I still don’t know if Microsoft’s Software by Parachute initiative was real or just a prank, but here’s another one: IdeaWins: The Ultimate Challenge – a contest for Innovative Small Businesses.
Software and techie types don’t get your juices flowing just yet: apparently “innovation” is limited to retail businesses, and the award is not only $100K but a year’s rent of a Manhattan storefront, too.
It appears MS released the site in a rush and not all components are ready, as for now submissions are by emailing a downloadable form, but starting November 27th there will be an “innovative” interactive way to enter.
Four Finalists will be selected who can submit a video and the winner will be picked by a public online vote. (digg it? 
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This contest is basically a PR campaign to promote MS Office Accounting 2007 which is quite evident if you arrive to the IdeaWins Home Page: the FAQ is actually all about the Accounting package, and the contest terms are somewhat hard to find. If you follow my link from the pic above, you get right into the contest page, where there is a seconds set of FAQ, this time about the contest. Oh, and of course you’ll be prompted to download MS Accounting a few times along the way…
Tags: smb, sme, small business, small business software, small business accounting, ms office, ms office accounting 2007, ideawins, small business contest, microsoft, msft
IdeaWins: Apprentice the Microsoft Way
I’ve previously covered Microsoft’s Contest for Innovative Small Business Idea: basically a promotion for the new MS Office Accounting 2007 package, dressed up as a contest. Still, it’s an opportunity for entrepreneurs, especially those in retail. O…
Microsoft gave away small business accounting through this. … Brilliant.