See details for the 2013 contest.



Brooklyn is filled with entrepreneurs, and a ton of great resources to launch homegrown businesses. But the most exciting opportunity of all is Brooklyn Public Library’s annual PowerUP! Business Plan Competition. For the past nine years the six-month competition, sponsored by Citi Foundation, has allowed hundreds of Brooklynites to vie for prizes from $500 to $15,000 to make their vision a reality.

During the competition, participants get to attend free business coaching workshops and seminars, conduct research at Brooklyn Public Library’s Business Library, and get tips from business counselors to write a winning business plan.

Past winners include many businesses you already know–Greenlight Bookstore, Bogota Latin Bistro, Argyle Yarn Shop–and others you’ll be seeing more of, like Rebecca Parker and Elizabeth Bishop’s Brooklyn Open Acupuncture, which took home last year’s $15,000 grand prize.

Even if you don’t walk away with the prize money, you’ll still get an incredible lesson in creating a business model based upon market research, and learn how to calculate the cash flow projections you need to secure a loan, be it from friends and family or a bank. So really, everyone wins.

Get details and register for an orientation by visiting Brooklyn Public Library’s website.

Find other Brooklyn businesses that got their start by winning PowerUP!