Cisco I-Prize

Cisco is looking for the next billion dollar idea. Cisco has taken an interesting approach to finding this idea. They are offering the I-Prize. This is not a one shot deal but an opportunity to start a company backed by up to US$10m over three years by Cisco in addition to sharing a US$250,000 signing bonus.

There are three steps to the process

1. From October 31 to January 15th you can register your idea with Cisco. You can then collaborate with other innovators about the idea. Finally registered users can vote on ideas.
2. The 100 winners from the first round will then have the month of February to build the business and technology plan for the idea using Cisco's Collaboration tools. The best 10 will then be selected to move on to the final round.
3. The final 10 teams will present their plans via telepresence from March 15th to April 30th. At which point a winning team will be picked.

There is nothing new about this process as venture capitalists having been working with various groups in similar fashion. What is new is the global nature of the process and the ability of lone inventors from around the world to gain access to capital regardless of where they live. In addition, the use of forums for sharing ideas and gaining supporters and collaborators is an interesting use of social network technology.

To paraphrase Thomas Friedman in his book The World is Flat - Today I rather be the smart kid from a 2nd or 3rd world country than an average kid in the US. This contest could turn out to be a testament to that statement.

Good Luck and may the best billion dollar idea win.