Contest Overview
The Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Arlington ISD and is proud to announce the high school expansion of the “What’s Your Big Idea?” Entrepreneurship Contest.
Do you have a knack for solving complicated problems with simple solutions? Do you sit around and think about ways to improve your everyday life with new technologies? Then this is the contest for you! The “What’s Your Big Idea?” Entrepreneurship Contest dares you and a team of your classmates/friends from all AISD high school campuses to find an innovative and viable solution for one of the three provided challenges the City of Arlington is currently facing. Student teams of three (3) to five (5) members are asked to pitch their idea in a creative, 3-minute video presentation.
This contest is a fantastic resume builder, and it allows you to be imaginative and resourceful. You’ll learn a lot about the entrepreneurial process as well. The top three teams will win an amazing prize package that includes an iPad or laptop!
How to Enter
Step 1: Organize a Team
- Establish a team of three (3) to five (5) members. Teams smaller than three students or larger than five students will be disqualified.
*Team members do not have to attend the same school and grade level and ages may vary. All students MUST be enrolled in one of the eight (8) AISD high schools.
Step 2: Choose a Challenge
- Parks and Recreation Challenge: How can we prevent dog clean-up issues in Downtown Arlington?
- Public Safety Challenge: How can we prevent distracted teen driving?
- Environmental Challenge: How can we prevent contamination in recycling containers?
CHALLENGE DETAILS BELOW!
Step 3: Get Started
- Brainstorm a new solution for one of the revealed issues. Ensure each team member holds a specific responsibility in the collaborative process.
- Provide detailed solutions to the problem, including all the steps in the process.
Step 4: Generate a Video Pitch
- Communicate your team’s solution in a 3-minute video presentation to be attached to your final entry form. Videos less than two or over three minutes will not be evaluated.
Challenge Details
- Parks and Recreation Challenge: How can we prevent dog clean-up issues in Downtown Arlington? After the development of 101 Center and other high-density housing in the downtown/university area, it became apparent that there is not enough greenspace for dog owners. Downtown rights of way, planting beds and tree boxes are the only places for dogs to go potty. Additionally, those who do use these areas are not always diligent to clean up after their pets. How can this problem be reduced or solved? Things to consider would be available land, resources, education of residents and impact on the environment.
- Public Safety Challenge: How can we prevent distracted teen driving? Distracted Driving is a real-world issue that is affecting 15- to 19-year-olds. What solutions, inventions or ideas can your team come up with to address this issue? “Six percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted at the time of the crashes. Eight percent of drivers 15 to 19 years old involved in fatal crashes were reported as distracted. This age group has the largest proportion of drivers who were distracted at the time of the fatal crashes.” - Distracted Driving in Fatal Crashes, 2017 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
- Environmental Challenge: How can we prevent contamination in recycling containers? Most of us grew up hearing the phrase, “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle”. Did you know that those three words are in sequential order for a reason? The greatest impact we can make to reduce our carbon footprint is to reduce the amount of waste we generate. The second is to reuse products we already have and the third is to recycle that which can be recycled. Keeping this in mind, your team’s task is to look at current recycling programs across the region and the US and identify solutions for some of the top challenges facing curbside recycling and landfill waste generation today.
- What factors contribute to curbside contamination?
- Why do people “wishcycle” and toss things in the recycling cart that they are unsure of is recyclable?
- What are some of the top contaminants of residential recycling nationwide?
- How does contamination of clean recyclables present a challenge to the recycling industry?
- How do we increase marketability of recyclable products and materials?
- What are the benefits and challenges for single-stream recycling versus source separation?
- How do we encourage residents to reduce their carbon footprint?
- How could industries help with reducing landfill waste and encourage reuse and recycling?
- Texas has a mixture of many different cultures and languages. How do we present a unified recycling message that is easily understood by everyone?
- What is the team’s recommendation for addressing some of the aforementioned challenges?
Entry Evaluation
Entries will be evaluated solely on the information presented in the video. However, documentation of your team’s idea development and brainstorming is required. Evaluators will consist of entrepreneurs and community/business leaders from diverse disciplines. Please view the Team Checklist to ensure each component of the challenge is met. Each entry will be evaluated on the following:
- Organization of team within the outlined guidelines
- Innovation in solving the problem
- Collaboration among team members
- Team member participation
- Communication of the value proposition
- Communication of idea and its uses
- The viability of the idea presented
- Steps to effective implementation
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Video Tips
Contest Timeline
January 15: City challenges released
March 6: Entry form & video due by midnight
Week of March 23: Top Winners announced
Recognition & Awards
The three teams who have demonstrated the most innovative and viable solution to the challenge question will be selected as our TOP WINNERS!
Win a fantastic prize package including high-end tech (iPad or Laptop) and gift certificates to local entertainment & restaurants. Also, your idea may be implemented as a city-wide program. What an AWESOME thing to have on your resume!
The TOP WINNERS and two guests will be invited to a private recognition ceremony on Saturday, April 25.
Brainstorming Tools
Entrepreneurship Vocabulary
- Unique Selling Proposition (USP): the unique benefit exhibited by a company, service, product or brand that enables it to stand out from competitors.
- Customer Discovery: to understand customers and their needs that you may be able to satisfy.
- Value Proposition: an innovation, service, or feature intended to make a company or product attractive to customers.
- Minimal Viable Product (MVP): a product with just enough features to satisfy early customers, and to provide feedback for future product development
- Social Enterprise: a commercial organization that has specific social objectives that serve its primary purpose.
- Elevator Pitch: a brief speech that outlines an idea for a product, service or project.
- Pitch Deck: a brief presentation, often created using PowerPoint, Keynote or Prezi, used to provide your audience with a quick overview of your business plan.