Both Mark Cuban (co-founder of Broadcast.com and current owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team) and Richard Branson (founder of Virgin Records, Airline, Cola, etc.) tried and failed to compete with Donald Trump’s Apprentice though they are both more succesful entrepreneurs than Trump. (Yes, I can defend that statement.)

Now Branson has done what he should have done in the first place and launched his own promotion more tuned to his personality. Working with Yahoo, he’s offering years of free advertising on the Yahoo system to a lucky entreprenuer who can demonstrates he can "Think Big." What I really like about this promotion is that the entrepreneur must have a business plan and an effective web site to enter. No "actors" need apply.

From CNET News.com article by Dawn Kawamoto

Entrepreneurs who enter the Think Big contest will have their business plan evaluated in a three-round process. The entries will be judged on the novelty of the business and its ability to attract a national audience; the design and navigability of the Web site, as well as its ability to generate and convert traffic into customers; and an essay that offers a compelling business plan that also demonstrates the entrepreneur’s knowledge of business fundamentals.

Enter the contest here, but turn off your pop-up blocker before you click.