ENTREPRENEURS, fledgling companies and inventors are today being invited to enter the Shropshire Star’s Dragons’ Den-style competition in a bid to scoop £4,000.

The Shropshire Star has launched Star Idea, our hunt for the best business idea in the county.

A panel of three “Dragons” will be sifting through the entries in their quest to find the entrepreneur with the inkling of a new venture or the company which wants to push ahead with growth as we head out of recession.

The prize money will go to a business or an entrepreneur who can prove they have a strong business plan, a vision for their venture, has investigated the market but needs the support to get the project off the ground.

We are hoping that companies, networking communities, social enterprise groups and even Young Enterprise companies will enter the competition as well as individuals, and all we ask is that you live or work in our Shropshire and Mid Wales circulation area.

Sometimes the idea is just a spark of an invention but without the financial backing to turn the dream into a reality. Or perhaps the invention or the project is up and running, but needs the extra cash to take it that next step forward.

We’ve assembled a panel of prominent local business people who will meet our candidates to judge the potential of their idea.

Di Thompson, of the e-Innovation Centre in Telford, Peter Pawsey from the Rural Regeneration Zone, and Ian Morris of Turner Peachey Chartered Accountants will be making their own shortlist.

And those picked will be asked to present their idea to the panel at the Shropshire Star’s Ketley headquarters.

Star Idea aims to recognise an inventor, entrepreneur or local company which has developed a recipe for commercial success, but needs cash and expert support to make it happen.

It could be an idea scribbled on the back of a beer mat, or a sophisticated product ready to be unleashed on the market.

The Dragons need to see that the idea is accompanied by some kind of business plan, showing that you’ve done your homework and investigated your marketplace.

And this year, for the first time, the voting will be split three ways. The Dragons will pick their top three from the shortlist of entrants who make their presentation.

The Shropshire Star’s video-journalists will film the presentations, and the top three will be put online for at shropshirestar.com for viewers to pick their favourite.

And the final third of the vote will come from the audience at the prestigious Shropshire Business Awards, when 1,000 guests will be asked to pick their top three.

The votes will be tallied on the night and announced at the glittering black-tie ceremony on June 4.

And what a prize the winner will get – £4,000 to help get their Star Idea off the ground.

The competition is free to enter and there’s no need to worry about the security of your idea – no-one’s going to try to steal your rights, and all entries will be dealt with in the strictest of confidence.

You don’t have to have had any track record in business either, and there’s no age limit. And it doesn’t matter if you’ve entered before, or you want to enter again with a different idea.

What have you got to lose?

How to enter

TELL us in no more than 300 words about your Star Idea. Include any drawings, pictures or background information you feel may be appropriate, and tell us how you believe it has the potential to be a commercial success, and what you would do with the prize money. Evidence of some kind of business plan will be beneficial. Make sure you add your name, address, and phone or e-mail contact details.

Send Your Entries To: Star Idea, Business Desk, Shropshire Star, Ketley, Telford TF1 5HU.

The closing date for applications is Wednesday, March 31.

• Employees of the Midland News Association, sponsors, associate companies and their immediate families are not eligible to enter. The editor’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Winners must agree to work with the Shropshire Star on publicity initiatives over the following year, and finalists must be prepared to present their plan to the Shropshire Star’s video journalists for publication on the website. Details of the entrants may be passed to organisations associated with Star Idea.