Make It Happen

Welcome to Tech-Prize.  It’s time to “Make-It-Happen”.

You’ve come here because you are a person with desires, passion, aspirations, drive.  Success does not come to the meek. Success comes to the bold!  Now that you are here, let’s figure out how we make that happen.

What is Success?

Success is different for every person.  What matters for you is defining what success in your life is.  The Tech-Prize team believes that “Ideas” and implementing those “Ideas” is one of the biggest differentiators you can have.  Those “Ideas” can be “small” in your family, house, school, work, or church.  Those Ideas can also be “huge”, that change the world.  We’re in for all of that.

How do I create Success for Me?

 Look in the mirror and say – If I want something in my life, I have to find the way to get there.  No one will hand me the plan or do it for me.  I have to decide to “Make-It-Happen!

Commit to yourself that you will focus your life on the things that matter.  Family, Friends, Work, Learning, Faith, Culture and Respect.  The people that create success do not sit around.  They learn constantly in life.  They engage with others.  They ask questions.  They read.  They Seek.  They Make-It-Happen!

Create your “Life Plan”.  The simple approach – Take a piece of paper and draw a line across the middle from left to right.  On the left put the day you were born.  On the right put a check when you pass from this earth.  Everything in the middle is available to you to do what you want.  Stop, Evaluate, Decide.  Write those things down when you want them to happen.  Then take the steps to make those things happen.  For those that really want to do this, The “Life Plan” is actually a series of 5 basic steps.  Click on this to go specifically into “Your Life Plan” and explore that process further.

Find mentors that know the things you want to know.  People have already walked the path that you want to walk.  They’ve messed up the things you haven’t even thought of.  They’ve also gotten a lot of things right.  If you seek those people, they want to talk to you.

Make the changes in your life that align with your plan.   This can be the most challenging part.  You have to make the decision to take action – but you don’t have to do it alone. 

• • Your Support Group – We are all the sum of the 5 people we spend the most time around. Who are your 5 people you spend the most time with?  Are they building you up?  Are they supporting you in the direction you want to go?  If they aren’t, you need to think about that.  Surround yourself with those that help make you who you want to be
  • Accountability – Getting a result comes from choosing to make something happen and then fighting through the challenges that come up, to get to that result. What do you need to do today, this week, this month, this year to make your life what you want it to be?

Where does Tech-Prize come in?

Tech-Prize is designed in Racine Wisconsin.  This is a community that, in the past, has been known as “Invention City”.  We, as a community, are working to take the steps that return us to the prominence that allows us to reclaim that title again with pride.  We want you with us.  The reason is, if you are reading this, you are the kind of person that wants to create, wants to make a difference, wants to change the world.  We want those people working together.  We want you with us.

Tech-Prize has 4 primary objectives:

• • Create or find great Ideas
  • Enable a process that will launch those ideas
  • Enhance the skills required to make these things happen
  • Have a great time through the celebration of technologies and people

Tech-Prize has an entire process and competition to make those four things happen.

The 4 Tech-Prize Objectives above have specific actions you can take to make a difference in your life.  Create ideas, get mentoring, find knowledge, earn scholarships, become part of an incubator process designed to launch your idea, get funding, etc.  Above all, we want to have fun with people that think like us and want to create success.

Creating Ideas – Tech-Prize has an annual “Idea Competition” that is hosted in downtown Racine WI. You create your idea.  You register for the competition.  You post your idea in the downtown stores, restaurants, coffee shops, bars, post office, police station, schools, etc.  All of those places host your idea and allow the public to come and see your idea.  The public then votes on their favorite ideas during the competition.  The most votes wins.  Prizes are then handed out in the form of cash, scholarship and mentoring to make your idea reality.  The goal is to connect you with the people, knowledge, motivation, energy and process that will help make your idea reality.  For those that have progressed their idea and are seeking funding or mentoring to enable, there is a pre-qualified “Pitch” competition.  The top 10 Ideas submitted for the Pitch competition will be selected to present to a group of Venture Capital (VC) and Business Investment individuals.  Winners of that competition will go into a special incubator process and are targeted for receiving launch investment into their business.

Enable a process that will launch those ideas – The Tech-Prize process has 5 basic steps that are required to create an idea and make that happen in the world. Mentors are available to help innovators through that process.  Incubators are set up to assist with resources and guidance to help make your idea a reality.  In some cases, investors will find your idea through this process.  They may fund your start-up, or tie you in with others that can help.  The bottom line is, no one will love your idea like you will.  With that, you have to make it happen for you and yours.  Our goal is to surround you with the people, process and actions you need to make your idea a reality.

Enhance the skills required – formal education is designed to provide the building blocks across all the needs of life. This takes place in high school, technical schools and colleges and universities.  When you get out in the real world, you then learn how to link those things together.  You also have to learn what refer to as the “Special Sauce” items that they don’t teach in formal education.  These are the special things that businesses develop and teach their team members that make their company and their products special.

In support of the objective to enhance skills, Tech-Prize has developed a significant set of tools designed to help the entrepreneur achieve their goals.  It is in our self-interest to see that every competitor matures their ideas completely.  We accomplish that through a well-thought-out process and significant resources.  We call this The Tech-Prize Experience(TM) which provides the assistance idea creators need to see their ideas fulfilled.

• • Mentors – Each team competing in the Idea Competition and the Pitch Competition have a mentor assigned.  Mentors are seasoned veterans in business who bring a career full of experience that entrepreneurs can draw from to mature their ideas.
  • Tech-Prize – has developed an educational series referred to as Biz-Shops and Tech-Shops.  Biz-Shops are crisp, fast-hitting panel-based discussions that are designed to provide the “Special Sauce” education that everyone needs to create and launch innovations.  They connect with the topical need, education, resources and mentors
  • Tech-Shops – are created in the same way as Biz-Shops, but are focused on developing core technical that our people and all communities need to compete in the future.  If you are a person evaluating your career direction as a youth or adult or are a person seeking to understand these topics for your business, these sessions were designed for you
  • Tech-Prize, On-Line University – All the Biz-Shop and Tech-Shop content is recorded and available for future reference.  When you find yourself curious about a given step in creating or launching an idea, or you want to know about a specific technology, go to the website and review the information you need, specifically when you need it.

Have a great time through the celebration of technologies and people – The entire Tech-Prize process is designed the create communities of people that look to make these things happen, provide an annual competition where results can be seen and people celebrated. Participants and winners can use these experiences as references in job applications and pursuit of funding for their ideas.  We’re going to make technology and learning more cool than being in a sports team.  Let’s do it together!

Tech-Prize Events Can Help!

The Tech-Prize event will be hosted throughout downtown Racine. The event will bring entrepreneurs with ideas, investors that would like to launch those ideas, mentors, businesses, educators, civic leaders, and non-profits together in the pursuit of “Making your individual idea reality”.  This year there are three competitions:

Idea Competition – During the Tech-Prize event, we will host an Idea Competition to promote the entrepreneurial spirit and bring inspiring engineers to Racine. All you need to compete is an idea for an innovation, product, service, or solution that addresses a SMART City initiative. Participants have the opportunity to get creative, present their entrepreneurial ideas to the public and private judges. Competitors should expect to gain knowledge on how to turn ideas into opportunities, obtain feedback on ideas, develop networks, and get exposure to potential investors.  Learn more about and register for the Idea Competition: https://tech-prize.org/idea-competition/

Coding Competition – Coding teams will have two full days to complete their project and present it to the competition judges. The teams will select from a list of Racine SMART City initiatives which project to develop. This coding event will offer talented programmers the opportunity to measure their capabilities and to compare themselves to other programmers.  Learn more about and register for the Coding competition: https://tech-prize.org/coding-competition/

Pitch Competition – Pitch your Business Idea!  During the TechPrize 2020 event, we will host an Idea Competition to promote the entrepreneurial spirit and bring inspiring engineers to Racine. All you need to compete is an idea for an innovation, product, service, or solution that addresses a SMART City initiative. Participants have the opportunity to get creative, present their entrepreneurial ideas to the public and private judges. Competitors should expect to gain knowledge on how to turn ideas into opportunities, obtain feedback on ideas, develop networks, and get exposure to potential investors.  Learn more about and register for the Pitch Competition: https://wwwl.tech-prize.org/pitch-competition

What is my next step?

1. 1. Create your “Life Plan”.
   2. Create your first “Idea”.
   3. Register to participate in the different Tech-Prize events and competitions.
   4. Meet great people that can help make your ideas a reality.

If you want to talk, ask questions or bounce your ideas off of one of us, reach out to us at [email protected].

Congratulations for taking the step to come to this page.

Now take the step that creates the “Success” in your life you desire!