PROVIDENCE – (Jan. 2, 2019) – The Rhode Island Business Competition (RIBC), the longest, continuously available, free resource that fosters very early stage businesses in Rhode Island, today announced it will host a series of free workshops aimed at helping emerging and aspiring entrepreneurs learn about key facets of business development from experts.

Starting next week, the workshops will provide insights and tips on how best to identify potential businesses, make the case for a new business, and get funding.

The events, open to the public, will run through March, leading up to the April 1 deadline to apply to the 2019 Rhode Island Business Competition, which anticipates awarding prizes valued at $200,000. Participation in the workshops is not required to apply to the competition.

The workshops, all to be held 5:30 – 7 pm at Tech Collective in Providence, are as follows:

• Jan. 9 – Define Your Business
• Feb. 6 – Make Your Business Case
• March 6 – Find Those Funds

Complete information on the workshops are available here.

Sponsors of the 2019 Competition

Lead sponsors of the 2019 Competition, which will culminate in May, are Bryant University, Cox Business, Envision Technology Advisors, Everhope Foundation, Hinckley Allen, Integrated Media Group, KLR, and Sprout Coworking.

Also sponsoring the 2019 Competition are Bank of America, Barlow, Josephs & Holmes, Ltd., Brown University Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, Center for Women and Enterprise, Greater Providence Chamber of Commerce, Hatch Entrepreneurial Center, Luminous, RevUp Capital, Social Enterprise Greenhouse, TD Bank, and Tech Collective.

Additional sponsors include Bank Rhode Island, The Beacon Mutual Insurance Company, Bristol County Savings Bank, Business Development Company, Cherrystone Angel Group, Delta Dental of Rhode Island, Dimeo Construction Company, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses at CCRI, Hayes & Sherry Real Estate Services, The Idea Turbine, InsureMyTrip, Johnson & Wales University, Navigant Credit Union, Newport Biodiesel, Pawtucket Credit Union, Richard Carriere, StormTree, Teknor Apex, and The Washington Trust Company.

About the Rhode Island Business Competition

Established in 2000, the RIBC has been recognized as one of the top 40 business plan competitions in the country. To date, it has awarded more than $2.6 million in prizes to developing companies across many industries.

The Competition is free and open to everyone age 18 or over whether or not they already have started a business. Complete information, including rules, application procedures, guidelines, and business plan resources, is available at www.ri-business.com.