The ninth Thuringian business planning competition, known by the motto "just start", was opened at a ceremony 5.04.2006 at the University of Erfurt and came to an end 6.12.2006 at a closing ceremony at a windy height in the Scala restaurant in the Intershop Tower in Jena.

The Thuringian business planning competition - 2006 was organised by the Thuringian start-up network.

As part of the competition, seminars and workshops were organised in which the participants could enhance and widen their knowledge on all topics relevant to company start-ups.

26 start up-up teams took part in the competition.

Each entry was evaluated by three independent and well-known jurors from the world of business or science. In addition all those taking part were given valuable hints on implementing their business ideas.

Winners of the competition were the founders of µ-GPS Optics GmbH, Claus-Georg Müller and Dr. Siegfried Schmalzried from Meinigen, who won prize money of 10,000 euros. Not long in existence, the company produces non-contact operating, optical 3D measurement systems that are used for determining the position of CNC machine tool moving parts.

In second place and winner of 8,000 euros, was Tobias Tietze from Erfurt with the project HISTOHRIA. This new publishing house provides on CD or MP3 its customers with audio town tours with information including that on a town's history for individual tourists, which the tourists can hear on their own MP3 or CD players.

The third prize of 6,000 euros was won by Enrico Recknagel and Matthias Fuchs of Fambach for their project shift_kom. They developed software for schools or other educational establishments to capture marks and absences electronically. This provides the chance of recording any sub-standard performances.

The fourth prize of 4,000 euros went to Peter Piehler and André Kabeck of Jena. Using the name Symetrion they provide customers software solutions with which various database systems can be interconnected or processes can be optimised.

• René Böringer and Gunnar Scharfe from Ilmenau with Cuculus GmbH i.G. [in the start-up phase] (3,500 euros)
• Mario Melle and Jens Fischer with PictureBazaar, Jena (3,000 euros)
• orman Kummer and Olaf Gerlach with Earthpointer.com, Dietzhausen/Hildburghausen (2,500 euros)
• Benjamin Wernike with Freigrad GmbH i. G., Weimar (2,000 euros)
• Erik Dressler from Jena with the project Interactive Architecture and Town Planning - construct 4D (1,500 euros)
• Peter Quadt and Lorenz Isbeih with Wireless Internet in the future, Erfurt (1,000 euros).

Freigrad (Weimar), PictureBazaar (Jena) und Wireless Internet (Erfurt) were awarded special prizes by the Wirtschaftsjunioren [Young Businessmen] Erfurt-Weimar e.V. together with NT. AG Erfurt and also Kempfer & Kolakovic Personalmanagement GmbH.

For the first time ever an audience prize, of 1,000 euros, was awarded to the company with the best presentation of its business idea. This was won by Cuculus GmbH i.G., Ilmenau, a project of René Böringer and Gunnar Scharfe.

The prize money and also the valuable non-monetary prizes were provided by various Thuringian companies.