Not for profit organization Grupo Guayacan sponsors an annual "business plan competition" in Puerto Rico called "EnterPrize PR".

Winners walk away with some seed money, but more importantly they develop and/or polish their business planning skills along the way, make solid new contacts in Puerto Rico via networking, get some exposure in local media, and may be able to lock down investors if they bring forward the right opportunity.

This years top 15 semi-finalists for EnterPRize 2008 have been announced:

1. Online News Project
2. Agro Creations, Inc.
3. Virtual Medical Dosimetry
4. EcoVidro, Inc.
5. CONCALMA
6. Colectivo Express
7. Flyer Wars
8. Emozzion.com, Inc.
9. Gene Labs
10. Action & Adventure
11. Edutainment
12. WasteBank
13. Fresh Grill Express
14. Oceanus Aquarium Life, Inc.
15. Salads-to-Go

It is also interesting to see that the preceding "Business Idea" contest they host does not always yield the same group in the semi-finalists. You see, ideas are a dime a dozen. What Enterprize PR is focusing on is actually getting those with enough determination and commitment to work through the entire business planning cycle, as a professional would.

They'll either give up, find out their plan has weaknesses that cannot be fixed, find it has weaknesses that can be strengthened by a strategic change, or find out they really nailed something.

1. Gregory Mojena : The In-Sink Trapper (device to reduce "biological oxygen demand load" for water treatment facilities?). Let's hope his target is the municipality itself to purchase his technology and make it a requirement in the households, because the selling/value proposition to consumers sounds weak. Did he make the top 15?
2. Guadalberto Camacho: Virtual Medical Dosimetry. He made the top 15. Anything that can help provide better health care in Puerto Rico (or elsewhere in the world) is a welcome new technology. Let's hope he replaces his poorly presented website listed above, and does extremely well in the competition. I would love to hear that this is extremely affordable for those already punished by incredible health care bills or dealing with no-no-no insurance companies during their battle with cancer.
3. Heliris Roman: Green Solution Inc. - Green walls/roofs in Puerto Rico. Perhaps this relates to the idea of Urban Albedo heat factors. Sounds interesting, and I would like to know what his competitive advantage is, as well as what value is offered to consumers. It appears he did not make the top 10.
4. James Cuellar: Admire Media - A "hybrid" service for pro photography w/ an Internet directory to restaurant owners. While James did not make the top 10, he could earn a living with this business if aggressively promoted. Problem in Puerto Rico is restaurant owners may be a tough sell & force a low price point. However, nobody seems to be doing anything incredible in the Internet space in Puerto Rico, so even with a weak business plan, a proactive entrepreneur could do OK in this space.
5. Joedh Rivera: Revolutionizing mobile restaurants? Is this Salads-to-go? Are we looking at high end chip wagons here?
6. Jorge Ferrer: Green Ceiling Technologies: Energy saving "ceiling" or "roof" tiles?
7. Claudia Aponte: The Barber Shop - a "beauty salon" for men masquerading as an upscale "barber shop" for the machismo conscious man? This could work in the San Juan area. Seems like it would be very expensive start up costs, and high monthly lease, making break even far into the future time line.
8. Raquel Buitrago: SPICE AIR Inc. - low cost airline. Who could or would want to raise and risk the capital for something like this? I'm glad not to see this one in the top 15 semi-finalists.
9. Ryan N. Oliver: Pay consumers to recycle, but provide home pickup. I like this idea, primarily because I wrote a similar business plan for it 15 years ago. Dealing with trash in Puerto Rico is very important. Let's hope Ryan has figured out a workable business model and "psychological tool" to change the way people think about trash in Puerto Rico.
10. Samantha Arzon : Microbiology Quality Laboratory (MQL): QA for pharmaceutical/environmental industries. Sounds not so original and boring if you are not in the field. That does not mean she could not pull out her Six Sigma black belt and make it happen.

Note to Competitors: For those of you involved with the Enterprize Competition, please feel free to post an update or comments here. If you have a website for your business you would like listed, would like to provide clarifying detail on what you plan entails, etc, please feel free to do so.

The Insider

To get in contact with the good people at Grupo Guayacan/Enterprize PR, please use the following methods:

Web

Enterprize PR

Groupo Guayacan

E-mail

• Eva Vazquez : evazquez@guayacan.org
• Magda Marqués : mmarques@guayacan.org

Postal Mail

Grupo Guayacan, Inc.

Corporate Office Park

36 Carr. 20, Suite 707

Guaynabo, PR 00966

Phone (787) 641-6028

Fax (787) 641-6030

UPDATE: Look who got caught being web savvy. Here are two ads they are geo-targeting on Facebook, to get access to more than 400,000 Internet users in Puerto Rico. Act fast if you want to advertise there. An incoming stream of Puerto Rican advertisers is starting, and the cost per click, and CPM pricing will go up very soon.