The Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce is excited to partner with Arlington ISD for the 17th annual “What’s Your Big Idea?” Entrepreneurship Contest (WYBIEC). This contest is curriculum-based and designed specifically for the different age groups submitting their big ideas. Over the past 17 years, the WYBIEC has challenged and encouraged the entrepreneurial ambitions of 3rd-12th graders around the City of Arlington!
This contest asks students to dream big and to produce creative solutions to everyday challenges and problems. 3rd-8th graders are encouraged to enter art projects and essays depicting their proposed products or businesses, while 9th-12th graders are given three city challenges and select one for their team to work on, completed proposals will be in the form of a 3-minute video pitch.
First-place winners receive a scholarship to attend the exclusive one-week “The BIG Idea Lab” Summer Camp where students will learn what it really means to be an entrepreneur. Winners will be selected by a group of diverse business leaders.
All elementary and junior high participants are evaluated by the Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber’s Partners in Education Advisory Council. Essays will be judged on grade-appropriate focus and coherence, organization, development of ideas, voice and conventions (grammar, spelling and punctuation) while art will be judged on basic principles of art and advertisement effectiveness.
Each high school team 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
After finalists are selected, we will have a huge celebration honoring their big ideas on Saturday, April 22, 2023.
For more information on the contest, click here
For more information on how to sponsor the event, contact our VP of Marketing,Britton Merritt
We are so excited to see what big ideas the students of Arlington will dream up this year!