Eligible businesses

Companies that have been in business for a minimum of five years and whose founders are still managing the company and were among the regional or provincial winners in the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest in any category.

In the case of a company with more than one founder, it is required that 50 per cent of them still be active in managing the company. This requirement does not apply to social economy enterprises.

Note: The companies eligible for the Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton Award for Success in Business in this year's Contest are the winners of the first five annual Contests (first Contest 1998-1999; second Contest 1999-2000; third Contest 2000-2001; fourth Contest 2001-2002; fifth Contest 2002-2003).

Eligible individuals

Any person (or group of persons) at least 18 years of age, residing in Québec and having Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status, who participates in the ownership of the company and plays an active role in its management.

For social economy enterprises, the requirements of participating in the ownership of the company and playing an active role in its management do not apply.

Evaluation criteria

Applications will be evaluated according to the following criteria:

1. Description of the business and definition of the market
Ø      Nature of its activities (services, products)
Ø      Target clientele
Ø      Territorial coverage

2. Profitability of the company since its foundation (year by year).

      Growth (in percentage) and strategies in place:
Ø      Revenues
Ø      Number of employees[1]
   o        regular, seasonal or short-term
   o        full-time or part-time
Ø      Market (number of clients, market share, competitive advantages)
Ø      Capital

3. Accomplishments and challenges
Ø      Major accomplishments and success factors (quantifiable)
Ø      Challenges faced since the creation of the business and strategies employed to meet them
Ø      Reputation of the company in its region and its fieldof activity

4. Commercial strategy and marketing (merchandising, distribution, promotion, advertising, etc.)

5. Management of human resources

6. Social and environmental responsibility of the company

7. Entrepreneurial profile of the founder or the management team

[1] It is important to take into account the nature of the company's activities in evaluating the increase in the number of employees.

Entry procedures

Step 1

Complete the entry form directly on the Web site of the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest.

Step 2

Produce an application package that meets the following requirements:

· the document should be no longer than 20 pages and should have a table of contents

· the document should be accompanied by financial statements from the last three years

· the document should clearly address each of the evaluation criteria

· the document should be accompanied by a photograph of the founder or founders of the business

Note: The Contest organizers do not stipulate any particular model for an application package. This is left to the discretion of the applicants, provided the above-mentioned requirements are met.

Step 3

Mail four copies of the application package to the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest headquarters with a copy of your entry form. The application package must be received no later than Friday, May 9, 2008 at the following address:

Québec Entrepreneurship Contest

Prix Réussite en affaires

Attention: Annie Picard

1060, rue Louis-Alexandre-Taschereau

3e étage, Aile St-Amable

Québec (Québec) G1R 5E6

For further information, do not hesitate to contact us at 418‑644-4255, ext. 2427.

Provincial award
An award of $10 000 offered by Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton will be presented to a winner from one of the first five years of the Contest, marking its success in business and saluting the new generation of entrepreneurs.

Jury regulations

Projects will be selected at the provincial level only.

The jury will identify the three best projects from among the application packages that were received. These three finalists will be invited to the Provincial and International Grand Prize Gala to be held on June 19, 2008, at the Centre des congrès de Québec.