If you think you have a great retail business idea, now is the time to tell Microsoft about it! Through January 31, 2007 you can submit your idea and business plan in their IdeaWins contest for a chance to win $100,000 in start-up funds, a one-year retail space lease in New York City, and assorted other goodies.
Zoli Erdos discusses the contest in his blog, which also includes the "secret link" to the FAQ's. Yes, folks, as Zoli said, Microsoft is holding a contest where the biggest challenge is finding information about the contest itself! I'm not quite sure why they made everything so hard to find.
I'm wondering if MS didn't just slap the contest together in a hurry when they saw that not many people were taking advantage of their free download of Office Accounting Express 2007. (which, now that I think of it, hasn't been marketed very well either...hmmmm) In any case, the prize is right, and it's a good opportunity for someone with a winning idea. And the interactive entry form is pretty neat all by itself.
Even if you don't enter the contest, you can still participate by voting for one of the four finalists between March 5 and March 9, 2007. 
I only have one question .... Does this guy come as part of the prize package?
