a custom wallpaper store
-an organic beauty bar- “a smoothie bar for your face, skin or entire body”
-“Endless Closet”, a clothing rental store.
Thanks to Seattlest for the lead