business plan competitions 2014

The 20 Best Business Plan Competitions to Get Funding

Business plan competitions can provide valuable feedback on your business idea or startup business plan template , in addition to providing an opportunity for funding for your business. This article will discuss what business planning competitions are, how to find them, and list the 20 most important business planning competitions.

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What is a Business Plan Competition?

How do i find business plan competitions, 20 popular business plan competitions, tips for winning business plan competitions, other helpful business plan articles & templates.

A business plan competition is a contest between startup, early-stage, and/or growing businesses. The goal of the business plan competition is for participants to develop and submit an original idea or complete their existing business plan based on specific guidelines provided by the organization running the contest.

Companies are judged according to set criteria including creativity, feasibility, execution, and the quality of your business plan.

A quick Google search will lead you to several websites that list business planning competitions. 

Each site has a different way of organizing the business planning competitions it lists, so you’ll need to spend some time looking through each website to find opportunities that are relevant for your type of business or industry.

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Below we’ve highlighted 20 of these popular competitions, the requirements and how to find additional information. The following list is not exhaustive; however, these popular competitions are great places to start if you’re looking for a business competition.

Rice Business Plan Competition

The Rice University Business Plan Competition is designed to help collegiate entrepreneurs by offering a real-world platform on which to present their businesses to investors, receive coaching, network with the entrepreneurial ecosystem, fine-tune their entrepreneurship plan, and learn what it takes to launch a successful business.

Who is Eligible?

Initial eligibility requirements include teams and/or entrepreneurs that:

• are student-driven, student-created and/or student-managed
• include at least two current student founders or management team members, and at least one is a current graduate degree-seeking student
• are from a college or university anywhere in the world
• have not raised more than $250,000 in equity capital
• have not generated revenue of more than $100,000 in any 12-month period
• are seeking funding or capital
• have a potentially viable investment opportunity

You can find additional  eligibility information on their website.

Where is the Competition Held?

The Rice Business Plan Competition is hosted in Houston, TX at Rice University, the Jones Graduate School of Business.

What Can You Win?

In 2021, $1.6 Million in investment, cash prizes, and in-kind prizes was awarded to the teams competing.

This two-part milestone grant funding program and pitch competition is designed to assist students with measurable goals in launching their enterprises.

Teams must be made up of at least one student from an institution of higher education in Utah and fulfill all of the following requirements:

• The founding student must be registered for a minimum of nine (9) credit hours during the semester they are participating. The credit hours must be taken as a matriculated, admitted, and degree-seeking student.
• A representative from your team must engage in each stage of Get Seeded (application process, pre-pitch, and final pitch)
• There are no restrictions regarding other team members; however, we suggest building a balanced team with a strong combination of finance, marketing, engineering, and technology skills.
• The funds awarded must be used to advance the idea.

The business plan competition will be hosted in Salt Lake City, UT at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute at the University of Utah.

There are two grants opportunities:

• Microgrant up to $500
• Seed Grant for $501 – $1,500

Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards is a worldwide business plan competition for students from all majors. The GSEA aims to empower talented young people from around the world, inspire them to create and shape business ventures, encourage entrepreneurship in higher education, and support the next generation of global leaders.

• You must be enrolled for the current academic year in a university/college as an undergraduate or graduate student at the time of application. Full-time enrollment is not required; part-time enrollment is acceptable.
• You must be the owner, founder, or controlling shareholder of your student business. Each company can be represented by only one owner/co-founder – studentpreneur.
• Your student business must have been in operation for at least six consecutive months prior to the application.
• Your business must have generated US $500 or received US $1000 in investments at the time of application.
• You should not have been one of the final round competitors from any previous year’s competition.
• The age cap for participation is 30 years of age.

You can find additional   eligibility information on their website.

Regional competitions are held in various locations worldwide over several months throughout the school year. The top four teams then compete for cash prizes during finals week at the Goldman Sachs headquarters in New York City.

At the Global Finals, students compete for a total prize package of $50,000 in cash and first place receives $25,000. All travel and lodging expenses are also covered. Second place gets US $10,000, while third place earns US $5,000. Additional prizes are handed out at the Global Finals for Social Impact, Innovation, and Lessons from the Edge.

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The collegiate entrepreneurs organization business plan competition.

The Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization Business Plan Competition (COEBPC) exists to help early-stage entrepreneurs develop their business skills, build entrepreneurial networks, and learn more about how they can transform ideas into reality. It also offers cash prizes to reward entrepreneurship, provide an opportunity for recognition of top student entrepreneurs around the world, and provide unique opportunities for networking.

To compete, you must:

• Be a currently enrolled student at an accredited institution
• Have a viable business concept or be the creator of an existing business that generates revenue.

If you are among the top three finalists of the business plan competition and successfully receive prize money, you will be required to submit a class schedule under your name for the current academic semester. Failure to do so will result in the forfeit of the prize money.

All competitions are held online. The finalist will receive a trip to the International Career Development Conference, where they have an opportunity to win additional prizes from CEO’s sponsors.

• First Place – $7,000
• Second Place – $5,000
• Third Place – $3,000
• People’s Choice Award – Collegiate Entrepreneur of the Year – $600

MIT 100k Business Plan Competition and Expo

The MIT 100K was created in 2010 by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to foster entrepreneurship and innovation on campus and around the world. Consists of three distinct and increasingly intensive competitions throughout the school year: PITCH, ACCELERATE, and LAUNCH. 

• Submissions may be entered by individuals or teams.
• Each team may enter one idea.
• Each team must have at least one currently registered MIT student; if you are submitting as an individual, you must be a currently registered MIT student.
• Entries must be the original work of entrants.
• Teams must disclose any funding already received at the time of registration.

Hosted in Cambridge, MA at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology beginning in October through May of each academic year.

Top finalists will have a chance to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges at a live event for the chance to win the $5,000 Grand Prize or the $2,000 Audience Choice Award.

20 Finalists are paired with industry-specific business professionals for mentorship and business planning and a $1,000 budget for marketing and/or business development expenses.

The 10 Top Finalists participate in the Showcase and compete for the $10,000 Audience Choice Award while the 3 Top Finalists automatically advance to LAUNCH semi-finals.

The grand prize winner receives a cash prize of $100,000 and the runner-up receives $25,000.

Florida Atlantic University (FAU) Business Plan Competition

The FAU business plan competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate student entrepreneurs. The competition covers topics in the areas of information technology, entrepreneurship, finance, marketing, operations management, etc.

All undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to participate.

The business plan competition will be held at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Florida.

• First prize: $5,000 cash
• Second prize: $500 cash

Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) Business Plan Competition

The Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) Business Plan Competition is designed to offer an opportunity to develop your business plan with the guidance of industry experts. It provides the opportunity for you to compete against fellow entrepreneurs and explore big ideas.

• Participants must be the legal age to enter into contracts in the country of residence.
• Participants may not be employed by an organization other than their own company or business that they are launching for this competition.
• The plan should be for a new business, not an acquisition of another company.

The Network of International Business Schools (NIBS) Business Plan Competition is held in the USA.

There is a cash prize for first, second, and third place. There is also a potential for a business incubator opportunity, which would provide facilities and assistance to the winners of the competition.

Washington State University Business Plan Competition

The Washington State University Business Plan Competition has been serving students since 1979. The competition is a great opportunity for someone who is looking to get their business off the ground by gaining invaluable knowledge of running a successful business. It offers a wide range of topics and competition styles.

• Any college undergraduate, graduate, or professional degree-seeking student at Washington State University
• The company must be an early-stage venture with less than $250,000 in annual gross sales revenue.

The Washington State University Business Plan Competition is held in the Associated Students Inc. Building on the Washington State University campus which is located in Pullman, Washington.

There are a wide variety of prizes that could be won at the Washington State University Business Plan Competition. This is because the business plan competition has been serving students for over 30 years and as such, they have offered more than one type of competition. The common prize though is $1,000 which is awarded to the winner of each class. There are also awards for those who come in second place, third place, etc.

Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition

The Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition is one of the most well-known competitions in the country. They have partnered with many prestigious institutions to provide funding, mentorship, and expertise for the competition.

Education ventures with innovative solutions to educational inequity from around the world are encouraged to apply, especially those ventures founded by and serving individuals from marginalized and historically underrepresented communities.

We encourage applicants working in every conceivable educational setting–from early childhood through corporate and adult training. We also welcome both nonprofit and for-profit submissions.

The competition is held at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

All finalists receive $1,000 in cash and $5,000 in Amazon Web Services promotional credits.

Next Founders Business Plan Competition

Next Founders is a competition geared towards innovative startups with a social impact, looking to transform society by addressing key global human needs. The competition inspires and identifies energetic, optimistic entrepreneurs who are committed to achieving their vision.

Next Founders is for Canadian business owners of scalable, high-growth ventures.

Next Founders is held at the University of Toronto.

You could win up to $25,000 CAD in cash funding for your new business.

Hatch Pitch Competition

The Hatch Pitch competition is one of the most prestigious business competitions in the US. The winners of the Hatch Pitch Competition are given access to mentorship courses, discounted office space with all amenities included, incubators for startups, tailored education programs, financial counseling & more.

The competition is for companies with a business idea.

• The company’s product/service must have launched within the past 2 years, or be launched within 6 months after the Hatch Pitch event.
• Founders must retain some portion of ownership in the company.
• Received less than $5 million in funding from 3rd party investors.
• The presenter must actively participate in Hatch Pitch coaching.

The Hatch Pitch Competition is located at the Entrepreneur Space in Dallas.

The grand prize for this business plan competition is access to resources like incubators and mentorships that could prove invaluable in bringing your startup company to the next level.

TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield

The Startup Battlefield is a business plan competition that is sponsored by TechCrunch.  It awards the winner $50,000. There are two different rounds to this competition:

• First Round – 15 companies from all of the applicants that submitted their business plans for this round.
• Second Round – Two finalist companies compete against each other at TechCrunch Disrupt NY’s main stage.

At the time of the application process, companies must have a functional prototype to demo to the selection committee. In selecting final contestants, we will give preference to companies that launch some part of their product or business for the first time to the public and press through our competition. Companies that are in closed beta, private beta, limited release or generally have been flying under the radar are eligible. Hardware companies can have completed crowdfunding but those funds should have been directed to an earlier product prototype. Existing companies launching new feature sets do not qualify.

TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield is held at different locations.

The Startup Battlefield rewards the winner with $50,000. In addition, the two runner-ups get a prize of $5,000 each.

New Venture Challenge

New Venture Challenge is a competition hosted by the University of Chicago. There are 3 main categories that will be judged:

• Innovative Concept – Arguably the most important category, this focuses on uniqueness, originality, and suitability.
• Market Fit/Business Model – Are you solving an actual problem for your target market? Does your project have the potential for profit?
• Presentation – Did you make a compelling, impactful presentation? Did you clearly communicate your goals and vision to potential investors?

You can find  eligibility information on their website.

The New Venture Challenge competition is held in Chicago, IL.

Finalists are awarded:

• First Place: $50,000 equity investment and access to industry mentors and other resources.
• Second place: $25,000 equity investment and access to industry mentors and other resources.
• Third place: $15,000 equity investment and access to industry mentors and other resources.

New Venture Championship

The New Venture Championship is hosted by the University of Oregon and has been since 1987. The championship brings new ventures and innovative business ideas to life and the competition offers plan writing as a service to those who need it.

The University of Oregon New Venture Championship is open to university student teams with 2-5 members that have at least one graduate student involved with their venture. Students should be enrolled in a degree program or have finished their studies in the current academic year.

The New Venture Championship hosted by the University of Oregon is held in Eugene, Oregon.

Every business plan has a chance of winning a cash prize from $3,000 to $25,000 and additional benefits like plan coaching and office space rental.

Climatech & Energy Prize @ MIT

The Climatech & Energy Prize @ MIT is a competition that focuses on companies that are involved in the area of energy, environment, and climate change.

• Participants must be a team of two or more people.
• At least 50% of formal team members identified in the competition submission documentation must be enrolled as half-time or full-time college or university students.

The Climatech & Energy Prize @ MIT is held in Cambridge, MA.

The grand prize winner receives $100,000 and other winners may receive other monetary prizes.

Baylor Business New Venture Competition

This competition has been offered by Baylor for the last 20 years. It is designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs refine business ideas, and also gain valuable insights from judges and other entrepreneurs.

Must be a current undergraduate student at Baylor University or McLennan Community College.

The Baylor Business New Venture competition will be held at the Baylor University, Waco, TX.

The grand prize winner will receive $6,000. There are also other prizes given out to the other finalists in each category which are worth $1,500 – $2,000.

13th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup

The 13th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup was organized by the 13th IOT/WT Innovation World Cup Association. It was organized to provide a platform for innovators from all over the world to showcase their innovative ideas and projects. The competition aimed at drawing the attention of investors, venture capitalists, and potential business partners to meet with representatives from different companies and organizations in order to foster innovation.

The revolutionary Internet of Things and Wearable Technologies solutions from developers, innovative startups, scale-ups, SMEs, and researchers across the world are invited to participate. Eight different categories are available: Industrial, City, Home, Agriculture, Sports, Lifestyle, and Transport.

Only those submissions that have a functional prototype/proof of concept will advance in the competition, mere ideas will not be considered. 

The competition is held in Cleveland, Ohio also an important center for innovation and cutting-edge technology.

Win prizes worth over $500,000, connect with leading tech companies, speed up your development with advice from tech experts, join international conferences as a speaker or exhibitor, and become part of the worldwide IoT/WT Innovation World Cup® network. 

The U.Pitch is a competition that gives you a chance to share your idea and for the community of budding entrepreneurs, startup founders, CEOs, and venture capitalists to invest in your enterprise. It also provides mentoring by experts in the field.

• Currently enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program
• Applicants may compete with either an idea OR business currently in operation
• Applicants must be 30 years of age or under

The U.Pitch is held in San Francisco, California.

Enter to win a part of the $10,000 prize pool.

At the core of CodeLaunch is an annual seed accelerator competition between individuals and groups who have software technology startup ideas.

If your startup has raised money, your product is stable, you have customers, and revenue, you are probably not a fit for CodeLaunch.

CodeLaunch is based in St. Louis, Missouri. 

The “winner” may be eligible for more seed capital and business services from some additional vendors.

New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition

The New York StartUP! is a competition sponsored by the New York Public Library to help entrepreneurs from around the world to develop their business ideas.

• You must live in Manhattan, The Bronx, or Staten Island
• Your business must be in Manhattan, The Bronx, or Staten Island
• All companies must have a big idea or business model in the startup phase and have earned less than $10,000

The New York StartUP! competition is held in New York, NY.

Two winners are chosen: 

•  Grand Prize – $15,000  
•  Runner-up – $7,500  

First, determine if the competition is worth your time and money to participate.

• What is the prize money?
• Who will be on the judging panel?
• Will there be any costs associated with entering and/or presenting at the competition (e.g., travel and lodging expenses)?

Once you’ve determined the worth of the competition, then shift to focusing on the details of the competition itself.

• What are the rules of the competition?
• Are there any disqualifying factors?
• How will you be judged during the different parts of the competition?

After conducting this research, it’s best to formulate an idea or product that appeals to the judges and is something they can really get behind. Make sure you thoroughly understand the rules and what is expected from your final product. Once you know what is expected from you, you’ll be able to refine and practice your pitch to help you move through the stages of the competition.

These competitions are a fantastic method to get new business owners thinking about business possibilities, writing business plans, and dominating the competition. These contests may assist you in gaining important feedback on your business concept or plan as well as potential monetary prizes to help your business get off the ground.  

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The Best 20 Business Plan Competitions to Get Funding in (2024)

Free Business Plan Template

Radhika Agarwal

• October 18, 2023

11 Min Read

Brilliant business ideas deserve 2 things for sure – Feedback and Funding.

And if you think you have a good business idea and have some bit of groundwork figured out, you may want to look into business plan competitions.

Now, what is a business plan competition? Why should you participate in one? How to find one that’s just right for your business?

We’ll discuss all of the above and more through this article.

What is a Business Plan Competition?

A business plan competition is an event that allows small businesses and startups to compete with each other, get feedback and advice on their business, and also can help you get your business funded.

Businesses are judged on several factors including execution, feasibility, innovation, etc.

How to Find a Business Plan Competition?

There are several business plan competitions listed on Google that you can look through. Different competitions have different eligibility criteria and guidelines. Go through all of that to know if it fits your business or not.

At the same time, it is important to check the credibility and check for any scams or illegitimate sites.

To make finding business plan competitions a little easier we have compiled a list of 20 popular and credible competitions that you can apply for.

Business Plan Competitions

• Global Student Entrepreneur Awards
• tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition
• HATCH Pitch
• Rice Business Plan Competition
• New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition
• MIT 100k Business Plan and Expo
• FAU Business Plan Competition
• NIBS Business Plan Competition
• Pistoia Alliance President’s Startup Challenge
• College of New Jersey’s Mayo Business Plan Competition
• Next Founders Business Plan Competition
• TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield
• New Venture Challenge
• New Venture Championship
• Climatech & Energy Prize @MIT
• Baylor Business New Venture Competition
• 13th IOT/WT World Cup

1. Global Student Entrepreneur Awards

To encourage students across the globe to become entrepreneurs GSEA organizes this competition for students from all disciplines and countries. The main aim of the awards is to draw people towards entrepreneurship, shape their ideas, and become a catalyst for their business’s growth.

Eligibility

The student must enroll in a part-time or full-time undergraduate or graduate course.

The student should own or work as a founder or co-founder of the startup.

Only one person from the startup can represent it.

The person should either be 30 or under 30 years of age.

The startup should be running for at least 6 months from the date of application.

The startup should either generate $500 or get $1000 as investments at the time of application.

The startup shouldn’t have reached the final round of the competition in previous years.

For more details check out their website.

The competition is held at several locations across the world over months during a school year. The finals among the Top 4 teams are held at Goldman Sachs New York.

• First Prize: $25,000
• Second Prize: $10,000
• Third Prize: $5,000

Lodging and travel expenses are covered and additional prizes are handed out at the event.

2. tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition

The tecBRIDGE competition is divided into two parts, with one for college students across 14 colleges and universities and a non-collegiate one for early-stage entrepreneurs.

( For Collegiate )

At least one member as a college student

The product must identify commercial solutions through technical processes.

( For Non-Collegiate )

The startup must gross less than $250k in revenue from its start date up to the last tax filing date.

It is held in Northeastern Pennsylvania every year. The businesses that win have to establish their headquarters there as well.

Prizes worth $100,000 are shared amongst the winning teams.

3. HATCH Pitch

Through the Hatch Pitch program, you get access to mentorship courses, discounted spaces, funds, education programs, financial consulting, and so on.

The product/ Service was launched within 2 years.

Founders should retain some part of the ownership.

Must actively participate actively in Hatch Pitch coaching.

Must receive less than $5 million in funds from third-party investors.

The competition is held at Entrepreneur space in Dallas.

Access to high-level incubators and mentorship.

4. Rice Business Plan Competition

The Rice University business plan competition is specially designed for college students to present their ideas to investors , get mentorship and help shape their ideas and business journey better.

Students managed or created businesses.

Consists of at least 2 college students, and one student pursuing a graduate degree.

Have raised less than $250k in equity capital.

Have generated less than $100k in any 12-month period.

Houston at Rice University, graduate school of business, hosts this event.

In 2021, the winners were awarded investments worth $1.6 Million , cash prizes, etc.

5. New York StartUP! Business Plan Competition

New York Public library sponsors this competition to help entrepreneurs from around the world. They give wings to their ideas.

Must live in Manhattan, Staten Island, or The Bronx.

Your business should be in any of the above places as well.

The idea or business model is in the startup phase and shouldn’t have earned more than $10,000.

The competition is held in New York.

A grand prize worth $15000 and a Runner Up prize worth $7500 .

6. MIT 100k Business Plan and Expo

MIT organizes this competition to promote innovation in the university as well as the world. It consists of 3 competitions throughout the year namely Pitch, Accelerate, and Launch.

Each team should enter one idea.

Participants must have original work ideas

Should disclose the received funding.

Hosted in Cambridge MA MIT campus from October to May through the academic year.

• Pitch: $5000 jury award and $2000 audience choice award.
• Accelerate: 20 finalists get industry-specific mentorship programs with a budget of $1000 each. The top 10 finalists compete for the Audience Choice award worth $10,000. The top 3 finalists immediately get into the finals of the launch.
• Launch: The winner gets a whopping amount of $100,000 while the runner gets $25000 .

Official Website MIT 100k

7. FAU Business Plan Competition

The Florida Atlantic University Business Plan Competition is for graduate and undergraduate students spanning all continents.

Undergraduate or graduate participants.

The competition is held at Florida Atlantic University, in Boca Raton, Florida.

First Prize: $5000 and Second Prize: $500

8. NIBS Business Plan Competition

The NIBS competition helps you discuss and give a boost to your ideas. It also helps you get industry experts guidance.

Entrants of legal age to have contracts as per the rules of their country of residence.

Should not hold any employment apart from their own company.

The plan must stand for a startup business and not an acquisition.

It is held in the USA.

There’s a cash prize for the first three places as well as an opportunity to get an incubator program for the winners.

9. Get Seeded

Get Seed is a two-part funding program for students in launching their businesses.

At least one student from a higher education institution in Utah is a must.

Should be enrolled for nine credit hours during that semester.

Utilization of funds to take the idea further.

Salt Lake City in Utah hosts the business plan competition.

A micro-grant worth $500 and a seeded grant from $501 to $1500

10. Pistoia Alliance President’s Startup Challenge

This competition was designed for startups focusing on digital and health technology.

Legally formed entities

The company must have less than 50 people.

Annual sales under $5 million.

The product should have been launched within 3 years.

Your country should not have USA’s trade restrictions imposed.

You can submit your ideas from anywhere.

Five finalists win $5000 and 2 winners receive $20,000 .

Official Website

11. College of New Jersey’s Mayo Business Plan Competition

This competition is held for students to appreciate new challenges.

The teams must consist of two and bot more than four students from the College of New Jersey.

The College of New Jersey hosts this event.

The winners get mentorship and guidance programs.

Check Official Website

12. Next Founders Business Plan Competition

This competition focuses on startups with an innovative approach to solving social problems and global needs.

It is for Canadian entrepreneurs with scalable, high-potential ventures.

The University of Toronto.

Up to 25,000 CAD$ in cash for funding your startup.

13. TechCrunch’s Startup Battlefield

TechCrunch sponsors this competition which comprises two levels.

The companies must have a functional prototype of their product or service to present to the committee.

Different locations.

The winner gets $50,000 and two runner-ups get $5000 each.

Check Competition Website

14. New Venture Challenge

This competition is held at the University of Chicago. Three evaluation points for participants are – Innovation, Product Market Fit , and presentation.

The eligibility information is available on their website.

Chicago, IL.

1st Place: $50,000 ; 2nd Place: $25,000 ; 3rd Place: $15,000 . In addition to that, the winners get access to mentorship and resources.

15. New Venture Championship

This competition is for those with a good business idea. Even if you don’t have a business plan, you can participate as the competition provides optional plan writing services.

The team should have 2-5 members.

Should have at least one graduate student.

The students should be pursuing their undergraduate or graduate degrees.

Eugene, Oregon.

Teams have a chance to win cash prizes ranging from $3000 to $25,000 with additional benefits like mentorship and rented office spaces.

16. Climatech & Energy Prize @MIT

This competition is ideal for companies with a core focus on energy, climate change, and the environment.

The team must have more than 2 members.

At least 50% of part-time or full-time university students.

Cambridge, MA hosts this competition

The winner gets a sizable sum of $1,00,000 .

17. U.Pitch

This competition gives entrants a chance to present their ideas to people from different levels and spectrums in the business space and get an opportunity for investments and mentorship programs.

Undergraduate or graduate program students.

Functioning Business

Age up to or below 30

San Francisco, California hosts this competition.

Prizes worth $10,000 are given.

18. CodeLaunch

It is a seed accelerator competition for entrepreneurs who have technology startups.

The detailed eligibility criteria can be found on their website.

St. Louis, Missouri hosts these competitions, usually.

The winner gets seed fund capital and access to other additional resources.

19. Baylor Business New Venture Competition

Baylor launched this competition to help entrepreneurs discuss their ideas and get advice from judges.

An undergraduate student at Baylor University and McLennan Community College.

Baylor University, Waco, Texas hosts this competition.

The first prize winner receives $6000 . The other finalists win prizes ranging from $1500-$2000 .

20. 13th IOT/WT World Cup

The innovation world cup was started to give startups a chance to display their ideas and business. The competition aims to attract venture capitalists, investors, and potential business partners .

The startup should have a concept of innovative technologies.

You should have a functional prototype of the product.

Cleveland, Ohio hosts this event.

You get a chance at winning prizes worth $500,000 and connect with leading tech companies in your field.

Even if you don’t receive funds, there’s a lot of chance to network, get exposure, and get your ideas validated. Especially, if you are someone who’s new in the business space business plan competitions are a great way to learn the ropes of the trade.

So, go ahead, write your business plan , look up the details, and register for a competition that fits your business the best!

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About the Author

Radhika is an economics graduate and likes to read about every subject and idea she comes across. Apart from that she can discuss her favorite books to lengths( to the point you\'ll start feeling a little annoyed) and spends most of her free time on Google word coach.

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2014 Business Plan Competition: Who’s the Winner?

May 9, 2014 • 11 min read.

"Better, faster, cheaper" was the goal for several of this year's "Great Eight" finalists, who focused on a number of different ideas -- from flying robots to high-end sandwiches.

This year’s Wharton Business Plan Competition (BPC) featured a number of “better, faster, cheaper” ways to complete tasks by moving processes online, including hunting for an apartment, buying an annuity and figuring out which colleges to apply to. Of course, not every entry fit that exact model: There were also plans focused on the use of drones for surveying oil and gas pipelines, screening tests for serious eye disease and ways to perfect the fine art of sandwich-making.

Competing for more than $120,000 (the largest amount to date) in combined cash prizes and in-kind legal and accounting services, the eight finalists presented their pitches on May 1 to a panel of judges and an audience of venture capitalists, business leaders, faculty and students. The competition is open to any student of the University of Pennsylvania (in fact, at this year’s competition, nine different Penn schools were represented) and is managed by the Wharton Entrepreneurship program.

This year’s BPC saw a record number of entries: 181 submissions from more than 490 participants. Over the course of the academic year, 200 judges narrowed down the entries to 25 semifinalists and then to eight, who competed in the “Great Eight” Venture Finals. The judges for the finals competition hailed from Karlin Asset Management, Bay City Capital, Catterton Partners, ExamWorks Group and J. Moore Partners. After hearing the finalists’ 10-minute pitches, the judges had a chance to ask questions about issues such as return on investment, market size, value proposition, budgets and timelines.

The team judged to have the most viable business plan was named the grand prize winner, receiving the $30,000 Michelson Grand Prize, plus $15,000 in legal and accounting services. The second-place winner received $15,000 in cash and $15,000 in legal and accounting services, and the third-place winner received $10,000 in cash and $15,000 in legal and accounting services. A People’s Choice Award of $3,000 was also presented, with the winner determined by audience members’ votes.

New this year was the Wharton Social Impact Prize, given to a semifinalist team incorporating social impact into their business plan. The inaugural $10,000 award went to Dana Cita (“Aspiration Fund” in Indonesian), an initiative to help Indonesian youths bridge the education financing and employment gap.

Below are descriptions of the eight finalist business plans. Who do you think won? (You’ll find out at the end of the article — no peeking!)

Abaris: “Who are our target customers?” Wharton graduate student Matt Carey asked the audience. He showed a slide of an older couple in front of a house. “These are my parents.” Winning a chuckle from the attendees, Carey explained that his fledgling company, Abaris, is targeting 10 million upscale American households aged 54 to 65 who are planning their retirement. It is the first-of-its-kind online marketplace for annuities, he noted.

“When you were applying to college or business school, did you ever wish you could view the application files of already-admitted students?” –Lydia Fayal

Carey said that although he has worked at the Treasury Department as a policy advisor on retirement and pension-related issues, even he found the annuity market confusing. Abaris, he pointed out, offers a much-needed unbiased, transparent overview of annuity options, sold on a significantly reduced, flat-commission basis. By cutting out the traditional middlemen — insurance agents and private wealth managers — Abaris will help consumers understand what they are buying and choose the optimal plan. This will also benefit insurance companies, whose annuity sales will become more profitable when the traditional sales channels are eliminated, Carey stated. Abaris will pilot in June and launch by 2015, and anticipates $40 million in revenues by 2018.

AdmitSee: AdmitSee co-founder Lydia Fayal, a University of Pennsylvania law student, began her presentation with a question. “When you were applying to college or business school, did you ever wish you could view the application files of already-admitted students?” Of course, many of us would have liked to — and that is what AdmitSee is counting on. The site, which projects $145,000 in revenues this year and expects to be cash-positive by June 2015, pays accepted students to anonymously post profiles that include their college acceptances, essays, grades, extracurricular activities and advice for new applicants. Users can access basic profile content for free. Unlocking a profile’s full content costs $5 to $20 and packages of 10 profiles from a particular school or based around a particular topic can be purchased for $40.

Fayal and co-founder Stephanie Shyu, also a Penn law student, said that AdmitSee will help level the higher education playing field and build an online community in the process. In the $6 billion college admissions market, with 21.8 million students enrolled in four-year colleges and 25% of applicants applying to more than seven schools, AdmitSee is going head-to-head with much more expensive private consultants who are its main competitors.

Identified Technologies: The oil and gas industry is one of the largest on the planet, and the founders of Identified Technologies say they have just the product for it. The team provides small flying robots — known as quadrotors — to survey and monitor oil and gas pipelines. Pipelines require frequent checking for normal wear and tear, as well as vandalism.

Current pipeline-monitoring methods, said team leader and Wharton PhD candidate Andy Wu, are slow, expensive and imprecise or cannot provide on-demand data. These traditional processes include land-based inspection — which “literally involves teams of men walking along millions of miles of pipeline with handheld scanners” — helicopters and satellites. Wu and his teammate, Dick Zhang, a University of Pennsylvania engineering student, noted that their quadrotors — which come complete with patented docking stations where the robots autonomously swap and charge batteries and offload data — can perform the same work more quickly and more efficiently.

Wu and Zhang see a $1.46 billion market annually in U.S. natural gas monitoring alone, and said they can deliver margins greater than 70%. They are currently in a pilot with a Fortune 200 firm that produces more than 14% of the country’s natural gas.

Matt & Marie’s: Nicole Capp’s great-grandparents immigrated to Brooklyn from Italy, where they opened an Italian grocery and sandwich shop. Now, Capp, who is a Wharton graduate student, has joined team leader Justin Sapolsky to create Matt & Marie’s, a modern Italian sandwich store which will open in Philadelphia’s main business district this summer.

“By doing something you do many times a day, with little or no effort, you can actually make money.” –Sanghoon Kwak

The team says it will bring fine dining-quality food and hospitality to an accessible fast-food format. Sapolsky and Capp compare their concept to Five Guys for burgers and Chipotle for TexMex, saying that these companies hit the consumer “sweet spot” with hearty portion sizes, fresh ingredients, a small targeted menu and a slightly higher price point than traditional fast-food joints.

Matt & Marie’s aims to capture the sandwich market with offerings like the Italian Stallion: coppa, fennel and genoa salami, sharp provolone, house-made sweet pickled peppers and spicy pepperoncini aioli on fresh Italian bread. The two self-confessed “Wharton operations junkies” have carefully engineered their business plan including running math simulations to minimize wait times and creating proprietary automated management tools for their anticipated chain of stores.

PhaseOptics: By 2030, there will be an estimated 35 million diabetics in the U.S. Among diabetes’ more serious complications is blindness. The PhaseOptics team said the company can help prevent diabetes-related blindness with a revolutionary imaging technology that improves early detection and prevention.

According to team leader Frank Brodie, a Perelman School of Medicine and Wharton graduate student, medical standards call for diabetics to be screened at least annually by an ophthalmologist, but about 50% of patients do not go regularly. Moreover, the two existing diagnostic options have drawbacks: One entails a lengthy, invasive procedure, and the other, while easier on the patient, is not nearly as accurate. The team’s patented software, Phase Variance OCT, offers “the best of both worlds,” Brodie noted: A quick, simple procedure that yields images as sharp as more invasive technologies. Plus, the screenings can be performed in the primary care office as part of the patient’s regular visit. The team has received $2 million in National Institutes of Health grants and has a three-phase plan to roll the product out to device manufacturers and medical professionals.

Senvol: Originally a tool for creating one-off prototypes, 3D printing is increasingly being used to manufacture just about anything, from jewelry to aerospace parts. It is an estimated $2.2 billion market with a 28% growth rate. Senvol aims to capitalize on 3D printing’s exponential growth in the manufacturing industry by strategically positioning itself between supply and demand.

According to team leader Zach Simkin, a Wharton graduate student, Senvol applies a proprietary algorithm to help manufacturers determine which of their industrial parts can be produced more cost effectively by using 3D printing. To date, the team has worked with several Fortune 500 companies in the aerospace, oil and gas, consumer products and automotive sectors.

“It was surprising how much misinformation there was out there about renting in Philadelphia, particularly given the abundance of high quality buildings and great places to live.” –Ashrit Kamireddi

Slidejoy: How many times a day do you unlock your phone? As much as 50 to 100 if you’re like many people, according to the Slidejoy team. Slidejoy is an Android app that pays users to view attractively designed ads every time they unlock their phones. In only three months, Slidejoy has garnered more than 18,000 downloads and served over 24 million ad impressions.

“By doing something you do many times a day, with little or no effort, you can actually make money,” said team leader and Wharton graduate student Sanghoon Kwak. Users receive $5 to $10 per month for allowing the ads on their phones, and the payment (in cash or as a charitable donation of their choice) is the same whether or not they engage with the ads (by swiping left).

The Slidejoy app learns users’ preferences over time, taking into account time of day and different locations to create a more profitable, relevant experience, Kwak noted. Initial advertisers include Groupon and Macy’s. Slidejoy has appeared on CNET, CNBC and Fox 29, and expects to be profitable by year-end with one million users.

VeryApt: VeryApt team leaders Ashrit Kamireddi and Scott Bierbryer, both Wharton graduate students, have something in common: They both hated searching for an apartment when they moved to Philadelphia for school. “It was surprising how much misinformation there was out there about renting in Philadelphia, particularly given the abundance of high quality buildings and great places to live,” said Kamireddi. The brainchild of this frustration was VeryApt, a website that helps people find apartments by combining user-generated reviews with big-data analytics to deliver intelligent, personalized recommendations.

Financially supported by the apartment buildings themselves (who benefit from the marketing leads), and targeting upscale prospects such as working professionals and graduate students, VeryApt examines a user’s preferences across 250+ data points to yield a tailored list of apartments including amenity lists, photos and neighborhood guides. So far, the business has generated $50,000 across 25 building subscriptions and sees a $15.5 million-dollar revenue opportunity in Philadelphia alone, the team leaders said. VeryApt anticipates expansion to 20 cities by year three and 50 cities by year five, at which point it projects $45 million in revenues.

And the Winner is…

Slidejoy won first prize. Second place went to PhaseOptics, which also took away the People’s Choice Award. The third prize winner was VeryApt.

Slidejoy’s Kwak said the prize would be “really helpful for us to find a place to work out of and get the whole team in one place…. We’ve been living on friends’ couches and floors for over a year now.” As for PhaseOptics, team leader Brodie said that the team is actively fundraising right now, and the prize money will help support its fundraising trips across the country.

VeryApt team member Scott Bierbryer said the award will help cover legal and office space expenses, as he and his colleagues “really build out the Philly model and then start the business in other cities.”

Now in its 16th year, the Wharton Business Plan Competition has helped develop a number of successful companies including Warby Parker, Petplan, Stylitics, DocASAP, Innova Dynamics and MicroMRI. More than 15 of the “Great Eight” finalists from past years are still in business.

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How to Win Any Business Plan Competition, From a 4-Time Winner

Alison alvarez has gotten really good at understanding what judges want. here are her top tips..

Alison Alvarez is a master of the business plan competition. 

Her expertise grew out of necessity. When she and her co-founder, Tomer Borenstein, founded BlastPoint in 2016, they knew they had a winning business idea : Leverage artificial intelligence to help public utilities, banks, and automotive companies analyze their massive customer lists. In their estimation, most data tools weren't built for salespeople or others who might really benefit from them. Plus, the pair of computer scientists knew their stuff--both had graduate degrees from Carnegie Mellon; Alvarez had also earned her MBA at the University's Tepper School of Business. 

But neither had financial resources. "Often you hear about the 'friends and family round,'" comments Alvarez, referring to founders bootstrapping their companies by way of benevolent relatives. She wondered, "If you don't have those, what do you do?" 

Alvarez and Borenstein decided to bootstrap the Pittsburgh-based BlastPoint through competitions and grants . Alvarez viewed it as something akin to scholarship applications, which she had grown expert at as a student. She funded both her undergraduate and graduate educations with scholarships. 

The strategy worked. In the past four years, the company has won four such competitions, ranging in size from 2017's UpPrize, which came with a $160,000 reward, all the way to a small $2,000 payoff in the GSV Labs AI Pitch competition in 2020. 

"We got really good at that as a way to get capital for basic things," says Alvarez. "Like, we need a printer, let's go to a quick pitch competition," referencing how she entered and won TiE  Pittsburgh . She notes an additional benefit of her business-competition funding strategy: "Investors show up." At that point, she says, "it becomes less about the money, more about expanding our network," which is key, especially when Covid-19 has made socializing normally so hard. 

Here, Alvarez shares a few the tricks she uses to prevail. 

Ask to see the judging guidelines.

Competitions often try to make life easy for their judges, who tend to be high profile, busy, and donating their time, by providing them with scoring rubrics. These are handy guides that explain how to weight companies' merits in various categories as they evaluate one application after the next.

It never hurts to ask to see these judges' guidelines ahead of time, suggests Alvarez. "Usually if you ask, they'll just give it to you."

"You should know what rules you're being held to," she says. "And if you do that you'll know how to tailor your presentation to address the whole rubric."

What's more, she says, "they'll also remember your name as someone who had the initiative to reach out." 

Small, real stories beat big, vague ideas.

Before entering UpPrize, the social innovation challenge funded by BNY Mellon, Alvarez and Borenstein used an example of a nearby watershed whose director wanted to understand how to balance the needs both rich and poor constituents equitably. Armed with real, quantitative calculations of the benefits--and a portrait of the watershed's executive director--Alvarez had a real-world example to look to. She then explained how her company had the potential to help both nonprofits and companies save money and increase equity, across the nation at scale. 

"If you can get just one person to say you actually saved them $100 or a $1,000, it has a lot more impact than if you just said, 'We have the  potential  to save people millions of dollars,'" she says. 

Find a memorable hook.

Even if you have real results and check all the boxes of a winning pitch, there's still a chance your application can get lost in the shuffle. 

"Know that you are part of a really big group of people. You might be lucky if judges remember one thing about you," she says. "But know that you have control over what that one thing is." 

Put something powerful and memorable in the beginning, middle, and end of your presentation--you never know whether judges might get distracted at some point as you're talking, so hedge your bets. BlastPoint's founders summarized their mission by highlighting the importance of data: "Data enables you to see where you're going and where you've been; without it, you're operating without vision." 

Boil your business down to one sentence.

On stage, Alvarez makes all the complex data analysis BlastPoint performs sound clear and easy to remember: "It's big data for human brains," she says. The idea is to make your company easy to talk about during judge's deliberations. 

"If someone walks away from what you're doing, can they tell somebody about your business in a sentence?" she says. "And if they can't, you need to rethink what you're doing." 

A refreshed look at leadership from the desk of CEO and chief content officer Stephanie Mehta

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UNDER THE HIGH PATRONAGE OF HIS MAJESTY KING MOHAMMED VI

In partnership with:

• Business Plan Competition

A Business Plan competition for early stage startup companies from all over the world. Eight semi-finalists have been chosen from a pool of over 120 applications to be considered for this competition.  The final round will take place on Day 3 (March 26 th ) of the MIT GSW, where an invited panel of judges will decide on the final winners.

Global prize : The winner of the 2014 MIT GSW Business Plan Competition Global prize  will receive a $10,000 cash prize as seed money and would be guaranteed a slot in the second round of  MassChallenge , a prestigious Boston based high impact startup accelerator.

Africa Prize : The winner of the 2014 MIT GSW Business Plan Competition  Africa prize  will receive a spot in the MIT Global Founders’ Skills Accelerator program, an international entrepreneurship program that provides student entrepreneurs with the skills and resources needed to launch successful startups.

Note that the same team cannot win both prizes.

Competition Rules 

• Each team will have a total of  8 minutes   which includes a 5 minute pitch + 3 minutes of Q&A from judges on the day of the competition.
• Decisions of the judges and the MIT GSW team are final and may not be appealed.
• Contestants are expected to behave respectfully to all other contestants, sponsors, judges, volunteers, and audience members.  Any behavior that is found to violate MIT GSW’s ethical and behavioral standards will result in automatic disqualification.
• The teams will be judged according to the criteria below, which will be weighted equally:

1.    Market

• Is there a large, attractive market opportunity?
• What are the pain points and are they clearly identified?
• Who is your target market?

2.   Product/Technology

• Is there a clear overview of product/service being offered?
• Is the solution offered compelling?
• Is there a strong value proposition for the end-user/consumer?

3.  Business Strategy

• What is the quality of the business plan and strategy?
• Does the company have a defensible strategy against potential competitors?
• Have the key risks/mitigations been well-identified?

4.  Competition

• Is there a solid competitive analysis?
• Does the company have a strong advantage over its competition?
• Is there a well-rounded team that has the right skillset to be successful in this business?
• What are the qualifications and strengths of the team?

Feel free to email [email protected] if you have any questions

Applications Now Closed

The deadline for submission has passed. Thank you all for your applications. We will get in touch with you if you made it to the next round.

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How to Win a Business Plan Competition

8 min. read

Updated May 10, 2024

Have you considered business plan competitions as part of your startup strategy? I’ve personally seen startups get more than a million dollars in investment at the annual Rice University Business Plan Competition, held every April. I’ve also seen startups raise tens and even hundreds of thousands of dollars of grant money at competitions hosted by the University of Oregon and the University of Texas. And I’ve read about startups getting good money from outside universities, in competitions held by business development organizations and businesses. And this is now worldwide, not just in the U.S. 

As I write this, I just did a web search for business plan competitions, and came up with dozens of them coming up in 2022. I judged a University of Oregon business plan competition just last month. 

I’ve never entered a business plan competition, but I’ve been judging them since 1997. I’ve done multiple stints at several of the majors. And I’ve developed some pointers and tips to help you win your next business plan competition. 

• 1. Know the judging guidelines

As business plan competitions have grown and developed, most of them have fine-tuned the details of judging procedures and criteria. For example, many ask judges to choose which entrant is the best investment for outsiders. That’s different from which is the best business or which they would rather own or share in. The key point there is that criterion essentially dismisses good startups that don’t need outside investment to grow. 

I’ve seen startups successfully tailor their plans and pitches to aim at outside investment rather than self funding. That, in my opinion, is the right way to adjust to the specific criteria. 

You should also be aware of judging guidelines governing questions, comments, interruptions of pitches, plan and pitch length, and so forth. Some business plan competitions ask the judges to listen quietly to a pitch, without interrupting. Others encourage judges to interrupt at will, as they would in a real investment pitch. Startups have to know and plan accordingly. 

• 2. Research who you are pitching to

In most of the business plan competitions I’ve seen, judges are a collection of venture capitalists, angel investors, entrepreneurs, and local business leaders. That’s predictable. The organizers of these competitions ask local people to participate, as volunteers, as judges. So they look for people who know the general territory of startups, business plans, pitches, and investment. 

Different judges have different sets of expertise. I’ve seen attorneys, accountants, and medical doctors as judges, along with investors in general. Read their biographies before you finalize your pitch. Know what experience and background they have. This can help a lot as you deliver a pitch and field questions.

• 3. Refine your pitch deck and get feedback

Start with a good deck of slides . Understand what your slide deck is supposed to do: ideally, it’s a collection of useful and/or beautiful images that focus attention on what you are saying, add depth to what you are saying, and sets the structure to what you say. For example, as you discuss the problem your startup solves, you project a beautiful image that illustrates the problem you solve. You want your investors to focus on you and your words, not read words from your slides. Avoid the so-called “death by PowerPoint” meaning the boredom of a speaker reading slide bullet points to a captive audience.   

We have a lot of information for you, on this site, about doing your slide presentation for a business pitch. All of that applies to the pitch component of a business plan competition. That includes How to Create a Pitch Deck , 15 Tips for a Successful Pitch , T he 11 Slides Your Need for a Pitch Deck , and others. 

Practice makes perfect . Trite but true. In my experience, the best pitches are practiced a lot but not memorized. The slide images stand as placeholders to set the flow of topics. They provide visual emphasis. But the speakers use their own words and let it flow differently each time they do it. The best have been over the pitch a lot, with others listening and poking holes where they can. So they have a good guess on what questions might come up, and how they will respond to those questions when they do. You might look at this article on how to get feedback on your pitch . 

• 4. Develop a memorable hook

You have just a few seconds to make that important first impression. Call that a hook. You want judges’ attention from the very beginning. Maybe you tell a story of a real person suffering the problem you want to solve. Ideally, in that case, your first slide is a picture of that problem. Maybe you share the vision of how this will help the world. That can start with an image too. 

Hooks are hard to generalize, but it’s all about getting the judges to care. It’s most often about the problem a startup solves, the size of the need, the importance of the solution. But it might also be the ambitious goals, if you can make the judges care about that. Be creative. Put yourself in the place of an investor, sense business plan competition judges are usually thinking as investors. What makes this exciting to the investor? What’s the best thing to make them care from the beginning. 

• 5. Share any traction

Being able to show actual achieved traction is a huge advantage in a business plan competition. Most competitions invite startups at very early stages, often long before launch or even serious steps towards execution. The startup that already has traction is way ahead of the competition. 

What makes traction depends on your type of business. Maybe it’s proven research, subscribers, customers, distributors, letters of intent, users, and so forth. Generally, there’s nothing stronger than actual paying customers. 

• 6. Show realistic market potential and growth

Don’t ever think that in a business plan competition the biggest market wins. It’s so very much not that simple. Credibility and realism are critical. I’ve seen judges not choose a startup that was going to cure cancer, with a projected market of billions, because they just didn’t believe it. I’ve seen judges routinely reject unbelievable big numbers. 

Yes, of course, bigger is better, but only within that framework of credibility. The method and assumptions and transparency of a projection is very important. The best market projections build from the bottom up, with believable assumptions about drivers: stores, channels, web views, traffic, sales funnels. Numbers should start at the base drivers and build up to the bigger numbers. 

• 7. Prepare relatable stories

Stories are vital to business success and that includes in business plan competition. Your hook is a story. Your problem and solution are a story. How people find and buy that solution is another story. Business planning is in many ways telling stories first and then planning how to make them come true. The stories are vital to your success in a business plan competition. You hint at them in an elevator pitch, tell them in the business pitch, and show them and how they can come true in your business plan. 

• 8. Keep things short and straightforward

Business plan competition judges are busy people. They have a lot of distractions. Boredom is your enemy. Time is the scarcest resource. Keep your pitches moving. Once you lose their attention, it is very hard to get that back. Stay on point. Move it forward fast. 

In a pinch, use your slide deck to help. Click on the next slide. That should move you to the next topic. 

• 9. Prove you are uniquely qualified

Most business plan contest judges are investors and most investors agree that choosing a startup is often more about the jockey than the horse. I’ve often seen judges reject a good plan with a good product and market but an unconvincing team. Show why your team background and qualifications make you uniquely qualified. Usually that means track records, industry experience, related credentials, accomplishments, market knowledge, product knowledge, and commitment. Simply put: why you?  

• 10. Have your business plan prepared to share

Start with the obvious: Make sure you are aware of each business plan competition’s specific requirements for the plan itself. Most of them set down standards for how many pages. Some set just page count while others will distinguish between text pages and pages containing illustrations and/or financial projections. Many business plan contests also specify pagination and details for the executive summary. 

Pay special attention to the summaries. Many judges will read just the summaries well and skim the rest, and then screen and grade plans based mainly on the summary information. Make sure you show the highlights first, and well. What highlights? That depends on your unique plan. For some, technology is most important. For others, it’s the market, or the team experience. You have to know what best sets you apart, and put that where judges will see it. 

In a business plan competition, the quality of presentation in the plan — writing and formatting as well as content — is especially important. Be careful with text, diction, spelling, grammar, and formatting. Don’t let important information get lost in details. You are going to be graded on the quality of the document. 

• Get funding for your business

Finally, maybe as a conclusion, let’s remember that winning a business plan competition is one way to get funding for your business. Winnings can be very helpful. I’ve seen startups come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars and in a couple specific cases (at the Rice Business Plan Competition in Houston) more than a million dollars in angel investment by winning a business plan competition. And I’ve seen startups come up with tens of thousands of dollars as simple grants, no strings attached, as prizes for winning a business plan contest. 

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

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Friends of the Children Wins 2014 Business Plan Competition

• June 18, 2014
• socialimpactex

New York  – Cynthia  Massarsky , vice president of Growth Philanthropy Network and the Social Impact Exchange, announced yesterday the naming of the Exchange’s Business Plan Competition in memory of Greg  Dees  – thought leader, scholar and pioneer in the field of social entrepreneurship.  Dees  was a founding partner of the Exchange. Recognized internationally for developing social entrepreneurship as an academic field, he was a founding faculty member of the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, and had an exemplary history of teaching and scholarship at Yale School of Management, Harvard Business School, and Stanford University’s Center for Social Innovation.

“Greg’s vision, conceptualization, frameworks, and published research and findings on the field of scaling social impact have guided our work at the Exchange. His contribution to our organization – and certainly to the field of social entrepreneurship – was extraordinary,” said  Massarsky  in announcing the new name.

Also yesterday, an exemplary organization –  Friends of the Children ( FOTC )  – was selected as winner of the  Social Impact Exchange ’s  2014 Business Plan Competition . The organization was one of three finalists who presented their business plans (with  ReThink  Health and  Tahirih  Justice Center) and responded to questions about scaling their initiatives from a panel of expert judges and field leaders.

The winner receives a cash award and consulting services. Consulting will be provided by Theresa  Schieber , principal of  Impact Atelier , a leader in nonprofit management and scaling social innovation.

Last fall, dozens of nonprofits entered the Exchange’s Business Plan Competition and proceeded through several rounds of evaluation by 60 qualified professionals from the private, public, and nonprofit sectors. All entrants received customized written feedback on their plans.

The award recipient,  Friends of the Children , addresses the problem of inequity for children living in high poverty areas. Through an individualized mentor program that follows children from kindergarten through high school graduation, Friends of the Children seeks to break generational cycles of poverty, school failure, teen parenting, and criminality. The organization is based in Portland, Oregon, and over the next three years plans to grow their national network to impact 7,500 children. Scale-up will be accomplished through a three-pronged approach.  FOTC’s   growth plan  includes: strengthening existing  FOTC  chapters to become regional demonstration sites; embedding the  FOTC  model within other youth-serving organizations; and expanding collaborative partnerships while sharing evidence and best practices.

“We are deeply honored by this amazing opportunity and excited for what it will mean for Friends of the Children. We are working toward our vision that every high-risk child will have access to a long-term relationship with a caring adult. The Social Impact Exchange is our catalyst to launch our expansion campaign,” says Terri Sorensen, president of Friends of the Children. “We thank the Social Impact Exchange for their pioneering work in the field of scaling social impact.”

The award was conferred yesterday on June 17 at the  Social Impact Exchange’s  2014 Symposium on Scaling Impact  before an audience of more than 250  grantmakers  and nonprofit leaders. In addition to witnessing the Business Plan Competition, Symposium attendees participated in a plenary session Strategic Growth: Developing a Strategy to Match the Scale of the Problem and breakout sessions discussing Strategic Communications for Scale.

The Symposium is followed today by the Exchange’s 2014  Conference on Scaling Impact  June 18-19, which specifically targets funders and their advisors. Highlights of the conference include keynote addresses from  Tonya Allen (President and CEO, The Skillman Foundation);  Antony  Bugg-Levine  (CEO, Nonprofit Finance Fund);  Isiah  Thomas  (Chairman and CEO, Isaiah International);  Jeffrey Walker  (Retired Managing Partner, JPMorgan Partners and Vice Chairman, UN Envoy’s Office for Health Finance and Malaria); and  Kenneth Zimmerman  (Director, U.S. Programs at the Open Society Foundation).

Both the Symposium and Conference on Scaling are presented by  Growth Philanthropy Network . Conference sponsors include Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Express, Bank of America, Impact Atelier, and McLeod-Grant Advisors.

• Systems Thinking and Systems Change
• Scaling Social Impact
• Change Management
• Diffusion of Innovations
• Replication & Implementation Science

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2014 Competition

2014 > 2015 > 2016 > 2017  > 2018 > 2019

The three finalists in the 2014 NIBS Worldwide Business Plan Competition were Gainz Arrange (Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven, Belgium), NapAway (Baltazar Adam Krcelic – Zapresic, Croatia) and Sana (Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Marketing – Dublin, Ireland). Below you can find out more about their business plans.

Winner: Gainz Arrange (Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven)

Finalist: NapAway (Baltazar Adam Krcelic)

Finalist: Sana (Dublin Institute of Technology)

Competitions now open for registration

Entrepreneurial vision. International focus. Extraordinary opportunity.

Enter a Search Term

2020 competition, the 2020 rbpc was the first virtual edition of the competition.

2020 was the 20th year of the competition with 520+ startup teams from around the world submitting applications for 42 slots. More than 180 corporate and private sponsors and close to 200 judges: local and national angel investors, venture capitalists, corporate venture reps, sector specialists participated virtually from around the world. After 3 days, the competition concluded with $1.3+ Million in prize money awarded and pledged with 7 teams each winning $100,000 or more. 

The connections and the networking that you can get after the RBPC can literally change your startup's life. Robert Hatcher, 2020 Grand Prize Winner Founder, Aurign

Congratulations to the 2020 Winners

2020 elevator pitch competition.

The Mercury Fund Elevator Pitch Competition is a fast-paced, high-energy event. Each competitor has to pitch their startup in 60 seconds for a chance at prizes. This is a great opportunity for our judges to a get a glimpse at all of the startups and kicks off the competition. 

2020 Finals

After the elevator pitches and semi-finals, 7 startups moved on to the live finals! 

2020 Competitors

	School	Video Pitch
	MIT
	University of Maryland
	University of Iowa
	University of Maryland, Baltimore County
	Georgia State University
	University of Chicago
	Duke University
	Northwestern University
	Tufts University
	University of Arkansas, Fayetteville
	Oklahoma State University
	Ohio University
	University of California, San Diego
	University of Connecticut
	George Washington University
	Rice University
	Harvard University
	West Virginia University
	Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (India)
	Georgetown University
	Carnegie Mellon University
	University of Waterloo (Canada)
	University of Virginia
	Tecnológico de Monterrey (Mexico)
	Texas State University
	Dartmouth College
	University of Pittsburgh
	Northwestern University
	Norwegian University of Science and Technology
	Georgetown University
	University of Tennessee
	University of Manchester (UK)
	RWTH Aachen University (Germany)
	Johns Hopkins University
	Stanford University
	University of Louisville
	University of Texas at Arlington
	University of Michigan
	University of California San Diego
	Imperial College London
	Yale University
	Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

	School	Live Plan	Video Pitch
	University of Cambridge (United Kingdom
	MIT
	University of Washington
	Johns Hopkins University
	University of Chicago
	Nanyang Technological University (Singapore)
	University of Chicago and Northwestern University
	University of Michigan
	Harvard University and MIT
	Columbia University
	Arizona State University
	University of Houston
	Carnegie Mellon University
	University of Notre Dame
	University of Michigan
	University of California, Irvine
	Arizona State University
	Boston University
	Brown University
	University of Pittsburgh
	Princeton University
	University of Victoria (Canada)
	Cornell University
	Rice University
	UCLA
	IIT Madras (India)
	Texas State University
	Dartmouth College
	Northwestern University
	RWTH Aachen University (Germany)
	Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU)
	University of Notre Dame
	University of California, Berkeley
	Northwestern University
	University of Iowa
	New York University
	Carnegie Mellon University
	Johns Hopkins University
	UCLA
	University of Arkansas at Little Rock
	Mitchell Hamline School of Law
	MIT

Read About All the Startups

Previous competitions.

For 21 years the Rice Business Plan Competition has provided student startups with mentorship, guidance and capital to help support them on their entrepreneurial journey! In 2020, the competition went virtual for the first time. Check out a few of our previous competitions' content, including elevator pitch videos, final pitches, photos and LivePlans.

• 2021 Competition - Big Ideas. Brilliant Startups.
• 2019 Competition - The Art of Entrepreneurship
• 2018 Competition - One Wild Ride

Dempsey Startup Competition

The Dempsey Startup Competition (Dempsey Startup), organized by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, provides a real-world experience for student entrepreneurs, promoting student ideas and new venture creation to the entrepreneurial community. Participating in the Dempsey Startup gives students practice in the dynamics of venture creation by developing an idea, putting together a founding team, writing a business plan, and presenting to investors. In fact, many ideas that started as a class project turned into a start-up company through the competition process! The Dempsey Startup Competition is open to undergrads and grad students at accredited colleges and universities across the Cascadia Corridor – Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and British Columbia, as well as Alaska.

• 26  years of the Business Plan Competition/Dempsey Startup
• $1.79 million in prize money awarded to 218 student companies
• 6,100+ student participants
• 1,935 teams have entered since 1998
• 350+ entrepreneurs and investors who took part in the 2022 competition as judges, advisers, and mentors

2024 Awards and Honors

Learn more about the 2024 event and the winning teams

BioLegacy won the $25,000 Herbert B. Jones Foundation Grand Prize

BioLegacy aims to extend donor organ viability from 24 hours to years by utilizing patent-pending organ cryopreservation and electromagnetic rewarming technologies, while working with clinical partners to save more lives.

Read more about 2024 winners

MoodRoom won the $15,000 BECU Second Place Prize

MoodRoom is a virtual, mental health and dialectical behavior therapy toolkit for managing mood and mental disorders, negative thought patterns, suicidal ideation, self-harm, and substance abuse.

Joy Bucket won the $10,000 WRF Capital Third Place Prize

Joy Bucket created an affordable, clinical grade wearable health technology for safe and healthy pregnancies with the goal of empowering pregnant mothers against rising maternal mortality and morbidity in the United States.

CivicImpact.ai

CivicImpact.ai won the $7.5k Friends of the Dempsey Startup Fourth Place Prize

CivicImpact.ai’s RFPGo, a GenAI-powered tool, aims to transform the documents cities use in the public procurement process to create a virtuous flywheel that creates more business opportunities, increases market competition, and improves the quality of goods and services delivered to all citizens.

SecondSite won the $5k Glympse Internet of Things (IoT) Big Picture Prize

SecondSite offers total job-site reality capture and AI analysis for construction risk management so mistakes can be caught as they happen.

The Integrity Project

The Integrity Project won the $5k MìLà Social Impact Big Picture Prize

The Integrity Project is a nonprofit platform leveraging AI and big data to enhance governance through political integrity analysis and political systems mapping, while empowering voters with actionable insights into candidate trustworthiness and integrity.

LiveUp won the $2.5k eBay Best Marketplace Idea Prize

LiveUp provides students with a simple and easy to follow process for subleasing and renting in an all-in-one platform with the goal of providing greater access to affordable housing.

BioSyft won the $2.5k Perkins Coie Best Innovation/Technology Idea Prize

BioSyft is combining deep learning technology with the tracking of animal movements to develop models for neuropsychiatric and behavioral diseases such as Alzheimer’s.

Happy Pop won the $2.5k Thatcher & Shannon Davis Best Consumer Product Idea Prize

Happy Pop offers guilt-free snacking with delicious Indian-inspired snacks, all handmade from wholesome and non-GMO ingredients.

CivicImpact.ai won the $2.5k Saara Romu Community Impact Prize

AffordAid won the $2.5k David & Patty Helberg Smukowski Best Sustainable Business Idea Prize

AffordAid is a non-profit initiative aimed at mitigating the financial strain of acquiring medical aids by offering refurbished, high-quality medical equipment at reduced prices.

Orbi won the $2.5k Voyager Capital Best Business to Business Idea Prize

Orbi is an AI software engineer that helps teams go from development tasks to solutions in minutes, while curbing technical debt, streamlining development, and boosting productivity.

Greener Pastures

Greener Pastures won the $2.5k DLA Piper Best Idea with Global Reach Prize

Greener Pastures has developed a regenerative agricultural solution that aims to revolutionize the way seeds are planted for optimal growth, while allowing farmers to increase crop yields and decrease inputs.

BioLegacy won the $2.5k Karr Tuttle Campbell Best Health & Wellness Impact Prize

See the full list of winners here .

Competition Details

The application site will open for submissions on Thursday, February 22 , 2024 and will be due by 11:59pm on Monday, April 1. The competition begins with the initial online Screening Round between April 4-9, 2024.

There are four competitive elimination rounds (and one non-competitive round) between April 1 – May 23, 2024. The Buerk Center will schedule information sessions, workshops, and office hours with mentors to help participating student teams prepare for each round!

Dempsey Startup Competition Event Schedule 2024

Competition Rounds + Deliverables for Teams Advancing Past Screening Round

	Thursday, February 22
(see SUBMISSION RESOURCES tab below for examples of past submissions)	Monday, April 1 by 11:59 pm
(Closed, Online Session—Judges Only)	April 4–9
Teams will be notified by email after 2:00 pm.	Tuesday, April 9
Mandatory event for all teams advancing to the Investment Round	Thursday, April 11 (evening)
Optional but highly recommended for teams advancing to the Investment Round	Wednesday, April 17 (evening)
Mandatory for all teams advancing to the Investment Round	Thursday, April 25 (evening)
30-minute appointments with mentors for teams advancing to the Investment Round	Week of April 22
Tradeshow-style event. : 1-page business summary due Thursday, April 25.	Thursday, May 2
Mandatory, non-competitive virtual session. : Draft of PPT pitch deck to review with coaches.	Wednesday, May 15 (late afternoon/evening)
: 12–15 page business plan due Friday, 5/17 at 12pm. PPT Pitch deck is due the morning of 5/23.	Thursday, May 23 (morning)
Open to the public to attend.	Thursday, May 23 (afternoon)
	Thursday, May 23 (evening)

Teams in the Dempsey Startup Competition must comply with the following criteria to be eligible for the competition.

• The business plan must be developed during the student’s tenure at the university. Students working with outside entrepreneurs must create an original business plan.
• All submissions to the Dempsey Startup Competition must live up to the higher ideals of the University of Washington. Your idea must be appropriate for a university-sponsored event. The Buerk Center reserves the right to disqualify any entry that in its judgment violates the letter or the spirit of the competition or exceeds the bounds of social convention.
• Companies that have received more than $500k in seed or grant funding are not eligible to apply. If the company is revenue positive, the company’s total revenue cannot exceed $500k. Please note this is different than the company’s projected revenue. This rule does not apply to projected revenue.
• Eligible students can form a team with non-student business community members or alumni, but there are restrictions to this involvement (see below).
• In the Investment Round, no more than four team members, including both students and non-students, can present the new business concept to the judges. In the Sweet Sixteen and Final Rounds of the competition, only student team members will be allowed to make presentations to the judges.
• Students must have an ownership stake in the business or the potential for equity or employment.
• Only student members of a team may use the Startup Tree and Office Hours resources. Non-student members may not reach out to mentors nor should they attend any Office Hours appointments, even if accompanied by a student. These resources are for students only.
• Only student team members based in WA, OR, ID, AK and British Columbia are eligible to earn prize money. No payments will be made to non-students or student team members located outside of the region.
• Teams that have participated in the Jones + Foster Accelerator may not apply to the Dempsey Startup Competition.
• Students graduating within this academic year (Summer 2023 and forward) are eligible as student members for the current competition.

Note: The Director of the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship reserves the right to make the final determination of the eligibility of submitted business ventures .

Confidentiality

The Dempsey Startup Competition considers all submitted business plans as confidential and treats all team matters accordingly. However, we cannot guarantee complete confidentiality for proprietary matters.

Therefore, we strongly encourage any team with concerns regarding intellectual property, copyright, or patent confidentiality to either contact their University’s intellectual property office (for University-developed discoveries) or competent legal counsel (for non-University related discoveries). The University of Washington, the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, the Foster School of Business, and the organizers of the competition are not responsible for any proprietary information and/or intellectual property included in a submitted business plan.

Ultimately, protection of sensitive materials is the sole responsibility of the individual or team participating in the competition.

Judging criteria

The Dempsey Startup Competition is comprised of four competitive rounds (Screening Round, Investment Round, Sweet 16, and Final Round) and one non-competitive Coaching Round, designed to prepare teams for the Sweet 16 and Final Round.

Screening Round

The Screening Round takes place online, and is the first major hurdle for students participating in the Dempsey Startup Competition. Student teams submit their business plan executive summaries online. Over the course of a weekend, each business plan executive summary is read and scored by eight to ten judges who are encouraged to provide written feedback for students. After the Screening Round, an announcement of teams advancing to the Investment Round is sent via email. Please also review the submission checklist .

NOTE: Scoring based on 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest), with 3 being of the caliber to advance to the next round

Overall Impression of the Executive Summary

Does the summary adequately describe the idea — does the idea make sense? Has the team adequately described the pain in the marketplace? Do you believe the team has presented a feasible solution? Is the summary well written and succinct? Does the summary create excitement?

Management team

Does this management team have the skills required to execute the plan? Does this team have the experience to lead a new venture?

Market opportunity

Have they adequately described the market and economic opportunity? Have they clearly stated their value proposition? Is it a viable model?

Competitive strategy

Has the team completely analyzed its competitive space? Does the summary clearly identify the company’s initial competitive advantage or differentiator? Does the team have an adequate strategy for defending their market position?

Go to market strategy

Is it clear how the company will reach its initial customer? Does the summary clearly identify a sales strategy? Is the distribution plan clearly defined and reasonable?

Has the team made progress toward any milestones (licenses, patents, etc…) Has the company signed customers and/or channel partners? Has the company booked any revenue?

Are the financials consistent with the overall plan? Are the assumptions realistic? Are contingencies and exit strategies addressed? Does the plan describe the funding/resources required to execute on the plan?

Social Impact

Does the entry have the potential to make a significant positive impact on society? Will it improve the quality of life for people and our planet and help contribute to a better, safer and more prosperous world? Does the team discuss measurable efforts to minimize consumption, use, and byproduct waste, while bolstering profitability/cost containment?

Investment Round

The Investment Round, arguably the most exciting event of the competition, follows a trades show format in which teams set up intricate displays and interact with judges to pitch the team’s idea. The judges, all prominent members of the local entrepreneurial community, are given one thousand “Buerk Center dollars” to invest in a portfolio of teams that they consider the “most viable” – that is, with the best chance for success in the real world. At the end of the event, investment dollars are collected and tallied. The sixteen teams receiving the highest “funding” are announced at a reception immediately following and advance to the next round, the Sweet Sixteen.

We ask the judges to invest their $1,000 “Buerk Center dollars” in a minimum of 5 companies (student teams) and a well-rounded portfolio of companies. We also tell them: when you’re deciding which teams to invest in, ask yourself:

• Does this business seem well thought out?
• Has the team demonstrated knowledge of the industry and potential customers?
• Is there a real opportunity here?
• Has the team answered your questions?

Coaching Round

The Coaching Round is a noncompetitive round in which no teams are eliminated. This round gives teams the opportunity to practice their presentations in front of a panel of coaches from the local entrepreneurial community. This round is designed to provide teams with in-depth and constructive feedback that they can use to hone their business plans and pitches prior to the Sweet 16 and Final Rounds.

Sweet 16 Round and Final Round

After honing their presentations in the Coaching Round, each of the sixteen remaining teams is assigned to present to one of four panels of judges. Judges select the advancing teams based on the following criteria:

• The Team: What are the team dynamics? What is the quality of the team? Does the team demonstrate the ability to execute on its plan? (Student-driven teams are a plus.)
• The Market: Does the company’s product or service address the target market’s needs? (Opportunity size is a plus, but not the primary concern)
• Viability: Is the business model viable, well-articulated, and reasonable? (The team’s IP position should be clear.)
• Presentation: Did the team make a quality presentation? What was the quality of the team’s materials and data? How was the team’s ability to answer tough questions?

Each panel of judges will see four teams’ presentations. After all presentations are finished, judges will discuss the merits of each of their four teams and by process of consensus select one or two teams to go on to the Final Round in the afternoon.

The Final Round is open to viewing by all competition participants, faculty, students, and the public. Each team has 30 minutes to present to and answer questions from a panel of judges (these judges have not seen any teams’ presentations prior to the Final Round.) The judges reach their decisions about team ranking by consensus using the same criteria as the Sweet 16 judges.

Partners & Prizes

BECU Herbert B. Jones Foundation Neal Dempsey

Thatcher + Shannon Davis Glympse WRF Capital Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

DLA Piper eBay Fenwick & West Fran’s Chocolates Karr Tuttle Campbell Keiretsu Forum Madrona MìLà Perkins Coie SEBA Voyager Capital

Friends and Family

Cairncross & Hempelmann Cercano Management LLC David Smukowski Family Evolution Capital Advisors Fuse Keeler Investments Miller Nash Moss Adams Pack VC Saara Romu Silicon Valley Bank

Friends of the Dempsey Startup

Davis Wright Tremaine (Science & Technology Showcase) Farah Ali (Science & Technology Showcase) WRF Capital (Science & Technology Showcase)

Learn about Dempsey Startup Competition partnership opportunities here.

2024 Prizes

$25,000 Grand Prize sponsored by the Herbert B. Jones Foundation $15,000 Second Place Prize sponsored by BECU $10,000 Third Place Prize sponsored by WRF Capital $7,500 Fourth Place Prize sponsored by Friends of the Dempsey Startup

Big Picture Prizes ($5,000)

The Big Picture and Best Idea prizes were created to reward student teams in the Dempsey Startup Competition for their exceptional work in several distinct categories. The teams are selected by a special group of judges during the Investment Round, and the winners are announced at the dinner and awards ceremony in May. Please note that no team can take more than one Big Picture and/or Best Idea prize.

Glympse > Internet of Things (IoT) Prize Recognizes a business venture that has incorporated new products or services that contribute to the Internet of Things (IoT) ecosystem—devices, vehicles, infrastructure and/or other items embedded with electronics, software, sensors, and network connectivity—that enables these objects to collect and exchange data to create new consumer experiences.

MìLà > Social Impact Prize Recognizes a venture that “not only demonstrates the capacity to deliver financial performance, but also shows how it makes a positive contribution to society.” This contribution can be a strategy that incorporates values into their company to develop and implement solutions to social issues or a product/service that helps develop and implement solutions to these same issues.

Best Idea Prizes for $2,500

eBay >  Best Marketplace Idea Targeted for teams that creates a commerce or payments platform for communities of buyers, sellers or businesses.

Thatcher + Shannon Davis > Best Consumer Product Idea For a venture that offers a compelling new consumer product, focusing on a well-defined market.

Perkins Coie > Best Innovation/Technology Idea Targeted for a venture that has a new application for a current technology, a disruptive technology, or an idea that represents a substantial improvement in a product or process.

DLA Piper > Best Idea with Global Reach A venture that has aspirations for acquiring customers around the world.

Smukowski Family > Best Sustainable Business Prize Recognizes a venture that has incorporated best practices toward resource reduction while bolstering profitability/cost containment.

Saara Romu > Community Impact Prize Recognizes a venture that has a direct impact on the lives of women or other underserved communities, with a preference to a team with female-forward leadership.

Voyager Capital > Best Business to Business Idea Recognizes a venture that offers an innovative B2B product or platform.

Karr Tuttle Campbell > Best Health & Wellness Impact Idea prize Recognizes a venture with significant potential to prevent, diagnose, or treat diseases or disorders that impact human health.

Follow-on funding: Jones + Foster Accelerator

Up to $25,000 in follow-on funding is available to student-led start-ups coming out of the Dempsey Startup Competition, the Health Innovation or Environmental Innovation Challenges, or entrepreneurship coursework.

In the Jones + Foster Accelerator, student teams transition to becoming early-stage start-ups. Teams admitted to the program will devote six months to completing a list of milestones with coaching from a committee of mentors. Learn more about the Jones + Foster Accelerator.

Submission Resources

Information sessions + office hours.

Student teams planning to apply to the Dempsey Startup Competition are strongly encouraged to attend an upcoming informational session or office hours .

Submission Checklist

In order to prepare your own executive summary, download the  Submission Checklist , which includes the judging criteria judges will be using in the Screening Round to evaluate all entries.

Pay particular attention to the Administrative Checklist at the end of the document.

Learn By Example

Take a look at 5-7 page executives summaries submitted in previous years. These summaries should be considered a guide for what to include in your own plan, regardless of industry area.

• Aurora Plasmonics
• FlashVolunteer
• GSD Devices
• Urban Harvest
• Xylamed (PatientStream)
• Afterlife Listings

Startup Resources

The Buerk Center’s  start-up resources  feature our favorite tips, blogs and resources for writing solid business plans, making a great pitch, securing funding, marketing, and more.

Generative AI Policy

The Buerk Center recognizes that there are a variety of AI programs available to assist with written work and visual models or presentations. While these programs are useful tools, they are not a replacement for human creativity, originality, and critical thinking. However, within limited circumstances and with proper attribution, AI programs may be used as a tool by Teams to prepare for our competitions. Please see below for our expectations around AI usage:

Check Its References

Make sure to double check any market, scientific, or other data you receive from a generative AI model. You want to avoid repeating “made up” facts or reciting information from an out-of-date training set. AI models have built-in biases as they are trained on limited underlying sources; they reproduce, rather than challenge, errors in the sources.

Responsible Data Use, AI, and IP:

Beware of putting any proprietary data into open-source models. Your data, ideas, models, etc. may no longer be considered protected data that is confidential. AI generated work is also in most cases not patentable or copyrightable and may even be considered automated plagiarism because it is derived from previously created texts, models, etc. without cited sources.

Stay True to You

Generative AI is great at analysis and feedback, but as mentioned above, it cannot replace your unique creativity or thought process. Judges do not want to hear what ChatGPT thinks about your idea – they want to hear the excitement and enthusiasm directly from you. You and your team must craft and verify your work. Cutting and pasting without understanding will not advance or validate your ideas. Remember that AI tools lack the critical thinking and abductive reasoning to evaluate and reflect, as well as make judgements.

Cite Your Sources

Acknowledge work done by a generative AI model like you would another team member. For example, indicate in a footnote or other citation where rough drafts or graphics were generated by AI and through which platforms. You are ultimately responsible for the impact of any content produced and presented by your team, including AI-generated material.

Business Plan Practicum

Business plan practicum: entre 440/540.

ENTRE 440/540 Business Plan Practicum is offered throughout winter quarter by the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship, bring in experts from the local entrepreneurial community to teach various aspects of creating a startup venture, from idea generation to legal issues to raising capital. Attending Resource Nights (ENTRE 440/540) is a great way to prepare for the Dempsey Startup Competition (Dempsey Startup), the Environmental Innovation Challenge (EIC), and the Health Innovation Challenge (HIC).

Class recordings from the 2020 course can be found on the Buerk Center’s Startup Resources page (under RESOURCE NIGHTS tab).

Consumer Product Workshop

2024 DAVIS CONSUMER PRODUCT WORKSHOP SERIES Students can register now for three upcoming 90-minute sessions featuring special guests. You’ll walk away knowing how to unlock the pivotal steps in starting and growing a consumer product business, whether it’s something you created with your hands or in the digital space.

Students may register for the entire series or individual sessions below. Each workshop takes place between Noon and 1:30 pm on a Friday in PACCAR Room 393 or Founders Hall Room 490.

REGISTER for “Finding Your Customers” – Fri., Feb 2 REGISTER for “Scaling Social Impact” – Fri., Feb 9 REGISTER for “Product Pitch Clinic” – Fri., Feb. 23

Success Stories & Winners

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Frequently asked questions

If I don’t find any team members that really seem like “the right fit”, is it OK to have a “team” of just one person? It is OK to have just one person on a team. However, if you advance to the Investment Round, you’ll want to add a few people to your team to help you pitch to judges

Can we submit a business plan into the competition for a business that is or may become a nonprofit / social business in the future? The competition is open to all types of businesses. Every year there are nonprofit or social-venture businesses in the competition.

Is there a Dempsey Startup archive that has a synopsis of the Dempsey Startup plans submitted so far? Yes, but you must come to the Buerk Center to look at it. Be sure to call or email the Buerk Center office to set-up a time.

Can a student submit plans for more than one team? You are allowed to participate in the Dempsey Startup Competition with more than one team. It can be a logistical challenge to do that at the Investment Round and Sweet 16, but it is possible.

Am I allowed to have a faculty member as a mentor for the Dempsey Startup? You can have a faculty member as a mentor.

I am part of a company looking to recruit students to assist in taking my idea through the Dempsey Startup Competition. How should I go about doing this? The Dempsey Startup is a process and competition for student-driven companies, and we have a strict policy guiding outside companies recruiting students to join their team in order to compete:

• Only student team members are eligible to earn prize money. No payments will be made to non-students.

Can I compete two years in a row? Students are welcome and encouraged to participate as many times as they want–as long as they are a student (enrolled in a degree seeking program in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, British Columbia or Alaska) or have a student on their team.

Can I change the name of the business at some point during the competition? You are allowed to change your company name during the competition. We recommend that you reference the name change in your documents (one-page executive summary or business plan).

Can I have more than four members on my team? Most teams are three to five people, but you can do whatever makes the most sense for you. However, only four teammates can pitch at a time during the Investment Round. If you have more than four team members, you can tradeoff.

Is the list of judges for the Dempsey Startup Competition available to the participants? We don’t release our judge lists for any of the rounds.

Do judges or coaches usually sign NDAs (non-disclosure agreements)? Judges and coaches do not sign NDAs. This is common practice in the entrepreneurial world, especially when you are pitching your idea to investors. You should figure out a way to talk about your business, but not give away the confidential information that could be patented, trademarked, or that is simply your secret sauce.

How many judges are there at each round of the competition? This depends on the round. Here’s the approximate breakdown

Screening round	8-10 judges will read your plan
Investment round	250 judges
Sweet 16	Closed session with 7 judges
Final round	7 judges and open to the public

Contact Yuko Oaku at [email protected]  or at 206-616-3742

The Dempsey Startup Competition is sponsored by Neal Dempsey.

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WomensNet News

15 Best Business Plan Competitions for Startup Entrepreneurs

March 13th 2019

by Marcia Layton Turner

Many members of the WomensNet community have asked us about more opportunities to get start-up money.  Well, here’s an idea that might help you.

Business plan creation is an exercise required of many MBA students, as a teaching tool, which is why many colleges and universities sponsor business plan competitions – to help students apply what they’ve learned in class. Winners of these contests often receive a combination of startup cash, mentoring, and other resources to help them get their venture off the ground.

A number of successful companies have come out of these competitions, which may be why more organizations and institutions of higher education have begun admitting non-students to these events. There are also business plan competitions open to anyone, student or not.

If you’re looking for ways to land early stage funding, or to network with fellow entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, it may be worth your time to enter a business plan competition. Winning means money and bragging rights, which can open doors to other opportunities.

Deadlines for entries vary throughout the year, so if you’ve missed this year’s window, next year’s window of opportunity will be here before you know it. Most have no entry fee, though you’ll want to read the fine print to see what you’re responsible for (such as travel expenses).

Here are 15 of the best business plan competitions worth your attention:

Arch Grants Global Startup Competition

For entrepreneurs currently residing in or willing to move to St. Louis, Missouri. Prizes include a $50,000 equity-free grant and free business support services, as well as becoming eligible to pursue up to $1 million in follow-on funding for winners. Idea-stage to pre-Series A companies are welcome to apply.

“Where software startups are launched” is how Codelaunch bills itself, which is a combination competition and startup networking festival held in Frisco, Texas. You need to have an idea for a software product or app to participate, with the prize being training and mentoring. There is also an annual seed accelerator for entrepreneurs with ideas for apps in search of funding.

Get in the Ring

While not as much as competition as a networking event on steroids, Get in the Ring brings together 150 startups to participate in three days of workshops to “unlock business opportunities” with 350 mentors, investors, and advisors. In Berlin.

Jack Daniels’ Pitch Distilled

According to Jack Daniels, “Pitch Distilled is a multi-city pitch competition…pairing aspiring entrepreneurs with a diverse cast of judges tasked with helping them kick-start the next big idea.” The grand prize is $5,000.

MassChallenge Accelerator

Not quite a business plan competition, MassChallenge involves selecting the “highest-impact and highest-potential startups” to participate in an accelerator program. There are locations in Boston, Rhode Island, Texas, and Switzerland. The accelerator session involves receiving mentoring, business services, and, ultimately, the chance for funding if your company is selected as a finalist.

Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition

The Milken-Penn Graduate School of Education (GSE) business plan competition may be the best-funded competition around, having awarded more than $1 million in prize money in the last ten years and sparked more than $135 million in follow-on funding. It is open to anyone in the world, but particularly “entrepreneurs with innovative ideas in education.” Its goal is to foster innovation in the field of education.

New York Start Up! 2019 Business Plan Competition

This competition is for residents of New York City, the Bronx, and Staten Island only. Businesses must not have generated more than $10,000 in revenue since startup. The top prize is $15,000, plus access to guidance and resources available through the New York Public Library.

Next Founders

Canadian entrepreneurs should apply for the annual Next Founders program, which is designed to help build the skills of the company founder(s) and provide training, mentoring, and access to capital to help scale promising business concepts and companies.

North of Boston Business Plan Competition

Entrepreneurs currently operating a business on Boston’s North Shore, or are willing to commit to locating the company in the area, are eligible to compete in this annual competition. “The purpose of the Competition is to identify and support businesses who want to grow and expand on the North Shore and thereby build the region’s economy.” The top prize is $10,000, with runner-up awards of $6,000 and $4,000.

Pistoia Alliance President’s Startup Challenge

This competition is for startups focused specifically on informatics and technology. Two winners receive six months of mentorship from industry experts and $20,000. Five finalists also receive $5,000 each.

This U.K.-based event isn’t so much about winning free cash, but about participating in a free boot camp. The top 300 startups are invited to participate, rubbing elbows with mentors and investors, as well as peers.

Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation New Venture Challenge

The Edward L. Kaplan New Venture Challenge, now based at the University of Chicago’s Polsky Center, is one of the leading business accelerators. It is “a year-long business launch program” that involves idea generation, critical feedback from advisors, and pitches to the investing community.

Startup Festival

Dubbed “the music festival for startups,” the 2019 Startup Festival, held in Montreal, provides numerous opportunities for entrepreneurs to pitch their startup concept to potential investors. Those pitches could result in funding or enhanced visibility, with the chance to pitch to the crowd or a group of grandmother judges. More than $750,000 in funding is on the line here.

tecBRIDGE Business Plan Competition

Students are separated into their own division in this competition for companies in the Northeast Pennsylvania region, with non-students in another. Early stage entrepreneurs from the area are welcome and can compete for prizes valued at more than $100,000. Concept must be technology-based and have had sales of no more than $250,000 in the prior 12 months to qualify for inclusion.

Y Combinator

Perhaps the best known business accelerator, Silicon Valley-based Y Combinator sponsors an annual competition to identify startups worthy of funding. Successful applicants are flown out to Mountain View, California for meetings and those funded are expected to spend 90 days in the area receiving support services.

Whether you’re looking for feedback on your new product idea, are looking for an advisory board, need space in which to locate your company, or really just need funding, these competitions will connect you with some of the most supportive startup organizations out there.

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• Business Plan Competition

Develop ideas, build a team, write a business plan, pitch your idea for real money.

Register for BPC       BPC Event Schedule       BPC Participant Resources

Welcome to the 2025 WSU Business Plan Competition

Please note the Register for BPC and BPC Event Schedule Buttons above are not updated yet. Dates will be announced soon! Registration will begin Wednesday, January 15, 2025

If you’re a student entrepreneur or aspiring business owner, the Center for Entrepreneurship presents the WSU Business Plan Competition – an unparalleled opportunity to practice entrepreneurship in a real-world setting and receive guidance as you launch a new venture, plus a chance to win thousands of dollars in prize money!

The Center for Entrepreneurial Studies is happy to announce that the 2024 WSU Business Plan Competition will still be happening, switching to a hybrid format. Participating in a business plan competition can be a rewarding experience and we are excited to continue to showcase student innovation!

Learn by Doing

• Sharpen skills.  Working on a business plan team develops innovative thinking, builds leadership, and refines communication skills.
• Network.  If you’re a finalist, you and your team will present your idea to investors, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals at the competition in April. Finalists also have the opportunity to exchange ideas with judges over dinner.
• Prepare for your future. Take what you’ve learned and apply it in an existing company or new venture.

Launch a New Venture

• Move from idea to execution. Develop, test, and pitch a startup idea with your own team.
• Get advice and mentoring. Seasoned entrepreneurs, industry experts, and entrepreneurship faculty mentors devote countless hours to help students navigate the entrepreneurial process.
• Build momentum. Take your experience in the competition and invest in the growth of your venture.

Congratulations, Past Winners!

Past Winners

Be a Sponsor

Support the BPC

Ask about the BPC

Win Cash Prizes

Collegiate league.

Herbert B. Jones Grand Prize – $15,000 Herbert B. Jones Second Place Prize – $10,000 Third Place Prize – $7,000 Fourth Place Prize – $4,000 Fifth Place Prize – $2,000

Open Collegiate League

Foster Garvey Grand Prize – $5,000

High School League

Herbert B. Jones Grand Prize – $5,000 Second Place Prize – $2,000 Third Place Prize – $1,000 Fourth Place Prize – $500 Fifth Place Prize – $250

Merit Prizes

• Sage Fruit Ag Innovation Prize – $3,000
• Herbert B. Jones Best Written Plan Prize – $2,500
• Herbert B. Jones Best Presentation Prize – $2,500
• Herbert B. Jones Best Tech Venture Prize – $2,500
• Herbert B. Jones Best Social Impact Venture Prize – $2,500
• BEST Trade Show – $500

Thank you, 2024 Sponsors!

Dave Divine

The Robert & Carolyn Wolfe Family Giving Fund

Dave & deborah grant, mark wuotila, bryan saftler.

The Business Plan Competition is critically important for helping people to turn ideas into reality. I am excited to volunteer as a judge to support the competition and the Center, now that I am on the other side. — Jonah Friedl  , NOMAD founder and WSU alumnus (Carson College of Business, Entrepreneurship – 2016)

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2014 Mayo Business Plan Competition

On April 9th, SolarKick took first place in the 3rd Annual Mayo Business Plan Competition at The College of New Jersey. Barber By Touch earned 2nd place and TCNJBudget earned 3rd place, out of 22 participating teams which drew students from 6 TCNJ Schools. SolarKick — with 2 engineering students and 2 business students — impressed the judges with their working prototype of a cell phone case composed of a unique combination of green energy charging materials that can charge a device without the use of a wall charger.

See “ Mayo Business Plan won by solar iPhone panels ,” in The Signal, April 19, 2014 .

See “ Mayo B-Plan team generates winning green energy solutions ,” on TCNJ website, April 28, 2014.

The Mayo Business Plan Competition is designed to increase student appreciation for the challenges associated with developing a viable business offering (product or service) while, through an iterative process, recognizing those students best able to articulate a plan that addresses these challenges. In recognition of both the time involved and the difficulty of the task, the competition also provides a suitable award for the successful teams.

Participants

All TCNJ students are invited to participate. Students with ideas that might translate into viable business products or services can come from virtually any School and discipline. The competition is not associated with a particular course. Each team must be comprised of no less than two or more than four current TCNJ students. Upon request an effort will be made to assist any non-business student looking to add a business student to their team (e.g., a student familiar with income statements, marketing, etc.) This assistance notwithstanding, establishing and managing the team remains a student task. Students are encouraged to seek mentoring from a variety of sources (e.g., alumni, TCNJ Small Business Development Center, personal contacts, etc.) Here again, however, the final business plan must be the sole work and responsibility of members of the student team. The competition presumes the teams’ ability to independently determine what constitutes a solid business plan; no instruction will be provided and students are left to their own resourcefulness.

The competition will consist of three phases:

Phase 1: Team submits an initial business plan to be evaluated by professional. (Maximum plan length is 20 pages, double-spaced 11 or 12 font, including all appendixes and supporting evidence.)

Phase 2: A maximum of six teams are invited to revise the initial business plan and give a 20 minute presentation.

Phase 3: Three teams are invited to revise their plans and make final presentations (maximum 30 minutes each) from which a winning team is selected.

View a sample Business Plan Outline here .

2014 MBPC Timetable:

• 12/8 Students notify Dean Keep by registration form of their intent to compete
• 1/29 Written business plan due (sent to Dean Keep via email)
• 2/3 Plans go out to judges
• 2/13 Judges’ evaluations due
• 2/19 Six teams notified that they made the semi-finals. All teams receive feedback from judges
• 3/19 Semi-final competition
• 4/9 Finals Competition

Competition Awards

Prizes: The total prize money for 2014 Mayo Business Plan Competition = $30,000. A top prize of $16,500 will be awarded to the winning team with prizes of $9,000 and $4,500 for second and third place teams respectively.

Sponsoring Donors: The School of Business thanks Professor Herbert B. Mayo for establishing the Mayo Business Plan Competition and Eric Szabo ’97 for his generous support.

Information Session

The Mayo Business Plan Competition information session took place on September 18, during the 3rd Wednesday Alumni Entrepreneur Panel. TCNJ Alumni who have formed successful businesses shared stories about taking chances, seeking investors, occasional set-backs and even appearing on ABC’s Shark Tank :

• Shelly Hewson ‘80 is President of Hewson Landscape Inc., a commercial and industrial landscape contracting firm. She was named to NJBiz’s Best 50 Women in Business for 2013.
• Joe Gesualdo ‘11 left his job in finance, taught himself web development and co-founded a technology startup.
• Gregg Hollmann ‘93 left a six-figure job in finance to pursue his dreams of operating a mobile DJ entertainment company on a full-time basis.
• Chris Hindley ‘04 spent the better part of his early career as a Brand Strategist, supporting and helping companies launch products and create their identities in the market. 15 months ago, HoodiePillow’s social media soft launch went viral overnight.

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Utrgv business plan competition.

Have a business plan in your back pocket?  Willing to create one for a chance to win up to $10,000?

Applications for the 2024 utrgv business plan competition are due february 7.

Full-time UTRGV students of all majors are welcome to apply! Winners will be determined by a pool of judges comprised of experienced entrepreneurs and business professionals.

   Student Category Prizes:

• 1st Place Winner:   $10,000
• 2nd Place Winner:   $5,000
• 3rd Place Winner:   $3,000

LEARN MORE & APPLY TODAY!

Testimonials .

" The Rafael Munguia Business Plan Competition was well-organized and allowed us to have access to a great set of mentors that helped us along the way. We here at Embedded are happy that we were able to secure $5,000 in funding from this pitch and we are excited to begin the development of our prototype with the funding. Finally, we'd like to thank Expanding Frontiers for all the help that they have provided us through mentors, lab space, and many other resources to help us move forward with our startup. "

- William Brown, UTRGV Student & Embedded Co-Founder 2022 Business Plan Competition - 1st Place Winner (Student Category)

"This competition helped us get a business plan with financials developed to help us understand the amount of money needed to be raised to have a successful business. In addition, it helped us fine tune our pitch deck and learn how to tell our story. We have utilized the prize money won to advance the development of our prototype product."

Hector Valdez, Aetherworks Founder 2022 Business Plan Competition - 2nd Place Winner (General Category)

" Sweet Pea helps individuals undergoing fertility treatment and adoption explore and connect with financing options. With Sweet Pea's support and guidance, those desiring to build their families can decrease their financial stress and focus on their journey. As a participant in the Ralph Munguia Business Plan Competition, I had the mentoring to thoughtfully develop Sweet Pea's strategies and tactics to move our vision forward. The prize money enabled us to engage growth consultants, extending our outreach and visibility. In addition, we expanded our financial services offerings giving many families hope to move closer to their family building dreams. "

LaKesha J. Brooks, Sweet Pea Solutions Founder & CEO 2022 Business Plan Competition - 1st Place Winner (General Category)

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You are here, winners announced for 2024 milken–penn gse education business plan competition.

Seven finalists pitched their ventures live at the HolonIQ Back to School Summit in New York City.

Jackie Jircitano, Catalyst @ Penn GSE Communications [email protected]

*Note for TV and radio: The University of Pennsylvania has an on-campus ISDN line and ready access to a satellite uplink facility with live-shot capability.

NEW YORK CITY—SAY IT Labs captured the $40,000 grand prize at the 15th annual Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition (EBPC) today in New York City. The venture also earned the most live votes to win the Osage Venture Partners Audience Choice Prize.

Other winners include  Saturday Art Class, which won the $25,000 Cognitive Inc. Prize, and Honest Game, which received the Magnitude Digital Prize .

Seven finalists pitched their ventures to a live judging panel as well as an audience of investors, researchers, and practitioners. The final competition was a keystone event of the HolonIQ’s 2024 Back to School Summit.

Considered the most prestigious and well-funded competition of its kind, the EBPC attracts innovative education ventures from around the world. To date, the EBPC has awarded over $2 million dollars in cash and prizes. Winners and finalists have gone on to earn more than $200 million in funding.

The 2024 EBPC winners:

• SAY IT Labs captured the $40,000 Michael & Lori Milken Family Foundation Grand Prize.
• Saturday Art Class won the $25,000 Cognativ Inc. Prize.
• Honest Game earned the $10,000 Magnitude Digital Prize.
• SAY IT Labs also collected the $5,000 Audience Choice Prize presented by Osage Venture Partners.
• The finalists also received a portion of $50,000 in Amazon Web Services credits and $1,500 cash each from Catalyst @ Penn GSE.

“The innovative solutions presented by this year's winners are a testament to the enormous potential of the future of education,” said Michael Golden, Vice Dean of Innovative Programs and Partnerships at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education. “These entrepreneurs are not only addressing today's challenges but are also paving the way for the next generation of learners. Their success is a reflection of the creativity and commitment that drives the education sector forward.”

Last year’s EBPC winners were Unlocked Labs, Skizaa, Storyshares, and EdVisorly.

The EBPC is made possible through the generous support of the Michael and Lori Milken Family Foundation, Cognativ, Inc., Magnitude Digital, Osage Venture Partners, and Amazon Web Services.

Penn GSE is one of the nation’s premier research education schools. No other education school enjoys a university environment as supportive of practical knowledge-building as the Ivy League’s University of Pennsylvania. The School is notably entrepreneurial, launching innovative degree programs for practicing professionals and unique partnerships with local educators, and the first-ever business plan competition devoted exclusively to educational products and programs. The EBPC is part of Catalyst @ Penn GSE , a collection and facilitator of unique, innovative initiatives at Penn GSE aimed at addressing persistent and emerging problems in education.

Find more on educationcompetition.org or follow the conversation on Twitter: @CatalystPennGSE and #MilkenPennGSE .

You May Be Interested In

Related topics, faculty expert.

Vice Dean of Innovative Programs and Partnerships, Catalyst @ Penn GSE

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Media inquiries.

Penn GSE Communications is here to help reporters connect with the education experts they need.

Kat Stein Executive Director of Penn GSE Communications (215) 898-9642 [email protected]  

• Venice & North Port

Tervis Tumbler Co. filed for bankruptcy last week. Everything we know about cuts so far

Last week’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy announcement from Venice-based Tervis Tumbler Co. made waves in the business community, and questions still linger as the company enters bankruptcy court proceedings.

Tervis hasn’t revealed exact details of layoffs, downsizing or other cost-cutting measures, but bankruptcy documents obtained by the Herald-Tribune paint a picture of a company in decline. Everything we know so far about what’s next for the drinkware giant — and how it got here in the first place:

Is the Tervis Tumbler going out of business?

Tervis’ bankruptcy application doesn’t mean it’s ceasing operations.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy is often referred to as “reorganization” bankruptcy , and it allows a corporation to continue operating while restructuring its budget and drafting a plan to pay back its creditors. The filing renders Tervis a “debtor in possession,” which describes a corporation or individual that has filed for bankruptcy but remains in possession of its assets.

Tervis has filed documents to continue its operations in bankruptcy court, petitioning for authority to utilize its at least $7.85 million in cash collateral to secure the almost $5 million it owes to its creditors. The company offered a lien of its assets to its primary creditor, United Community Bank, to continue operating, and it submitted a budget plan to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court through the beginning of December.

The company appeared in bankruptcy court Monday at Tampa’s Sam M. Gibbons U.S. Courthouse to present the petitions.

How many employees will Tervis Tumbler lay off?

Tervis hasn’t officially announced how much of its staff it will lay off, but bankruptcy documents show the company will slash its bi-weekly payroll from $305,000 to $205,000 — almost a 33% decrease — by the first week of November. Its healthcare and 401k match budgets will shrink by similar margins, per the plan, and a store rent budget of $75,000 per month will disappear by the beginning of October.

The company noted that layoffs are expected but that it intends to retain “a core group of employees in every department,” according to a press release.

“Our company needs people,” Tervis CEO Hosana Fieber said. “We intend to keep as many employees as we can in each department to continue our operations.”

More: After cutting local nonprofits' money, Sarasota County seeks their help in Debby recovery

Tervis employed as many as 700 people in the late 2010s, but that number has since shrunk to around 140, per bankruptcy documents. The payroll decrease indicates as much as a third of these employees could be impacted by the layoffs.

The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act — or WARN Act — requires companies with 100 or more employees to issue a notice of layoffs within 60 days of the layoffs taking place. Violations render the company liable to each affected employee for pay and benefits for each day the warning isn’t issued.

As of Monday afternoon, no such notice from Tervis has been published on the FloridaCommerce website.

Market competition, pandemic fallout fueled Tervis Tumbler's recent struggles

As a private company, Tervis’ year-over-year profits aren’t publicly available, but bankruptcy documents and market trends indicate a decline.

The product has fallen behind other drinkware brands like Yeti and Stanley, which have found substantial success in pop culture and on social media. Tervis’ plastic drinkware has fallen out of favor and replaced by the popular stainless-steel Yetis and Stanleys, and though Tervis attempted to capitalize on the shift by introducing its first stainless-steel tumbler in 2018, other brands have still dominated the market.

Legal trouble had also loomed over Tervis before last week’s bankruptcy filing, with the company partially attributing its struggles to a “burdensome lawsuit” in a press release. Packsize LLC, a packaging manufacturer, sued Tervis for breach of contract and unjust enrichment in July, alleging the drinkware company failed to pay outstanding amounts relating to a service agreement between the two companies.

Tervis notified Packsize it could no longer afford its services in May and terminated the agreement, but Packsize maintained Tervis owed more than $115,000 in invoices and additional costs the manufacturer incurred from collecting its equipment from the Tervis facility. The case was closed last week in light of the bankruptcy, and the court ruled that it can’t proceed until Tervis obtains debt relief.

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Pandemic-fueled changes in workplace practices, which saw many employees begin working from home and office attendance take a hit, have also impacted the company. Tervis had originally considered vacating its North Venice headquarters in 202 1 amid this shift, and though it held off for another two years , it sold the facility at 201 Triple Diamond Blvd. to real estate investment firm Buligo Capital in August 2023.

The 12.5-acre manufacturing space went for almost $15.5 million, per property records, and it’s l isted on Buligo’s website as an industrial asset in “the desirable ‘Sarasota Outlying’ submarket” planned for “an aggressive leasing program and capital improvements” in the future. The facility is still listed as Tervis’ principal address, per the Florida Division of Corporations, though the company indicated it intends to close the facility.

When was Tervis Tumbler founded?

Founded in 1946, Tervis has been under the ownership of the Donelly family and based in southwest Florida since the 1960s. The company specializes in predominantly plastic insulated drinkware, which keeps beverages hot or cold for longer and prevents bleeding seen from traditional cups.

Members of the Donelly family are still active within in the company, with court documents listing board chair emeritus Norbert Donelly and board chair and former CEO Rogan Donelly, Nortbert’s son, as company stakeholders. Tervis tapped Fieber to replace Rogan Donelly , who’d been CEO since 2016, last October ahead of “future growth.”

Rogan Donelly said the company filed the bankruptcy application to prepare for impending changes.

“Tervis has been around for 78 years and has weathered various economies by adjusting to market conditions,” he said. “This difficult business decision was one that we made in order to preserve the company’s legacy and better the company for the future.”

Contact Herald-Tribune Growth and Development Reporter Heather Bushman at [email protected] . Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013.