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By PAULA OLIVER
The weird, whacky and wild contributed to a melting pot of ideas put forward to the Great New Zealand Business Venture, proving there is no shortage of entrepreneurial spirit in the country.
Entries ranged from a bobsled ride to a tool for teaching mathematics, an advanced car alarm, an electronic shopping cart for children, and an automatic bait dispenser for introduced predators.
For some of the 1450 entrants who fell short of the $60,000 first prize, their quest for a great business is far from over.
Ohakune couple Angelina and Paul Ashcroft, for example, are confident they will soon get backing for their bobsled ride, which offers 1000m of adrenalin-pumping fun.
"We started completely from scratch, and our documents grew like steps each time," said Mrs Ashcroft.
"It was a steep learning curve and we did a few all-nighters to reach the competition deadline, but we are determined not to let it all go to waste."
Mr Ashcroft said a strong business plan would now be put to venture capitalists throughout the country, thanks to the input and direction of mentors provided through the competition.
"It's full steam ahead for us, and we've already had inquiries from the United States."
<i>Business Venture Competition:</i> From bobsled to car alarm
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