Musemaka Idea Challenge: Center City investment shop Philadev launches free-to-enter global business plan competition
Most people in the entrepreneurial world will wax poetic about the importance of failure before creating a truly successful business, but few are willing to be up front when an idea doesn’t quite turn out as planned. Particularly, when they haven’t gotten to the success part just yet.
But Philadev managing director Chris Myers, 45, isn’t afraid to admit that he and partner Phil Ives, 36, are hitting the redo button on a business idea competition they launched last November called Musemaka Idea Challenge. The duo relaunched the contest in April after realizing things were shaping up quite the way they’d hoped.
Originally, the international contest challenged young entrepreneurs with an idea to apply for a chance to win a $5,000 cash prize and business counseling from the Center City accelerator and investor, with no equity stake. For applicants it was a race against the clock — the contest would be open for three months or until 200 entrepreneurs applied, whichever came first. Little was required in terms of business validation, but the application fee was $100.
Despite successful marketing in India, southeast Asia, and Europe — Myers said the site was sustaining upwards of 500,000 visits a day — they couldn’t convert the traffic into applicants.
“One hundred dollars means something very different to a college student in the U.S., than to a college student in Pakistan.” Myers said.
