The competition helps entrepreneurs secure start-up investment, but also mentoring, legal, branding and marketing advice for their business.

Their stake could be worth as much as $800 million after a relatively modest start-up investment of no more than a few million dollars.

With start-up investments you sow your seeds and the harvest could take two or three years, but in the end it will always come.

The firm also invests through minority investments, corporate partnerships and industry consolidations, and occasionally, start-up investments in new entrants into existing industries.