In late January, we launched the Small Business United effort at Intuit. Many months in the making with a village of Intuit folks and partners required to bring it to life, the effort is all about helping small business owners succeed. Music to my ears!
One of the key elements of the effort has been a small business grant competition. In the first part of the grant competition, close to 2000 small businesses submitted written stories about their businesses along with some excellent tips for others. Out of 2000 entries, 50 finalists were selected...no small task for the community of raters and our expert judges.
Now, the second part of the competition is coming to a close. The 50 finalists submitted videos about two weeks ago and have been getting the word out about their video and their business. Thousands of people have been rating the videos and sharing insightful or encouraging comments with the entrepreneurs. Ratings close tonight, so if you have a favorite business or video, be sure to get your ratings in!
On Thursday, after the judges have reviewed all of the videos and after the calculations have been completed, we'll announce the winners. All 50 business owners received $5k in grants along with a Flip video camera. The grand prize winner gets $25K and four runners-up receive $10K. All in all, we'll have given out over $300K in small business grants!
