Entrepreneurs on Tour--Wannabe Reality TV Show Hits the Road

Where are the Microsofts of tomorrow?

Poplular author, documentarian and former InfoWorld columnist Robert Cringely would like to know. So he's holding a contest to find the 24 most interesting startups outside Silicon Valley and then hitting the road to visit them. His hope is to film the whole process and make a reality TV show out of it.

Launched last week, Cringely's (NOT in Silicon Valley) Startup Tour contest attracted more than 100 nominees in just a few days. By summer, finalists will be chosen and Cringely plans to pack his family into a Winnebago and visit the winners, camera crew in tow. Cringely's project enjoys the backing of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, home of many entrepreneurial efforts including the Build a Stronger America movement.

Interested parties can register on the tour's Web site to nominate, discuss and vote on the best startup ideas. If you're not in information technology, it looks like the field is narrower--that category currently has the vast majority of entries.

Doesn't seem to have any rules about not nominating your own company for consideration...so if you think you've got a brilliant new startup going, give it a shot. No cash prizes in the offing, but massive exposure seems to be assured, even for losing entries.