Timeline

Entrants have until July 25 to come up with an idea, formulate a business plan and complete the online form at www.ttgbigidea.com

The Investors will shortlist the entrants into those finalists they wish to see pitch their ideas in the TTG boardroom overlooking the River Thames.

Finalists will come to London at the end of August to pitch their ideas to the Investors and to negotiate the level of equity in their company they are prepared to sell in return for the £100,000.

All finalists will be invited to the Grosvenor House in London on September 10 for the TTG Travel Awards, where the winner of the TTG Big Idea will be announced.

TTG will feature the winner in the September 19 issue of TTG and will follow their fortunes thereafter.

  

What you will need to show to win a chance to pitch to the investors

  • Details of your career history (travel and non-travel)
  • Your Big Idea for the travel industry
  • Why you believe it will it work
  • Details of your target market
  • Details of your competition in this market
  • The research have you done to establish demand for your idea/product/service
  • Outline of your costs for setting up your business
  • Your projected annual operating costs (Y1, Y2, Y3)
  • Details of your management team and their credentials
  • Your projected turnover (Y1, Y2, Y3)
  • Your projected profit (Y1, Y2, Y3)
  • The level of equity you are prepared to release in return for our panel's £100,000 investment.
  • Why the TTG Big Idea investors should invest their money in you.

How the winner will be picked

The investors will decide on the equity stake they want in your company, via a discussion with you, based on:

  • How good your idea is
  • How risky your project is. This will be determined by:
  • Do you have a working prototype and existing sales?
  • Level of competition?
  • Expected size of market: it is always easier if a project needs only 2% market share to make money.
  • Quality of your management.
  • Experience of managing a team
  • The business plan you put forward.
  • Your passion for your project…what are you willing to risk?
  • How much of the investors' time will it require?  

The prize

  • The investors will invest £100,000 between them investment in your company or to set up a company to get your Big Idea off the ground.
  • They will give their time, advice and guidance.
  • TTG will provide extensive coverage and track your company’s launch and first year’s trading.
  • Coverage of the winning idea will be governed by how much the winner is prepared to make public.  Winners may request for initial coverage to be kept limited so that the Big Idea can't be copied.  As the business comes in to being, publicity and the level of detail will be increased. TTG will take  every measure to ensure the success of the Big Idea is not compromised.