Business Plan ContestsSOROOSH MOHAMMAD EBRAHIM

G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition

About the G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition Hundreds of students have participated

in the competition Often working in inter-disciplinary teams

of two or more people, students develop and present a business plan to a panel of judges. 

Competition Support

The G. Steven Burrill competition is supported by campus partners and community organizations:

The Initiative for Studies in Transformational Entrepreneurship

The University of Wisconsin Technology Enterprise Cooperative

Wisconsin School of Business University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Agricultural

and Life Sciences University of Wisconsin-Madison Law School

1-Eligibilty

The purpose of this competition is to encourage collaboration across disciplines, therefore teams are strongly encouraged to have at least 2 people with complementary skills and experiences

Each team might include someone with science or engineering qualifications as well as business or social science expertise. 

2-Qualifying Ideas and Tem Composition Plans do not necessarily need to be based on a

technological innovation projects may be initially triggered either by (1)

the identification of a market need for a new or substantially improved product or service or; (2) the identification of a new technology or method of conducting business that has promise as the basis for a new or substantially improved product or service. 

Teams may submit no more than three (3) entries.

3-RequirementsParticipation in the competition will include:

Online registration that includes submission of a Mini-Plan (an outline of the proposed venture)

Submission of a formal business plan with included Cover Form (provided to teams on the submission website)

A formal presentation of the plan to a panel of judges An exhibition table on the day of the contest All team members must attend the presentation of their

business plan to the panel of judges on the day of competition.

4-Contest Prizes First Prize $10,000 Second Prize $7,000 Third Prize $4,000 Fourth Prize $1,000 AARP Foundation Prize  TBA WCEPS Prize $3,000 Incubation space at University Research

Park (subject to availability and determination of URP)

5-Judging/Presentation  Professionals selected from the

entrepreneurial community, including entrepreneurs, investors, and business/nonprofit leaders.

6-Judging Criteria What is the problem your technology or product will solve?

Who has the problem? Who would be an early user of your product? How big is the market?

What is the nature of the product or service you will provide? How will it work? What will it look like? What differentiates it from competitors?

Who are the most relevant competitors? Are there important technological or regulatory risks to address?

Do you have the relevant skills and experiences on the founding team?

What revenues will flow from expected sales or other partnering? What will it cost to produce those revenues and when will the company be profitable? How much outside funding - if any - will be required to achieve the organization's desired performance?

8-Ownership/Disclosure Contestants must properly acknowledge any

trademarks or copyrighted materials of others that are incorporated into the contestants’ materials.

Where applicable, contestants may choose to file patent applications on their own

The judging/presentation will be conducted in an open meeting with possible attendance by faculty, students and staff of UW-Madison as well as media representatives and the general public. By participating in this competition, contestants agree to allow their presentations to be recorded and/or broadcast online. 

Resources Resources Business Planning Outline - Commerce Business Planning Tips Market Research - Slides Market Research - Handout Choosing a Legal Entity Financial Projections and Feasibility Analysis and SCORE

financial model Using Intellectual Property Strategically Retailing Sample mini-plans (teams must submit a mini-plan when

registering for the competition)

Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Bootcamp 2015 will be June 15-19, 2015

The Wisconsin Entrepreneurial Bootcamp (WEB) is a one-week intensive training program in technology entrepreneurship for graduate students in the sciences, engineering, and math.

opportunities using multiple lenses; develop resources for an organization by forming teams and seeking funding; and use accounting and finance as language and assessment tools.

Rice University Business Plan Competition (“RBPC”)

Entry iStart Business Setup information, the

Application and Executive Summary must be completed

Schools may submit an unlimited number of entries, but typically only 1-2 teams per school will be invited to compete.

General Notices Withdrawal Penalty If a confirmed team DROPS OUT AFTER MARCH 18, 2015 at 5:00 pm CDT FOR ANY REASON, their school will be ineligible to compete in the RBPC and approximately 25 affiliated university business plan competitions for two years. Use of Conference Materials The Rice Alliance reserves the right to use any material prepared for the RBPC in publicizing and promoting the event

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Team Size The presenting (competing) team should include at least two current students and not exceed five current students. Team CompositionThis is a competition for graduate students, and at least one currently enrolled graduate student must be a member of the venture’s startup management team, and must be part of the team that presents in the competition Outside FundingAll ventures must be seeking outside equity capital, typically early stage venture investment or early stage angel investment. All ventures must be “for profit” entities

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Student Involvement The competition is for student-created

and -managed ventures, including new ventures launched by licensing university technology.

A goal of the competition is to support the commercialization of promising university technologies through the licensing of technologies to start-up ventures.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Students are expected to1. be the driving force behind the new venture2. have played the primary role in developing the business

plan3. have key management roles in the venture, and 4. own significant equity in the venture. In general, a member

of the student team should be CEO, COO, or President of the venture, or members of the student team should occupy 50% or more of the functional area management positions that report directly to the CEO, COO, or President. Members of the student team are expected to also own equity in the new venture. It is anticipated that students should own 50% of the equity that is allocated to the management team.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS University Sponsored The business plan must be prepared under

faculty supervision. Ideally, the business plan will be prepared for credit in a regularly scheduled course or as an independent study.

Each team MUST have the endorsement of a faculty advisor at their school and must provide contact information for their faculty advisor, regardless of whether or not the advisor will travel with the team to Rice University. All faculty advisors will be contacted for verification.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS Nature of Ventures The competition is for new, independent ventures in the seed, start-up, or early growth stages. Generally excluded are the following: buy-outs, expansions of existing companies, real estate syndications, tax shelters, franchises, licensing agreements for distribution in a different geographical area, and spin-outs from existing corporations. Licensing technologies from universities or research labs is encouraged, assuming they have not been commercialized previously. Prior Activity Technologies may be presented in the RBPC only once. Competing team members may participate in the RBPC more than once if entering with a new venture/new technology.

GENERAL GUIDELINES Non-confidentiality entrants should not assume any right of

confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged, or presented in these sessions

Due to the nature of the competition, we are not able to ask judges, reviewers, staff, or the audience to agree to or sign non-disclosure statements.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY GuidelinesExecutive summaries must be 2 to 5 pages of text and should include information on: Company summary Customer/market analysis: market size, potential market

share and the problem or need your company solves Product or service description including current state of

development Intellectual property: status of patents and licenses (if

applicable) Competitive differentiation Management team and/or advisors, including relevant

experience Financial: 3-5 year projection of revenue, profit and cash flow Amount of investment you are seeking and use of funds

WRITTEN BUSINESS PLAN Contents of the Written Business Plan your business plan should include (max 10 pages—Cover page or table of contents is not included in count): Cover Sheet (Company Name, School. Presenting Team Members,

Team Leader contact info) Executive Summary Product or service description (incl. current status of development

– beta, prototype, etc.) Customer/Market analysis (market size and potential market

share) Sales and Marketing Plan (how you will go-to-market) Intellectual property status (e.g., patents, licenses, etc.) Competitor Analysis (competitors and your competitive

differentiation) Management team and/or advisors, including relevant experience Financial highlights (cash flow, income statement, & balance sheet) Offering of the company (how much investment you are seeking,

uses of funding, possible exits)

ELEVATOR PITCH The Elevator Pitch is your business overview that you

should be able to deliver powerfully and concisely to any investor who happens to ride the same elevator as you.

All Teams will compete in the Elevator Pitch Competition Each team will be given a maximum of 60 seconds to

present its elevator pitch to the panel of judges, as well as general audience

Index cards or other notes should not be used in the Elevator Pitch Competition, as you would not expect to have the benefit of these notes in a real life situation. This presentation will be given by one team member.

ELEVATOR PITCH Judges Evaluation Criteria Clear explanation of their product/service and the

problem it solves (i.e., the customer need) How their company is unique and differentiated Sizable market opportunity and ability to penetrate

that market Current Development Stage Viable business model Clear measures of success and potential exit

opportunities Understanding of how much money is needed and how

it will be used

THE CONRAD SPIRIT OF INNOVATION CHALLENGE

THE CONRAD SPIRIT OF INNOVATION CHALLENGE WAS FOUNDED BY NANCY CONRAD IN HONOR OF HER

LATE HUSBAND, ASTRONAUT, INNOVATOR, AND ENTREPRENEUR, CHARLES “PETE” CONRAD JR.

THE CONRAD CHALLENGE IS AN ANNUAL, MULTI-PHASE INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURIAL COMPETITION THAT BRINGS TOGETHER A DYNAMIC COMMUNITY OF INNOVATORS AND ENTREPRENEURS DRIVING A COLLABORATIVE MOVEMENT TO DEVELOP EXTRAORDINARY AND VIABLE SOLUTIONS TO BENEFIT OUR WORLD IN ONE OF FOUR AREAS:

AEROSPACE & AVIATION, CYBER TECHNOLOGY & SECURITY, ENERGY & ENVIRONMENT, AND HEALTH & NUTRITION.

Aerospace & Aviation  describes the human effort in science,

engineering and business to fly in the Earth’s atmosphere and surrounding space. Aerospace organizations research, design, manufacture, operate, or maintain aircraft and/or spacecraft.

Examples include: avionics, aerodynamics, human factors/cockpit design, and propulsion systems.

Cyber-Technology & Security  is information technology and security as applied to

computing devices, as well as computer networks such as private and public networks. The field covers all the processes and mechanisms by which computer-based equipment, information and services are protected from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction. The field also includes protection from unplanned events and natural disasters.

Examples include: artificial intelligence applications, network defense systems, counter intelligence technologies for government, data-driven energy management technologies, smart security technologies, and database models to track, predict, and categorize natural disasters. 

Energy & Environment  includes all fields that study the human

use of natural resources and the impact of human activity on the environment.

Examples include: energy storage, energy efficiency, renewable resources, sustainable land use, recycling solutions, environmental health, water resources, biodiversity, climate change, waste management, and other clean technology innovations.

Health & Nutrition  encompasses fields of study regarding

the human body and behavior as they relate to wellness and medicine.

Examples include: prosthetics, nutrition science, exercise science, medical technology, hunger solutions, mental health, assistive technology, healthcare services, healthcare safety, and biomedical engineering.

PETE CONRAD SCHOLARSConrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge winning teams are recognized as Pete Conrad Scholars. This prestigious ranking acknowledges top entrepreneur achievers and encourages the continued development of their innovative product. These young entrepreneurs are eligible to receive exclusive opportunities as provided by our sponsors including consultations, internship introductions, contacts, intellectual property guidance and additional funding as provided by our partners.