2011 MYPN Start-Up Challenge Winner Launches as 2012 Winner to be Named

A year after winning the Manchester Young Professionals Network's NH Start-Up Challenge, Allison Grappone expects to launch her new venture by June-Nearby Registry, an online gift registry for local retailers, service providers and nonprofits. The timing of the launch is apropos as MYPN will be hearing pitches from the semi-finalists for the 2012 NH Start-Up Challenge on May 17 at abi in Manchester and selecting the winner in June.

The NH Start-Up Challenge is open to early-stage entrepreneurs with a business idea or startup company. The prize package is valued at more than $55,000, including up to $25,000 in seed money. It also includes: a paid trip from Dyn to SXSW Interactive Festival, a five-day event in Austin, Texas; a seat in the abi Innovation Hub's Accelerator Program and one year of residence at the abi; 12 half-page, four-color ads in Business NH Magazine; legal services from McLane Law Firm; and accounting services from Howe, Riley & Howe. One business plan will be selected by a panel of judges to win the grand prize package at a final live pitch event June 20 at the NH Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College in Manchester.

Grappone leveraged her seed money to gain the interest of investors and find additional funding for her online business. I thought of this business idea two years ago, prior to the competition, when my husband and I were engaged and people kept asking us where we were registered, Grappone says. We created a registry on Google Docs and included [gift certificates to] our favorite local stores. People loved it.

Retailers, service providers and nonprofits can go to her website, www.nearbyregistry.com, and create their own online storefronts with pictures and pricing, and receive their own web address through the site. Registrants will be able to create a unique registry with pictures and stories, Grappone says. You can have a registry from 50 stores in Concord in one place. All payments are through PayPal. The website is launching with stores participating from Greater Concord, the Seacoast and the North Country, and will expand from there. Stores pay a one-time sign-on fee and a 10 percent fee on transactions. Customers can use the site for weddings, birthdays, and holiday wish lists, Grappone says. People can also ask for donations to be made in their name. Some people may not want material gifts, but want people to donate to an organization, she says. Nonprofits are charged a reduced transaction rate of 5 percent.