HOUSTON (November 5, 2019) – Sponsored by Capital One Bank in partnership with the Houston Public Library (HPL) and the Office of Business Opportunity’s (OBO), the Liftoff Houston! Start-up Business Plan Competition 2019 will be held Saturday, Nov. 9. Nine Houston potential start-up businesses will compete, with the top three winners each winning $10,000 to go toward starting their own businesses.
Judges will select the best presentation in three categories of Product, Service, and Innovation. Capital One Bank is sponsoring the cash prizes totaling $30,000 to the top three winning business plan category presentations and three fan favorites, who are voted by Facebook viewers online.
The Liftoff Houston! Pitch Day Competition will take place at the Houston Public Library’s Julia Ideson Building, 550 McKinney, St., 77002 on Saturday, November 9, 2019 starting at 10 AM till 12:30 PM followed by a networking reception.
This event is free and open to the public. Paid parking is available in the garage under the Central Library. Garage entrance is on Lamar street. For more details, visit: www.houstonlibrary.org or call 832-393-1313.
About the Competition
Liftoff Houston! is a competition that engages and empowers Houstonians seeking to start a new business in Houston by providing them with access to essential information, resources and the support necessary to develop a sound business plan toward realizing their goal. The competition is designed to encourage Houstonians to achieve the goal of business ownership while contributing to the local growth and sustainability of the Houston economy. Anyone interested in learning to create a business plan and go through the process can do so at no charge and achieve their dream.
“Small business development is one of the areas of focus on Capital One’s five-year, $150 million Future Edge initiative to help more Americans succeed in a digital economy,” said Jim Nicholas, Houston Market President for Capital One Bank. “The Liftoff Houston competition can help local businesses grow and create jobs, which is so important to the community. We’re pleased to partner with the Houston Public Library and the Office of Business Opportunity to offer this competition.”
“The Office of Business Opportunity wishes the Liftoff Houston finalists the best of luck and looks forward to welcoming the 2019 winners to Liftoff’s distinguished alumni group. Just this year, two previous winners opened their brick-and-mortar stores, and a third launched a clothing line,” said Marsha Murray, OBO’s Interim Director. “And to those contestants who attended workshops but did not reach the finals, put your newfound knowledge to fulfill your dreams of entrepreneurship. As previous contestants have shown, the value of a Liftoff Houston workshop can go far to building a successful business.”
“The Houston Public Library (HPL) is proud to continue to play an essential role alongside the Office of Business Opportunity and Capital One Bank in the implementation of Liftoff Houston! Start-up Business Plan Competition! The City’s only competition of this magnitude gives start-up business owners the knowledge to achieve their business goals and the opportunity to win $10,000.00 through the generosity of Capital One Bank. The Houston Public Library remains committed to helping current and future start-ups thrive through the provision of free technology and business resources and services available in the library and online,” said Houston Public Library Director Dr. Rhea Brown Lawson.
To successfully research, develop and present the business plan, participants are required to have an HPL Card, attend workshops offered by industry experts, ranging in topics from business plan basics to presenting plans to financial institutions, and attend information sessions to learn about the free vast resources available to support new business start-ups through HPL and OBO. Additional support is also provided through professional business mentors to help participants further refine their business plan.
To be eligible, applicants must have a for profit business that is less than a year old, has earned less than $10,000 in revenue, and is operated by owners that live within the Houston city limits. The top three finalists will receive much needed capital to invest in their business.
The competition is five months long and is divided into four stages that include: orientation, workshops, mentoring, and business pitching. The workshops are offered at various Houston Public Library locations and local entities citywide.
About Capital One
Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com) is a financial holding company whose subsidiaries, which include Capital One, N.A., and Capital One Bank (USA), N. A., had $210.4 billion in deposits and $306.2 billion in total assets as of March 31, 2015. Headquartered in McLean, Virginia, Capital One offers a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients through a variety of channels. Capital One, N.A. has branches located primarily in New York, New Jersey, Texas, Louisiana, Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia. A Fortune 500 company, Capital One trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “COF” and is included in the S&P 100 index.
About the Office of Business Opportunity
The City of Houston’s Office of Business Opportunity (OBO) is committed to creating a competitive and diverse business environment in the City of Houston by promoting the growth and success of local small businesses through a wide range of services from start-up business assistance to certification for established businesses seeking contract opportunities with the City. Through OBO’s Houston Business Solutions Center, they provide resources that help with the launch, sustainability, and growth of businesses. For more information about the Office of Business Opportunity and their suite of services, please visit www.houstontx.gov/obo or call 832-393-0954.
About the Houston Public Library
The Houston Public Library (HPL) operates 35 neighborhood libraries, four HPL Express Libraries, a Central Library, the Houston Metropolitan Research Center, the Clayton Library Center for Genealogical Research, The African American Library at the Gregory School, and the Parent Resource Library located in the Children’s Museum of Houston. With more than eight million visits per year in person and online, HPL is committed to excellent customer service and equitable access to information and programs by providing library customers with free use of a diverse collection of printed materials and electronic resources, Internet, laptop and computer use, and a variety of database and reference resources with live assistance online 24/7.
For further information visit the Houston Public Library at www.houstonlibrary.org or on Twitter @houstonlibrary or call 832-393-1313.
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