Anonymous voting on early-stage ideas. Rate each one across four criteria. Add a comment if you wish.
How to vote
Rate each idea on four criteria using 1 to 5 stars (1 = weak, 5 = strong)
Tap the same number again to clear it if you change your mind
All criteria must be rated before you can submit
Optional comment at the end of each idea
Votes are anonymous and cannot be edited once submitted
What each question really asks
1. Can we actually start it?
Some ideas are blocked before they begin. Ask: Does it need government approval or policy change? Does it depend on companies changing their behaviour voluntarily? Does it need expensive infrastructure (factories, vehicles, cold storage chains)? Does it need licences or certifications a small student team cannot get? If yes to any of these, score low. Example of a blocker: "an electric bus network needs hundreds of millions and government contracts." Example of a launchable idea: "an SMS-based service connecting tutors with parents needs a phone and a website."
2. Is it narrow enough?
Strong proposals name exact people in exact places. Vague targets lose marks. Could we estimate how many people we serve? Where do they live? What are their qualifications, jobs, daily lives? "Women entrepreneurs in developing countries" is too broad. "Women market traders in three districts of Lagos earning under USD 200 per month" is sharp.
3. Can we research it in time?
We have 17 days. Could one of us actually survey or interview 5-10 real people from the target group in 3 days? Are there reliable statistics online (government, NGO, academic)? Can we name partner organisations? If we cannot research the topic properly, the proposal will be thin no matter how good the idea is in theory.
4. Will customers actually pay?
"Customers" means real people or organisations with money to spend. Who specifically pays? Do they have the ability to pay (income, budget)? Do they have the willingness to pay (do they actually want this enough)? Are we relying on companies doing the right thing voluntarily (usually risky)? Are we expecting poor people to find money they do not have?
5. Can it start with small money?
The brief says "limited capital." Could we pilot it with NZD 4,000 (the GEE seed prize) or similar? Or does it need millions in equipment, vehicles, premises, or staff before it earns anything? Past winners typically started with under NZD 20,000.
6. Does it clearly help an SDG?
The social or environmental benefit must happen automatically through the business activity, not as a side donation. Selling cheap clean cookstoves reduces health problems automatically — that counts. Selling t-shirts and donating 10 percent of profit does not count, because the t-shirt sale itself is not doing good. The brief excludes buy-one-give-one models for the same reason.
Rate at least one idea to submit
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