Since 2010, Shopify’s competitions for entrepreneurial SMBs have helped create more than 100,000 new businesses that have sold millions of dollars in products. For 2017, the cloud-based commerce platform is partnering with New York Times best-selling author Tony Robbins for the Build a BIGGER Business competition, which is now open to applicants.
The competition is open to privately held businesses in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand that have been in operation for at least one year. The businesses must already sell on the Internet; migrate to or already operate on Shopify; and have 2016 sales between $1 million and $50 million (U.S.).
Eligible entrants will receive coaching from mentors and experts through the Build a BIGGER Business online academy, an exclusive resource for competitors. Entrants will be assessed from March to July 2017, and those that perform the best during the course of the competition will be declared winners in eight categories:
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• Highest Total Gross Sales Gain;
• Highest Percentage Growth;
• Best Scale Strategy;
• Best Marketing Strategy;
• Best Raving Fan Culture;
• The Disruptor;
• Tony Robbins’ Choice; and
• Shopify’s Pick.
The winners will travel to New York in fall 2017 to participate in an exclusive New York Stock Exchange experience and then embark on a learning retreat with Robbins and other Shopify coaches at the Namale Resort and Spa in Fiji. The two businesses that achieve the highest growth in sales and the highest percentage growth will also receive a marketing and brand strategy campaign, a feature story with a leading business publication and 24 months of Shopify Plus subscription fees for free.
“With the right coaching, the right tools and the right mindset, entrepreneurs can take their businesses to incredible heights,” said Robbins in a statement. “Helping the leaders of tomorrow stretch the boundaries of what they thought was possible is a longtime passion of mine, and I’m thrilled to continue this partnership.”
“Since the launch of the Build a Business program in 2010, we’ve seen thousands of companies start and grow successful businesses using Shopify under the tutelage of the world’s best business minds,” said Harley Finkelstein, COO at Shopify.
