Ron Brown Apprentice Program

Business Plan Competition

February 14 – March 15, 2013

What is the Program? 

The U.S. Embassy in Slovenia is seeking entries from university students for the Ron Brown Apprentice Program. Through the program, the Embassy invites Slovene university students to come up with innovative business plans: the next Facebook, iPhone, or hybrid car. The competition aims to promote entrepreneurism, the development of sound business practices, and the promotion of the free market system in Southeast Europe. The winners of the competition in Slovenia will go on to compete against other students from Croatia, Serbia, Montenegro, Macedonia, Hungary, Poland, Switzerland, and Italy. Modeled after Donald Trump’s show, The Apprentice, each student’s project will be blindly evaluated by successful businesspeople from the region.

Why Apply? 

• The top 3 submissions of the Ron Brown Apprentice Program contest in Slovenia will travel to Zadar, Croatia, to attend the Ron Brown Forum: Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital from April 8-9^th. In Zadar, the Slovene students will compete against their regional counterparts for three prizes.
• All lodging and travel expenses will be covered, as well as breakfast and a meal stipend.
• Attendance at the Brown Forum will provide an opportunity for the students to network with some of the most influential venture capitalists and entrepreneurs in Europe, along with visiting experts from the United States. Previous Ron Brown Apprentice competitors have won seed money for their projects, internships with major companies, and career mentors.
• An iPad will be awarded to the first place winner for the best business plan. An iPhone will be awarded as the second prize, and an iPod will be awarded as the third prize.

Where and How? 

• Submissions must be a one-page business abstract, in English; the second page should include the full budget for the proposed business venture.
• The name of the country should not be mentioned in the abstract. The business plan should be one that can be applied elsewhere.
• Submissions must be received no later than midnight, March 14, 2013. A panel of Embassy experts will select the winners for the Slovene competition, who will be notified by March 22.
• Students from ages 18-25 are eligible to submit a business plan. You must be either currently enrolled in an undergraduate program or have graduated from an undergraduate program within the last 2 years.
• Business plans must be sent to the U.S. Embassy at LjuRBAP@state.gov “The Ron Brown Apprentice Program” in the subject field of the email. Each participant must also submit a CV and basic biographical information – name, age, school/university, email, and phone number.
• Business plan submissions that do not comply with the U.S. Embassy guidelines or contain prohibited, inappropriate, irrelevant, or copied content will be disqualified, removed from the selection, and not considered for a prize.
• If you have questions about the contest, please address them to MonfortMC@state.gov, subject: "The Ron Brown Apprentice Program."