Young entrepreneurs no older than 35 years, who are looking for an investment between €100,000 - €1,000,000 have chance to get professional support and connections with experienced entrepreneurs and investors, by participating in a new Dutch Pitch competition: "Meet the Dragons."
To be eligible to enter the Meet the Dragons competition you must meet also the following criteria:
- Your company exists no longer than 5 years
- You master the English language well (the program will be in English)
- You are seeking an investment between €100,000 - €1,000,000
- And last but not least, you have a proof of concept, or at least a solid business plan

To enter this competition, they ask you to send  your business plan (max. 15 pages, Arial,11 pts, spacing 1,5) before 22 October 2010 via info@gewnederland.nl.

An expert panel of investors will judge the plans on criteria like feasibility and profitability.The entrepreneurs with the best business plan will be invited to pitch their idea in front of the expert panel.


The four best business plans will be selected to ultimately pitch their business plan in front of a live audience and more importantly: in front of the jury of dragons on the 15th of November. This year, the jury will consist of the following entrepreneurs:
Rachel Elnaugh
Renowned Serial Entrepreneur
(former panel member of the official British Dragons’ Den)
Henk Keilman
Founder & CEO RIG Investments
(former panel member of the official Dutch Dragons’ Den)
Arjen de Koning
Founder & CEO Paradigit Group
(former panel member of the official Dutch Dragons’ Den)
Willem Sijthoff Renowned Media Entrepreneur
(former panel member of the official Dutch Dragons’ Den) What should the business plan look like?
The real value of creating a business plan is not in having the finished product in hand; rather, the value lies in the process of researching and thinking about your business in a systematic way. The act of planning helps you to think things through thoroughly, to study and research if you are not sure of the facts, and to look at your ideas critically. It takes time now, but avoids costly, perhaps disastrous, mistakes later.

To get you started they provide you with a business plan template. This business plan template is a generic model suitable for all types of businesses. However, you should modify it to suit your particular idea. For example you can either be in the start-up phase or already in business for a few years. Thus this template serves as a guideline to help you get started to think through all steps and phases critical in setting up or running your own company.

The finalists will also get professional training and other support in order to be fully prepared for this event.