“The IBYE Competition is designed to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland and to encourage the establishment of new innovative businesses by Ireland’s best young entrepreneurs”. The competition will be run by the Local Enterprise Offices and has a total fund of €2 million available to invest in winning businesses and entrepreneurs in every county. Winners at LEO level will be eligible for an investment of up to €20,000. Winners at national level can receive an additional investment of up to €50,000. Almost any young person with a business idea can enter: Individuals, Venture Teams, Partnerships, and Existing Businesses with a new idea and People Overseas who will HQ in Ireland. The Competition is broken down into three categories: 1. Best new idea (not yet established). 2. Best start up business (up to 18 months). 3. Best established business with a new add-on (over 18 months). There will be 3 category winners per county and 1 overall county winner -> 93 winners will be short listed to 24 winners at regional level -> These 24 winners will progress to the National Final.

1. €2 Million Competition to Find Ireland’s Best
Young Entrepreneurs & Start-Ups #IBYE
Are you 30 or under with an outstanding idea/commercial venture
for a start-up or existing business?
At 22, Richard Branson started Virgin. At 27, Mark Zuckerberg brought us all closer with
Facebook and at 28, Denis Bronson started the Kerry Group. More recently, Ireland has
produced more than its fair share of outstanding young entrepreneurs, Patrick and John Collison
(Stripe), James Whelton (CoderDojo) and Chris Kennedy (Trustev) are just some of the names
that spring to mind.
Now the search has begun to find the next batch of outstanding young Irish entrepreneurial
talent.
Irelands Best Young Entrepreneur Competition (#IBYE)
“The IBYE Competition is designed to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in Ireland and to
encourage the establishment of new innovative businesses by Ireland’s best young
entrepreneurs”. It’s part of the Action Plan for Jobs 2014 and was recently launched by
Taoiseach Enda Kenny and the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton.
€2 million fund
The competition will be run by the Local Enterprise Offices and has a total fund of €2
million available to invest in winning businesses and entrepreneurs in every
county. Winners at LEO level will be eligible for an investment of up to €20,000. Winners at
national level can receive an additional investment of up to €50,000. Almost any young person
with a business idea can enter: Individuals, Venture Teams, Partnerships, and Existing
Businesses with a new idea and People Overseas who will HQ in Ireland.

2. The Competition is broken down into three categories:
1. Best new idea (not yet established).
2. Best start up business (up to 18 months).
3. Best established business with a new add-on (over 18 months).
There will be 3 category winners per county and 1 overall county winner -> 93 winners will be
short listed to 24 winners at regional level -> These 24 winners will progress to the National
Final.
Application Process and important dates:
 Application Phase - Submit application (and optional video) to your Local Enterprise Office, or
online on or before 30th June 2014.
 Screening Process - Applicants screened on assessment criteria (See relevant section on
website). Participants selected for County Entrepreneur Bootcamp. July 2014.
 Entrepreneur Bootcamp - County Finalists will enter into a specialised Entrepreneur
Bootcamp to help develop the skills required to take an entrepreneurial idea from concept stage
to reality and to build a viable business plan to commercialise the opportunity. Mid August
2014.
 Final Pitch and County Finals - Participants from the Entrepreneur Bootcamp will submit their
final business plan and make a pitch to the County Assessment Panel. This Panel will consist
of a minimum of three judges to be selected by the Local Enterprises Office. Three Category
Winners and from these Winners one overall County Winner will be selected. All three Winners
will progress to the Regional Final.End of September 2014.
 Regional Finals - In total 93 County Winners will progress to the Regional Finals. Each
Regional Finalist will receive additional mentoring and business support prior to making a pitch
to the Regional Assessment Panel. In total 24 Category Winners will be selected to progress to
the National Final. End of October 2014.
 National Final - The 24 Finalists will compete for the three National Category Awards for Best
Idea, Best Start Up and Best Existing Business with add on. In addition Irelands Best Young
Entrepreneur for 2014 will be announced. First week of December 2014.
Contact(s):
Find your Local LEO
IBYE on Facebook
IBYE on Twitter
Hasgtag: #IBYE