Don’t obsess over what your competition is doing,draft your life’s business plan & stick to it.

— Vusi Thembekwayo (@VusiSpeaker) May 23, 2013

Eugene, OR (PRWEB) May 23, 2013

In October of last year, the California Business & Entrepreneurship Center Programs kicked-off a partnership with the world’s leader in business planning and management software, Palo Alto Software, to host the “BEC Boost,” California’s first-ever business plan competition. There were three competing age tracks: 14 to 17 years old, 18 to 27 years old, and 28 years and older, and the winners were announced yesterday during a live webinar.

Each age track included three winners; a grand prize winner, receiving $5000 cash and in-kind prizes from various sponsors (LegalZoom, Grasshopper, Vocus, MasterPlans, LogoWorks, and Shopify) totaling $20,000, and a second and third place winner also receiving in-kind prizes to help them “boost” their startup businesses.

The partnership enabled 1,200 community college and high school students in California to receive access to LivePlan, Palo Alto Software’s business pitching, planning and tracking software. Over 600 students wrote business plans using LivePlan and submitted them for a chance to win. A total of 76 instructors and advisors from California community colleges, high schools and the Youth Entrepreneurship Program mentored their students on how to write a winning business plan.

“It was very difficult to dwindle down the plans to our nine winners,” stated Mike Roessler, California Statewide Director of the Business & Entrepreneur Center (BEC) Program, “but we were pleased to have an expert panel of judges reviewing the final plans and sharing feedback about the plans’ strengths and opportunities for improvement. The other thing that made this competition such a success was the involvement and coaching many of these students received from their instructors and advisors,” concluded Roessler.

Winners of the 14 to 17 year old age track:

Secure Alcohol Systems: Seventeen-year-old Ismael Kotob from Anaheim Hills, CA won the grand prize of $5,000 cash. Secure Alcohol Systems will increase business profits and lower consumer costs by providing a security system via a magnet lock installed on refrigerator doors of convenience stores and markets selling alcohol that checks for age on identification to verify legal drinking age.

iGot it Repairs: Seventeen-year-old Izack Romero from the Santa Ynez Valley, CA was the second place winner. iGot it Repairs is an iPhone and iPod repair company. They strive to build the best customer satisfaction in the iPhone repair industry.

The Workshop: Seventeen-year-old Luis Mendoza and his business partner Jose Sotelo Saler from Lompoc, CA were the third place winners. The Workshop is an art supply store that will also provide art lessons to the Lompoc area. They are targeting 10 to 30 year olds, and they will cater to the untapped artist community in Lompoc.

Winners of the 18 to 27 year old age track:

Chariot Mobility: Twenty-three-year-old Andrew Ekelem and his business partner Michelle Sangalang from Walnut, CA won the grand prize of $5,000 cash. Chariot Mobility’s focus is to make the best in-class customized manual wheelchair that uses advanced propulsion system and materials. They are creating the first manual wheelchair to be maneuvered solely from a lever system, which enables users with a smaller profile and allows for greater efficiency.

Garden Fresh: Twenty-seven-year-old Matt Penrice and his business partner Chris Coulter from Sacramento, CA were the second place winners. Garden Fresh is a provider of organic and locally owned produce that serves the Sacramento region. They offer the freshest, in season, locally grown and organic produce, directly to the consumer’s doorstep.

Noelle Notals: Twenty-three-year-old Brandie Slaton from Merced, CA was the third place winner. Noelle Notals is an online entrepreneurship training company, on a mission to inspire, empower, and unleash the inner entrepreneur by providing various e-learning tools and programs.

Winners of the 28 years and older age track:

Freja’s Foods: Thirty-eight-year-old Freja Nelson from Oregon House, CA won the grand prize of $5,000 cash. Freja’s Foods makes VegiMeat, a delicious alternative to meat. VegiMeat is soy-free, vegetarian and vegan. Made with simple ingredients, each 8 oz. package of VegiMeat has 52 grams of soy-free, cholesterol-free protein.

GiddyUp and Go Sleigh and Carriage Company: Fifty-one-year-old Sheri Spanial from Vinton, CA was the second place winner. GiddyUp and Go is a full-service horse drawn vehicle business. They provide sleigh rides, dinner sleigh rides, elegant wedding transportation, as well as specialty themed transportation, for family fun, celebrations or special events.

Shine Wellness, Inc: Forty-five-year-old Evette Tsang and her business partner Tian Wu from Sacramento, CA was the third place winner. Shine Wellness, Inc promotes self-wellness by introducing high-quality, time-honored TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) inspired natural Chinese herbal tea and foot care products and methods.

“We have supported hundreds of business plan competitions over the years, but this is our first time being part of a statewide competition. It’s great to know we are helping young entrepreneurs in California bring their passions to life,” stated Sabrina Parsons, CEO of Palo Alto Software.

To learn more about the “BEC Boost” visit: bec.liveplan.com

To submit a request to receive help with your business plan competition visit: http://www.paloalto.com/competition

About Palo Alto Software:

Palo Alto Software, Inc., makers of the #1 selling business planning software in the world, develops and publishes tools, products, and content to help small and midsized businesses pitch, plan, manage, and grow their ventures.LivePlan, the company’s flagship product, is a SaaS (software as a service) solution for business planning and financial management. Palo Alto Software has been the market leader in its category for over 15 years, has served well over 2 million entrepreneurs, and has customers in 180 countries. It was founded in 1988 by business planning expert Tim Berry. Sabrina Parsons has been the company’s CEO since 2007. Parsons successfully expanded its service offering into the cloud with LivePlan. Palo Alto Software is a privately-owned corporation based in Eugene, Oregon. To learn more visit: http://www.paloalto.com

About The California Business & Entrepreneurship Center Programs:

The Business and Entrepreneurship Centers (BEC) Programs support the natural cycles of entrepreneurship and business development in California by bringing entrepreneurial training and education to existing business owners and future entrepreneurs. Through partnerships, collaborations and relationships with businesses, industry and the 112 California Community Colleges, the BEC heightens awareness of entrepreneurship as a proven career path. BEC is an initiative of Economic and Workforce Development through the California Community Colleges system. To learn more visit: http://www.buildcalifornia.org

@bosccomics I’ve found @liveplan to be as awesome as they say.

— Julie Kuehl (@JulieKuehl) May 14, 2013

• Gain quick and accurate insights into sales, expenses, and cash flow
• Easily develop your budget and forecast sales
• Sync with your QuickBooks for real-time financial tracking
• Access your important numbers anytime from anywhere

Eugene, Or (PRWEB) May 14, 2013

Palo Alto Software today announced at the Finovate conference in San Francisco a new relationship with MasterCard that will help drive small business success.

LivePlan, a business management tool from Palo Alto Software, will be available at an automatic discount to enrolled members of the MasterCard Easy Savings® Program. In addition, LivePlan will be integrated into the MasterCard Business Network, an online resource designed to streamline business operations and enhance productivity for small and mid-sized businesses.

“We are excited to work with MasterCard in our ongoing effort to provide small businesses with tools they can use to grow faster,” said Palo Alto Software CEO, Sabrina Parsons. “Research shows that companies are nearly 50 percent more likely to grow when they engage in active planning and management, and this is what LivePlan is all about.”

LivePlan is hosted in the cloud, giving small business owners access to their financial performance data from anywhere, so that they can see how they are doing at a glance, and make those critical business decisions easily and on the fly to ensure their growth.

LivePlan includes a pitch builder tool that helps business owners create a visual summary of their business model and market opportunity, a template for developing a lender-ready business plan, and a Scoreboard feature that allows a business owner to track their actual financial performance against their plan. If a company uses QuickBooks for Windows they can also connect their QuickBooks data to their LivePlan Scoreboard and see how their business is doing with a single click.

“At MasterCard, we aim to set-up small businesses for success by providing the resources, tools and products they need to thrive,” said Jay Singer, group head, U.S. commercial products, MasterCard. “We chose to collaborate with Palo Alto Software because we feel that LivePlan will help business owners effectively engage in ongoing planning and management of their businesses.”

About Palo Alto Software, Inc.
Palo Alto Software, Inc., makers of the #1 selling business planning software in the world, develops and publishes tools, products, and content to help small and midsized businesses pitch, plan, manage, and grow their ventures. LivePlan, the company’s flagship product, is a SaaS (software as a service) solution for business planning and financial management. Palo Alto Software has been the market leader in its category for over 15 years, has served well over 2 million entrepreneurs, and has customers in 180 countries. It was founded in 1988 by business planning expert Tim Berry. Sabrina Parsons has been the company’s CEO since 2007. Parsons successfully expanded its service offering into the cloud with LivePlan. Palo Alto Software is a privately-owned corporation based in Eugene, Oregon.

Founder @seanthorne5 and co-founder @adam_julian_ with the goods. @hallspot repping the @univ_of_oregon at the WAC ! twitter.com/hallspot/statu…

— Hallspot (@hallspot) May 9, 2013

When was the last time you asked yourself this question: “How’s my business doing?” If you need an answer right now, have no fear, the LivePlan Scoreboard is here! The Scoreboard helps you track your financials, adjust for future growth, and know how your business is doing, at-a-glance.

You may be asking yourself, “How can I get such a fantastic tool? Is this going to cost me hundreds of dollars a month?” Once again, you can lay your worries to rest, because when you sign up for LivePlan, you will automatically get access to the Scoreboard. Did I mention, you’ll also get the Pitch builder tool, and a tool to build a lender- and investor-ready business plan – all for only $19.95 a month.

There’s more! When you connect your Scoreboard to your QuickBooks account by May 13th, you will automatically be entered to win either an iPad mini or a $300 Amazon gift card (your choice).* That iPad mini could be pretty handy when you’re tracking your company’s progress from your private jet, which you bought because your business is booming (obviously).

Now, there’s got to be catch, right? Nope! It really is as simple as this:

1. Sign up or log back into LivePlan

2. Import your QuickBooks data to your LivePlan Scoreboard by May 13th

3. Get ready to dominate your market!

Want the fine print? You can read the rules and regulations right here.

Do your business a favor, and check out the LivePlan Scoreboard. Your dreams are waiting, it’s time to catch them.

@redbull + @bbcr1 + @liveplan + @netskymusic = business plan for @chattlas #entrepreneur #startup

— Phil Ritter (@DerRitterPhil) April 20, 2013

@liveplan @mommyceo 4 lip glosses for LivePlan.com on Tech-Chic Tuesday #itswhatagirlneeds

— CynthiaNevels.com (@cynthianevels) April 16, 2013