Innovate ND 2011

Competition HANDBOOK

THANK YOU for enrolling in Innovate ND and for participating in this exciting program. We now enter the fifth year of an initiative that was launched to spur new business ideas and provide education and resource networks to entrepreneurs like you to help grow emerging ventures in our state.

By enrolling in this program, you are taking an important step forward in developing a new business in North Dakota. I encourage you to make the most of the resources available through Innovate ND to help refine your idea and develop a viable business venture for you and our state. We also look forward to your input as we continue to enhance Innovate ND for future participants. Your role as an entrepreneur and a participant in Innovate ND is instrumental in growing our economy from within and continuing to build a strong future for our state.

Best wishes for continued success!

Sincerely,

John Hoeven Governor

-2- Governor’s Welcome

WELCOME TO INNOVATE ND 2011 and thank you for choosing Innovate ND. By entering the competition, you are starting on the path to launching a successful business venture. Not to mention the network of partners, investors, sponsors, fellow participants and successful past winners that you are now opening yourself up to. 2011 brings many exciting changes to the program, including a new cash award of $15,000 for each of the five Innovate ND Idea Champion. We wish you the best in the competition this year.

Let this competition handbook be your guide through the entire Innovate ND process. It will answer most of the questions that you will have about Innovate ND and the competition its self, but feel free at anytime to contact any one of the Innovate ND working team members.

We ask that you set high expectations for yourself and take full advantage of the educational content, professional resources and any training opportunities that are provided, as well as following the deadlines that Innovate ND has set to keep you moving on the fast track. In return, Innovate ND will provide exceptional technical assistance and prompt responses to questions to ensure your success.

Remember, just because you may not make the Innovate ND finals or go on to win one of the five $15,000 prizes, that doesn’t mean the competition ends for you. Non-finalists will continue to receive weekly communications from Innovate ND so that you can follow along and keep refining your business venture. Some of the most successful businesses that emerged from Innovate ND were never a finalists or winner.

Again, welcome to Innovate ND 2011 and good luck on your journey.

Sincerely,

Brandi Schoenberg and the Innovate ND teamInnovate ND Program Manager, North Dakota Department of Commerce

Particpant Welcome -3-

Lead Sponsor Forum Communications Company

Premier Sponsor Cavendish Farms

Venture Sponsor Great River Energy

*More sponsors to come

Innovation Sponsor State Bank & Trust of FargoBremer BankMDU Utilities Co

Entrepreneur SponsorFirst Western Bank and Trust, MinotND Society of CPAs NDaRECContributing Sponsor Jamestown/Stutsman Dev. Corp.Solarbee, Inc.

Friends of Innovate NDWeather Modification, Inc. Agency MABU

-4- Sponsors and Partners

Innovate ND would not be possible without the support of our generous sponsors.

Table of Contents -5-

Governor’s Welcome ......................................................................2

participant Welcome ......................................................................3

sponsors and partners ................................................................4

about innovate nd 2011 ...............................................................6

Awards & Prize package ................................................................8

Competition Lingo .........................................................................9

Competition Timeline ...................................................................10

Professional Resources .............................................................11

Judging Rounds .........................................................................12

Judging Criteria & Process .........................................................13

Navigating InnovateND.com .........................................................14

Using the Educational Content ...................................................15

Innovate ND is not an invention competition. It’s a venture competition and so much more! It’s also a gathering place of useful online educational information, business planning tools, and coaches. Innovate ND brings together entrepreneurs, investors, and educators who can help you:

● discover the opportunity that will bring value to your new innovative idea; ● identify the tools and resources you will need to create a successful new venture; and ● develop the insight to pursue your idea competitively in the marketplace in order to benefit the economic growth of North Dakota.

So whether you have never started a company or already are a company, the future of North Dakota depends on your passion to create ideas that can become profitable ventures that produce value in the marketplace for both consumers and your investors.

With your $250 enrollment fee, Innovate ND provides:

All Participants:

● Hands-on statewide support network. ● Tools to develop and refine your business plan and investor pitch. ● Online educational tools. ● Complete local contact and resource list for assistance with business plans, marketing, strategic planning, etc. ● Access to member only Idea Studio - full of online education tools, particpant news, a list of your local Innovate ND partners, resources and more! ● Weekly Idea Alerts with entrepreneurial advice and tips. ● Opportunity to attend Rookie and Idea Plan Boot Camps. ● Access to over 50 podcasts in the educational podcast library. ● Access to capital, talent pools, entrepreneurial communities and networking with other entrepreneurs and established business people. ● Attention in the media.

-6- About Innovate ND 2011

Round 3 Finalists: ● Opportunity to attend Business Plan Boot Camp.

Top Finalists: ● Opportunity to pitch your idea to qualified potential investors and leaders in the business community.

Idea Champions: ● Chance to win $15,000 to use to build your business venuture in North Dakota. ● 2011 Innovate ND Idea Champion prize package.

What Innovate ND Expects of Participants ● Attendance at Innovate ND events, workshops, and webinars whenever possible. Dates are posted on the Innovate ND calendar. ● What you put into Innovate ND is what you’ll get out of it. Innovate ND is an eight month process. ● Commitment to meeting deadlines for submitting materials for each round. The average amount of time you can expect to spend on each round:

- Idea Executive Summary: 8-15 hours. This might include research and organizational aspects of your idea. - Idea Plan: 80-100 hours (depending on how advanced your business venture is). This might include building your team, holding focus groups, and working with an Innovate ND resource. - Final Business Plan and Financials: ?-?? hours - Oral presentation and PowerPoint: ? -?? hours Submission deadlines are posted on the Innovate ND calendar.

● Willingness to take owernship of your business venture or idea and be proactive in finding additional resources across the state and mentors that may be of assistance as you compete in Innovate ND.

● Effectively communciate with the Innovate ND working team if questions arise. ● Keep any additional team members up-to-date and informed on Innovate ND events, workshops, postings in the Idea Studio, and any participant communication pieces.

About Innovate ND 2011 Cont. -7-

Innovate ND 2011 Idea ChampionsEach one of five Idea Champions will be awarded:● Crystal 2010 Innovate ND Idea Champion Trophy● $15, 000 cash prize● $5,000 estimated value in-kind package● Potential opportunities to represent Innovate ND in the media● Photo shoot for 2012 marketing materials● More to come

Top FinalistsEach one of the 20 top finalists, plus partnercompetition winners, will be:● Eligible to win the In the Zone award● Eligible to win the People's Choice Award● Attention in the media● Free tickets to the 2011 Innovate ND Awards Ceremony for finalists and team members● More to come

People's Choice Award● Crystal 2010 Innovate ND People's Choice Award Champion Trophy● $500 Cash prize In the ZoneThe Kilbourne Group sponsors this Innovate ND award aimed at encouraging people with retail-based business ideas and is valued at $32,000. The Kilbourne Group will select the In the Zone winner. The winner will receive:● 2,000 sq. ft. of prime downtown Fargo retail space● No cost for one year for the retail space

-8- Awards & Prize Package

“ W e w a n t y o u s p e a k i n g o u r

l a n g u a g e ”

Angel Investor: Provides backing to very early-stage businesses or business concepts.

Boot Camp: An event for in-dept training to prepare participants for each round of competition.

Business Plan: A written document describing the nature of the business, the sales and marketing strategy, and the financial background.

Entrepreneur: Assumes the financial risk of the initiation, operation and management of a business.

Idea Alert: Weekly e-newsletter from the Innovate ND team to keep you on track.

Idea Champion: One of five $15,000 winners each year.

Idea Executive Summary (IES): Round 1 submission to tell the judges about your idea and understand it from a new venture point of view.

Idea Plan: Round 2 submission of a 25 page preliminary business plan used to narrow the field to those advancing to Round 3.

Idea Studio: Online place to find all of the educational content, handouts, podcasts, and templates exclusive only to particpants. Innovator: Someone who creates something new or different.

Judge: A person who reviews and provides feedback on the submitted IES, idea plan and final business plan & selects the five Idea Champions.

Non-Finalists: A participant that does not advance to Round 3.

Participant: A person that enrolls, pays the fee and submits the IES.

Partner: A person or organization that is providing assistance to participants in the program.

Round 3 Finalist: A person who the judges choose to advance to Round 3 based on their submitted idea plan.

Tip of the Week: An entrepreneurial peice of advice provided each week in the Idea Alert.

Team: A group of up to four people competing in the competition.

Top Finalist: A person among the final top 20 teams to advance to the Innovate ND finals.

Competition lingo -9-

“ I n n o v a t e N D K e e p s y o u o n t h e p a t h t o

S u c c e s s ”

September27 Open on-line registration and Innovate ND launch at Marketplace of Ideas

October13-14 Inventor's Basic Training Boot Camp

November1 Innovate ND Rookie Boot Camp - What to expect and what to submit on Nov. 12. 12 Round 1: Idea Executive Summaries due13-21 Judges review and compile feedback for participants17 First Weekly Idea Alert goes out29 Idea Executive Summary feedback distributed to participants

December4 or 11 Round 2 Idea Plan Boot Camp for all participants: What to do next to prep for Round 2 deadline on Feb. 4

February 4 Round Two: Idea Plans due21 Email announcment of advancement to Round 321 Idea Plan feedback distributed to participants who submitted to Round 2

March 5 Round 3 Business Plan Boot Camp for finalists

April 22 Round 3: Finalists Submit Final Business Plan, Financials and Power Points due28 Announcement of Top 20 to advance to Innovate ND Finals

May 2 Launch People's Choice online voting6 Deadline: Top 20 Final Business Plans and Power Point presentations or outlines due9-13 Practice Session #116-20 Practice Session #223 Elevator Pitch Competition, Welcome Social and Dinner24 Innovate ND Finals - Judging, Awards Social and Ceremony

-10- Competition timeline

Professional resources -11-

North Dakota Department of Com-merce - Innovate NDBrandi Schoenberg (bschoenberg@nd.gov), Innovate ND Program ManagerPhone: 701-328-5300

Services Provided: Coordination of Innovate ND program administration, communication, marketing, media, promotion, fundraising, answers to anything anybody needs to know!

Center for Innovation - Grand Forkswww.innovators.net

Bruce Govig (bruce@innovators.net), Director, and Rodrigo Cintra (rodrigo@innovators.net)Phone: 701-777-3132

Services Provided: Technical assistance, advising and review of business plans and financials.

NDSU Tech Incubator - Fargowww.ndsuresearchpark.com

Brenda Wyland (brenda@ndsuresearchpark.com)Associate DirectorPhone: 701-499-3603

Services Provided: Business/technical assistance, marketing, professional services, networking and access to capital.

IDEA Center - Bismarck www.ideacenternd.org

Julie Kuennen (julie@ideacenternd.org) and Ellyn Rost (ellyn@ideacenternd.org)Phone: 701-250-2198

Services Provided: Market analysis, marketing plans, review of business plans, financials and presentation, technical assistance, financial analysis and assist with creation, cash flow projections, project plan development, assistance with resourcing and facility space for rent.

Strom Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation - Dickinsonwww.stromcenter.com

Steve Glasser (steve.glasser@dickinsonstate.edu), Director and Clay Kraby (clayton.kraby@dickinsonstate.edu)Phone: 701-483-2756

Services Provided: Human resources, business sup-port, social networking tools and graphic design.

Southern Valley Innovation Center - WahpetonDan Hodgson (dan@svcenter.net), DirectorPhone: 701-640-4142

Bismarck State College - CETICarla Braun-Hixson (carla.braun.hixson@bsc.nodak.edu), VP for CETIPhone: 701-224-5600

Services Provided: Accelerated innovation process sessions or creative problem solving consultation with a focus group concept.

Minot State University - Severson Entrepreneurship AcademyShawn Carraher (shawn.carraher@minotstateu.edu)Phone: 701-858-3019

Services Provided:

Additional Innovate ND PartnersMarketplace of Ideas

Additional ResourcesNorth Dakota Small Business Development Centerswww.ndsbdc.org.

North Dakota Score Chapterswww.score.org

-12- Judging Rounds

Round One: Executive SummaryDue: November 12, 2010

Entrepreneurs will be asked to provide an idea executive summary of their idea or concept. Submissions should answer the following questions clearly and concisely:

● What is your idea or innovation?● How does your idea translate into a commercially viable venture and high growth business?● What is your strategy for executing your idea?● Why is your idea economically viable and profitable?

The top entrepreneurs with the most thought out and sustainable ideas will go forward to the second judging round. Remember that judges will need to read a lot of material so prepare your materials in a clear and concise manner. Participants will be notified of their advancement in the competition after this round.

Round Two: Idea PlanDue: February 4, 2010Entrepreneurs participating in the second round will prepare to submit an Idea Plan up to 25 pages. Entrepreneurs submitting Idea Plans will be asked for:

● An explanation of the innovation and what competitive advantage it has.● A more detailed explanation of how the idea can become a viable, profitable business.● A marketing and sales plan that details how they will address a market need.● Financial projections demonstrating how to generate revenue and profits, and why the venture would be attractive to investors.● A description of the entrepreneur team and their ability to execute the business plan.

It is after this stage that the field of participants will be narrowed to up to 30 Round 3 finalists and will advance to Round 3. Participants will be notified of their advancement in the competition after this round.

Round Three: Business PlanDue: April 22, 2010Round 3 Finalists only

Round 3 Finalists will submit their complete business plans and financial statements.

It is after this stage that the field of participants will be narrowed to up to the Top 20 Finalists. Participants will be notified of their advancement in the competition after this round. The Top 20 will advance to the Innovate ND finals.

Top 20 Finalists Submit Final Busi-ness Plans and Power POint presena-tionsDue: May 6, 2010

The Top 20 Finalist will submit their final business plan and an outline, or draft, of their Power Point presentation.

These are the documents that will be sent to the judges to review before the Innovate ND finals in May.

Innovate ND 2010 FinalsMay 23-24, 2011Location: TBD

The Top 20 Finalists, plus the winners from the partner competitions, will advance to the Innovate ND finals.

Finalists will prepare a 60 second elevator pitch for Monday night and an oral presentations for final judging on Tuesday to be given in front of the panel of judges. Final judging consists of a 15 minute oral presentation followed by a 10 minute Q&A session. Use of presentation materials such as posters, PowerPoint, handouts, prototypes and/or multimedia is encouraged.

Finalits will also be asked to prepare a display for a tradeshow style booth for the social before the Awards Ceremony.

Innovate ND Ventures will be judged on the following

criteria:

Innovation: An innovative idea can be for a technology, product or service; high tech, low tech or no tech; or it can be an entirely new idea or the evolution/improvement of a previous idea. Ideas should be unique and different, providing a competitive advantage. Ideas that show the greatest innovation will be viewed more favorably.

Commercial Viability: Can the idea be commercialized within two years? Can the idea create or serve a market need? What are the customer benefits? What is the entrepreneur's strategy for making the idea into a high-growth business?

Judges will be evaluating ideas on their potential to generate revenue, profits and employment.

Investment Opportunity: If an investment opportunity was available and contemplated, would investors invest in this venture? Is the entrepreneur team invested in the venture?

Entrepreneur Team: Key leaders and advisors available (or identified subject to financing) to fill key positions to execute the venture plan.

Quality of Presentation: As the judging progresses to the final round, some emphasis will be placed on entrant's quality of presentation (clear, concise), both written and orally

Judging Process

Judges for Rounds 1 through 3 will be anonymous and will provide feedback after each round of competition that you should incorporate into your business plan as you continue to refine and develop it thoughout the competition. Participants will be able to view the feedback provided by the judges online by logging into the Idea Studio on InnovateND.com.

Judges for the Innovate ND finals will meet the top 20 finalists on the day of the judging.

Judging criteria and Process -13-

-14- navigating Innovatend.com

know how to navigate InnovateND.com is a vital part of the Innovate ND competition because everything you need to know to help guide you through each round of the competition will be found here. InnovateND.com will be the place to go to everyday for the latest news, annoucements, and events.

InnovateND.com will let you know what, when and how to submit documents for the each round of the competition.

This section of the handbook will help you understand the layout of the web site and navigate it successfully.

You have received your access code, so you are set to access the Idea Studio. Once inside the Idea Studio, you will see: ● Business Building Tool-kit ● Get Expert Advice ● Podcast Library ● Webinars and Educational Content ● Participant News ● My Documents

Let’s dig into “My Documents” for a moment as this will be the section to refer to when asked to submit your documents for each round of competition.

When you click on “My Documents” you will see two items:

● Add a Document - Four categories will be listed for documents that must be uploaded for each round of competition: Executive Idea Summary, Idea Plan, Business Plan, Financials and PowerPoint. - All documents submitted must be in the PDF format. - Under each of the four categories you will see two categories: Browse and Submit.

● A list of all document that have been uploaded through your profile. - To the right of the title of the submitted document, there will be a link that says “View Judges Comments” - This will open a new window that will list all of the judges comments, separated by date. - The window will be on a blank white screen so you can print the screen.

using the -15- educational content

coming soon!