There's an air of optimism about a business plan
competition. Teams bustle along, rehearsing their business plan
presentations before delivering them to illustrious judges who not
only have business acumen, but are also often connected to large VC
firms. Permeating every conversation is a we-can-do-it attitude.
Business ideas can range from the highly technical biomedical
industry to the more ethereal creative arts arena. Yes, the
competition part of it can be nerve-wracking, and the judges are
not what one would call an easy audience. Still, it's a great
opportunity to win cash and prizes for your business and get pitch
time in front of actual VCs--and it's also a huge learning
experience from start to finish. It may very well be in the
drinking water at a business plan competition, but the general
attitude is this: No matter what happens, we'll build a
business.
The good news is that these hotbeds of entrepreneurial
inspiration are taking place at more venues across the country (and
the world, in fact). A large percentage of business plan
competitions are associated with university MBA programs, note
experts, but a fair number are also produced by communities, open
to anyone in the local area or to businesses of a certain type to
encourage economic growth. "There are definitely more open
competitions," says Mark Cannice, director of the University
of San Francisco (USF) Entrepreneurship Program. "As the word
spreads about allowing [people] the opportunity to develop a
complete business concept and offer it to professional investors
and executives, I think that experience has been so powerful and
fruitful for so many...I think the demand for most universities to
have [competitions] seems to be increasing as well."
To successfully enter the business plan competition fray, know
these caveats: Decide if you can enter a university-sponsored one
(usually, someone in your management team is required to be an MBA
or a graduate student). If your team has no MBAs, you might be able
to enter a community or corporate competition with many of the same
benefits.
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The real test, though, is the future success of business plan
competition winners. Do they make it past the startup stage to
fulfill their competition-era promise? For Chad Joshi, winner of
the WPI Venture Forum Business Plan Contest in Worcester,
Massachusetts, in 2000, the potential that judges saw in his
business has certainly been fulfilled. The WPI contest, affiliated
with the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, is open to any
technology-based startup or pre-startup in New England. Joshi,
founder of Energen Inc., began laying the groundwork for his
company in 1996. The Lowell, Massachusetts-based company
manufactures precise motion control products often used in
scientific research and optical equipment.
Still in the R&D stage of his business, he first entered the
competition in 1998 and came in third. "It was a good learning
experience," says Joshi, 46. "I got to meet with the
people that reviewed my business plan." Getting valuable
feedback, he entered again in 2000 and won that year's first
prize: $10,000 ($5,000 in cash and $5,000 in services from various
sponsors).
It was just the boon his company needed. "Certainly, it got
the attention of the VC community," notes Joshi. "They
were much more interested in hearing our story and what we wanted
to do." The connections he made through the contest were
invaluable, too, as many of his contacts ended up offering good
business advice and mentoring his company through its early growth.
Today, projecting sales between $1.5 million and $1.7 million,
Joshi reflects on what a positive experience a business plan
competition provides for aspiring entrepreneurs. "It's a
very good way for new people to learn about building a
business," he says. "If I had a different business that I
was looking to get off the ground, it would be a great way to get
exposure."
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For more information, and to get a list of U.S. business plan
competitions, click
here. And to access our downloadable business plan PDF (Adobe
Acrobat required), log on here.
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