The idea of a business plan competition began in the 1980s at the initiative of some Texas MBA students and has grown in popularity. Such events occur annually and bring joy to a large influx of contestants, greatly increasing their competitiveness.
competitions
Organized by Universities
* Babcock Elevator Pitch Competition – Wake Forest University
* Business Creation Contest – Ball State University
*Moot Corp. Competition – University of Texas
* Duke Start-Up Challenge – Duke University
*IBK Capital Ivey Business Plan Competition – University of Western Ontario
* OFC Venture Challenge – Clark Atlanta University
* Venture Adventure – Colorado State University
Held by business organizations
* Jungle Business Plan Challenge – Jungle Media Group
* SEED Business Plan Contest – TechKnowledge Point Corp.
* Venture Bowl – National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Carrot Capital
You are probably wondering what exactly these competitions consist of and where their popularity comes from.
organizers
Although the organizers and sponsors are usually universities, there are several business organizations that run business plan competitions.
contestants
Business plan contests are student entrepreneur events. The competitions are organized for undergraduate or graduate students and do not necessarily have to be MBA students. Contestants may be student scientists, engineers, doctors, or other specialists striving to create a viable business plan in hopes of entering such contests.
The popularity of these types of contests reached other layers as well: business plan contests are also organized for the purpose of giving people the chance to start a business. Business plan contests are usually held as intercollegiate events, but this contest formula has also been taken up by companies that want to facilitate the creation of new businesses.
This is also the case with Ford Motor Company, which sponsored the Ford BEST (Building Entrepreneurial Success Today) Business Plan contest in association with SCORE “Counselors to America’s Small Business” and DiversityInc. The BEST Business Plan contest was held in the winter of 2004 and was open to all US citizens 18 years of age or older. All submitted business plans were reviewed by a SCORE advisory panel.
Why the need to participate in this type of event?
In addition to the cash prizes, which, although very important, will rarely be enough to finance the foundation of a company, there is the advantage of learning from this experience, which will enrich the knowledge of the students to a greater extent than the merely theoretical aspects of the that they learn readings
Not least, there is a valuable opportunity to present business plans to many investors in a very short time.
How do the winners benefit?
Initially started as a valuable opportunity for students with brilliant business ideas to express them within contest conditions, business plan contests have become a resource for some investors. There are two categories of results of such competitions:
I would say that choosing between purely theoretical plans would be very unlikely for a risk investor. However, this is how many successful companies came to be.
1-800 Contacts
A mail-order contact lens replacement company in Draper, Utah. The business plan won the 1995 Brigham Young University tournament in Provo, Utah.
Lawyers @ Work
An internet recruitment and placement service in Atlanta. Competition: 1996, University of Georgia.
SensAble Technologies Inc.
In Cambridge, Mass., he won the MIT competition in 1995.
epotec inc.
Competition: 1997, University of Chicago.
However, doing well in a major competition does not necessarily mean launching a successful business. There is a risk that some investors will view your plan as an academic exercise before actually studying it, and therefore the percentage of confidence is lowered substantially.