business plan competitions 2014

A business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

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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Best of the business plan competitors: six noteworthy new sustainable ventures

Guardian Sustainable Business assembled a list of the coolest startups winning technical assistance and cash for their new social ventures, from ‘bio-digesters’ to cloud-based microlending

S ocially-minded entrepreneurs bring more than a new product or service to the table. Their businesses also take on pressing real-world problems – ranging from an overabundance of solid waste to an under-supply of living-wage jobs.

Every year, dozens of social venture startups enter annual competitions sponsored by universities, government agencies and other organizations . Winning these contests often means a fat cash prize and technical assistance, as well as welcome attention from potential new investors and customers.

The competitions provide a snapshot of the diverse ways creative young business people around the world are striving to do good by doing business. Often these entrepreneurs have developed a deep understanding of a specific local problem in order to come up with a solution that will succeed on the triple bottom line of people, planet and profit.

We’ve looked through the latest crop of sustainable business plan competition entrants to highlight a few of the recent standouts:

Environment: Sampurn(e)arth

In this year’s Global Social Venture Competition at the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, Mumbai-based Sampurn(e)arth Environmental Solutions earned the $25,000 grand prize for a nuanced business approach that encompasses customer service, cleaner energy generation, recycling and social justice.

The startup sells bio-digesters and composters to corporate offices, hotels and university campuses, and then operates them for the customer. Organic waste is processed to produce methane for energy generation, while other trash is sorted and sent for recycling. Both services reduce the expense of trucking waste to landfills.

To staff its sites, Sampurn(e)arth partners with an NGO that aids women waste pickers, who typically scavenge re-sellable materials out of Mumbai’s massive, centralized dumps. After training, these workers manage operations including sorting organic from non-compostable waste and operating the composters and digesters. The jobs offer a regular living wage, safe working conditions and skills the women can take to future employment.

All that helped give it a leg up over formidable finalists at the competition, which included Basikeli Ugunduzi’s new model for providing affordable bicycle repair services in Africa; Indonesian startup Chique’s cheap flooring tiles made from chicken feathers; Khusela of South Africa’s inexpensive fire detection and alarm system for shack towns and other informal urban settlements; and Taiwan-based Redeem’s job-training and employer-employee matching services for ex-offenders.

Waste: REEcycle

Another winning startup, REEcycle , has its eye on a different solid waste stream. Founded by a team of students from the University of Houston, the company acquires used electronics from e-waste recyclers. It uses a solvent-based system, which it claims is less expensive and hazardous than other currently-used methods, to recover valuable rare earth elements from the components and sell them for re-use.

REEcycle was one of six regional winners of a $100,000 prize in the National Clean Energy Business Plan Competition sponsored by the US Department of Energy in May, as well as the agency’s juried national competition in June. The DOE lauded REEcycle as “the first company to profitably reclaim neodymium and dysprosium, two critical rare earth elements necessary for a low carbon economy.”

Energy:KAir Battery

Because renewable energy sources like the sun are intermittent, low-cost energy storage is considered crucial to the industry’s growth. Ohio-based KAir Battery , another regional winner of the DOE’s clean energy competition, is developing a potassium-air battery that it describes as using safe materials, efficient, and able to store more energy per volume than existing battery technologies.

Safety: Mobile Monitoring Station

Among the health-related social ventures in recent competitions, Chile-based Mobile Monitoring Station won the 2013 Intel Global Challenge for its system of wearable sensors for the mining industry. Attached to the jackets of mine workers, the gear monitors worker health and mine safety and pushes the data to a smart phone.

Health: Disease Diagnostic Group

Malaria sickens millions and kills hundreds of thousands of people every year, but most forms respond to treatment when diagnosed in time. Disease Diagnostic Group , founded by Massachusetts Institute of Technology graduate student John R Lewandowski, is developing a lightweight portable device that health workers can carry into remote communities to do quick, accurate testing for malaria. The machine magnetizes a blood sample in water and sends a laser through it to detect malaria parasites in less than a minute. The company has won numerous business plan competitions, including the 2014 MIT $100K Accelerate Contest .

Economic development: First Access

Mobile phones remain a popular economic development tool for social ventures. First Access , winner of the William James Foundation’s Sustainable Business Plan Competition last year, is offering a cloud-based software system accessible via mobile to facilitate microlending.

Lenders can use the service to evaluate the credit risk of applicants more quickly than the traditional bank process. The process increases profit margins for lenders, according to First Access, while also helping millions of people who have no banking history gain access to business loans. First Access is partnering with telecom operators this year to test the service in Tanzania, and intends to offer the easily-scaled service in the rest of Africa as well as Asia and Latin America.

Martin LaMonica is a Boston-based reporter covering energy, technology, business and the environment. Follow him @mlamonica .

The technology and innovation hub is funded by BT. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out more here .

• Guardian sustainable business
• Emerging markets
• Waste and Recycling
• Corporate social responsibility

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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.

On This Page:

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.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

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.

Finish Your Business Plan in 1 Day!

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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• 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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Business Plan and Pitch Competition Guide

1 min. read

Updated April 8, 2024

Pitch competitions are more than an opportunity to win funding; they’re a valuable platform to practice and perfect your business pitch. By participating, you gain critical experience presenting your ideas, receive expert feedback, and engage with potential investors and partners.

This guide is designed to help you prepare for these business plan competitions. Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or an experienced business owner—here is what you need to know about pitch competitions.

If you need to develop your pitch deck or elevator pitch , check out our other guides.

• What is a pitch competition?

A pitch or business plan competition is an event where people with business ideas or who are running early-stage startups get the chance to present to a group of judges. Entrepreneurs need to cover their business model, target market, financial plans, and other vital areas of their businesses within a fixed time limit. 

The judges, typically experts in business and investment, evaluate and provide feedback on these presentations. The best pitches, as determined by the judges, may receive prizes often in the form of funding, mentorship, or resources to help develop or scale their businesses.

• How to prepare for a pitch competition

Are you participating in your first startup pitch or business plan contest? Check out these guides to refine your pitch and better understand what it takes to succeed.

How to win a business plan competition

What does it take to stand out from the competition and win a pitch contest? Check out these insights from business planning expert Tim Berry to help you prepare.

Common business plan competition mistakes to avoid

Startup competitions are a great opportunity to practice your pitch and even win some prize money to fund your business. Just be sure you don’t make these big mistakes.

Pitch competition resources and tools

Resources and templates to help you successfully pitch your business idea.

Free investor pitch deck template

Visualize your business pitch and wow investors with this free pitch deck template.

Download Template

Free business plan template

Back up your pitch with a detailed and investor-ready business plan. Get started with our fill-in-the-blank business plan template.

Successfully pitch your business with LivePlan

With one tool you can craft and share your business plan, pitch, and important financial forecasts. No spreadsheets or PowerPoint slides necessary.

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Kody Wirth is a content writer and SEO specialist for Palo Alto Software—the creator's of Bplans and LivePlan. He has 3+ years experience covering small business topics and runs a part-time content writing service in his spare time.

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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

Welcome to the NCIIA 18th annual conference!

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The Metamorphosis of Business Plan Competitions

Business plan competitions haven’t died; they have merely gone through a significant metamorphosis, and are still powerful tools for energizing entrepreneurial activity and growth. This evolution is still very much in-progress, with old-style competitions withering and newer kinds thriving. We will present results of research done from studying and analyzing past and present business plan competitions, both successes and failures. Some of the questions to be addressed are: what is the role and effectiveness of business plan competitions in today’s entrepreneurial ecosystem with accelerators, Lean Startups and university programs? What are the key components of a successful business plan competitions? What is considered “success” for a business plan competition? Does winning a business plan competition matter to startups? We will present recommendations for crafting future business plan competitions, and insights on the role of business plan competitions in entrepreneurship education programs.

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Past Winners & Finalists

Below is the list of finalists from the nibs worldwide business plan competition. to see their business plans or watch their pitch videos, click on the links..

• Winner: UCLL, Belgium, Team: eConnection
• Runner-up: LAB University of Applied Sciences, Finland, Team: Lascerna
• Third place: Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), Ireland, Panga Surf
• Winner: Weagreen (Rotterdam University of Applied Science, Netherlands)
• Runner-up: Cozy Corner (LAB University of Applied Sciences, Finland)
• Third place: Pretty UGLY (UC Leuven Limburg, Belgium)

> See business plans and videos from the 2022 competition

• Winner: CropsJet (Assumption University, Bangkok, Thailand)
• Runner-up: LearnSmart (Rotterdam University of Applied Science, Netherlands)
• Third place: Energy Cube (Washburn University, USA)

> See business plans and videos from the 2021 competition

• Winner: Affixt Ltd (Technological University Dublin, Ireland)
• Runner-up: Porcelain Pursuit (Washburn University, USA)
• Third place: Solidbox (University College Leuven Limburg, Beligium)

> See business plans and videos from the 2020 competition

• Winner: Micron Agritech (Technological University Dublin, School of Marketing – Dublin, Ireland)
• Runner-up: Arbor Industries (Washburn University, School of Business – Topeka, Kansas, USA)
• Third place: (UC Leuven-Limburg – Leuven, Belgium)

> See business plans and videos from the 2019 competition

• Winner: Reach Devices (Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Marketing – Dublin, Ireland)
• Runner-up: Moderno Metros (Washburn University, School of Business – Topeka, Kansas, USA)
• Third place: Eco Fridge Locker (St. Mary’s University, Greehey School of Business – San Antonio, Texas, USA)

> See business plans and videos from the 2018 competition

• Winner: Ripple Sense (Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Marketing – Dublin, Ireland)
• Runner-up: Beacon (University of Vermont – Burlington, Vermont, USA)
• Third place: The Turning Pointe (Washburn University, School of Business – Topeka, Kansas, USA)

> See business plans and videos from the 2017 competition

• Winner: D18 (Washburn University, School of Business – Topeka, Kansas, USA)
• Runner-up: FeatherGrip (Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Marketing – Dublin, Ireland)
• Third place: FoodCroc (Lahti University of Applied Sciences – Lahti, Finland)

> See business plans and videos from the 2016 competition

• Winner: HearHere (Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Marketing – Dublin, Ireland)
• Runner-up: Litvak (Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico-Recinto Metro)
• Third place: Satakunta University of Applied Sciences – Pori, Finland

  > See business plans and videos from the 2015 competition

• Winner: Gainz Arrange (Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven, Belgium)
• Finalist: NapAway (Baltazar Adam Krcelic – Zapresic, Croatia)
• Finalist: Sana (Dublin Institute of Technology, School of Marketing – Dublin, Ireland)

  > See business plans and videos from the 2014 competition

Competitions now open for registration

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2014 National Business Plan Competition Results

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1st Place – Oasis (top row), 2nd Place – FlashComm (bottom-right), 3rd Place – T-Squared (bottom-left)

VEI students create and run their own businesses. Every firm is required to create and present a business plan.

Joyce M. Bisso, Ed.D., Superintendent of Hewlett-Woodmere Public Schools

The National Business Plan Competition is the culmination of seven months of preparation in and out of school and the collective effort of firm employees, coordinators, and business mentors. The twenty teams who qualified for and competed in the National Business Plan Competition distinguished themselves from the total U.S. Network pool of 500 firms, earning the chance to present their business plans to two rounds of judges at McGraw-Hill Financial’s NYC conference rooms on the second day of this year’s Youth Business Summit.

The top six teams from the morning round advanced to the final afternoon round, where the students presented to a select panel of judges and a packed auditorium. Judging was based on a comprehensive evaluation of the written and oral presentations. The top six finalists from 2014’s National Business Plan Competition are listed below, with their team photos and a snapshot of their business plan presentation.

1st Place – Oasis (South Pasadena, CA)

Coordinator: Cathy Mason Presentation Team (from left to right): Chelsea Hong (CFO); Timothy Wong (Sales Specialist); Rachel Newhall (VP of Sales); Michael Ruan (CEO); Abby Shulman (Operations Specialist); and Jason Wang (COO)

Oasis (South Pasadena HS) provides sustainable rooftop gardens.

2nd Place – FlashComm (Hewlett, NY)

Coordinator: Ron Remick Presentation Team (from left to right): Matthew Bickoff, Bryan Grammatico, Daniel Jacob, Rachel Futterman, Alex Messados, David Perkins

FlashComm (George W. Hewlett HS) is a TV, phone, Internet and utilities provider.

3rd Place – T-Squared (New York, NY)

Coordinator: Frank Egereonu Presentation Team (from left to right): Ana Jiminez, Nicole Taniguchi, Stephanie Battle, Catherine Perez, Richmond Anyetei, Loriber Mateo

T-Squared (Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis HS) is an entertainment and advertising firm.

4th Place – West Coast Races (Murrieta, CA)

Coordinator: Joel Levin Presentation Team (from left to right): Tanner Force, Rebecca Lam, Lauren Bowman, Adrika Novak, Megan MacPherson

West Coast Races (Murrieta HS) creates and organizes themed community racing events for runners and non-runners.

5th Place – Solarity (Staten Island, NY)

Coordinator: Paul Presti Presentation Team (from left to right): Josiah Edouard, Gabriella Santangelo, Mena Adly, Oluwatoyin Shitta-Bey, Blenda Abazoska, Klajdi

Solarity (New Dorp HS) sells solar panel products.

6th Place – Eden’s Confections (Greer, SC)

Coordinator: Adam Massey Management Team: Chanie Robinson-Cain, Makenzie Cain, Crystal Helton, Dezmon Scott Eden’s Confections (Greer HS) is an artisan, bean-to-bar chocolate and chocolate-related confections manufacturer and retailer.

List of the Top 20 National Business Plan Competition Teams

Special thanks to our judges for lending their time and expertise to help identify which business plans were the best of the best.

Morning Round Judges:

Charlotte Beyer, Principle Quest Foundation Calgary Branagan, Epsen Fuller Group Jay Bregman, Hailo Cab Mehul Desai, HSBC Janis Elfving, Calypso Technologies Lesley Hirsch, CUNY Graduate Center Marcia Iverson, NYS Tech Assistance Center Patrick Lewis, Butterscotch Labs Bonnie Manter, BBM Technologies Scott Mendelsohn, NYCDOE Bonnie Messing, Geller & Co. Al Mills, American Express Lynn Najiman, LRN Associates Peter Rosenberger, New York University Andrew Rosman, Long Island University Angelo Scialfa, Fox Run Group Mark Smith, Viacom Nicole Spira, SJL Attorney Search Janet Squitieri, Van Eyck Associates Lindsay Starr, Morgan Stanley Toni Tomai, HSBC (Retired) Lara Wang, Citi Joe Wehle, Ernst & Young Sam Wong, MTA Doug Young, CEE

Afternoon Round Judges:

Michael Beck, Choice Logistics Rosalind Danner, McGraw-Hill Financial George Fina, Michael C. Fina Steve Israel, SMI Properties Group Jay Lewis, Consultant Martha Stark, Baruch College Ed Weis, Mercy College

2014 Global Business Challenge Results

2014 trade show recap, 2014 youth business summit photo gallery.

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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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Watch CBS News

How Trump's conviction could change the dynamics of the 2024 race

By Olivia Rinaldi , Jacob Rosen , Katrina Kaufman

Updated on: May 31, 2024 / 11:57 AM EDT / CBS News

Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in his Manhattan criminal trial, adding another layer of uncertainty to an already unprecedented campaign.

As a c onvicted felon , Trump is not prevented from continuing to campaign for president , since the Constitution does not prohibit candidates from running for president even if they are convicted of a crime. In fact, there is precedent for a candidate running from behind bars: In 1920, Socialist Party candidate Eugene V. Debs ran for president from a federal penitentiary in Atlanta.

Trump is the first former U.S. president to be found guilty of felonies, and the first major party candidate to run for office after being found guilty of a crime. Here's how his conviction could change the 2024 campaign:

How Trump can campaign after his conviction

Now that he's convicted, Trump is all but certain to appeal the decision handed down by the jury, and he is likely to be able to return to the campaign trail as the process plays out. 

The next development in the case will come at sentencing, currently scheduled for July 11. Justice Juan Merchan has wide discretion over when sentencing occurs and what the punishment looks like. Trump faces a maximum of up to four years in prison and a $5,000 fine for each of the 34 felony charges of falsification of business records. The sentencing options available to Merchan include prison, probation, conditional discharge, fines or house arrest.

The judge could put limitations on his travel, such as restricting Trump from leaving the state and taking his passport, but Merchan has said he doesn't want to interfere with his ability to campaign.

"I would think that the judge wouldn't dare interfere with his right to speak to the American public because it's the right of the voters to be informed as well," said John Coffee, a professor at Columbia Law School and an expert on corporate governance and white collar crime.

In a recent survey of dozens of cases brought by Manhattan District Attorney's Office in which falsifying business records was the most serious charge at arraignment, attorney and author Norm Eisen found that roughly one in 10 of those cases resulted in a sentence of incarceration.

"I think that is fascinating," said Caroline Polisi, a criminal defense attorney and professor at Columbia Law School. "A lot of commentators say the reason he won't be incarcerated is because the logistics of it with respect to the Secret Service would be too much. On the other hand, if you're saying he should be treated like any other defendant, we have a lot of data saying that 90% of other defendants would not get jail time in this situation."

The impact of the conviction on Trump's ability to campaign could largely hinge on what sentence Merchan ultimately hands down, and when Trump would serve it.

"In the context in which he is found guilty and then sentenced to no jail time, I don't think it's going to cause a bit of difference," added Polisi. "There might be some minor issues. He might not be able to vote for himself. But other than that, I don't think it's going to cause any problems."

When determining Trump's sentence, the judge could take into account his numerous gag order violations — which led Merchan to threaten him with jail time if the violations continued — and his lack of demonstrated remorse or respect for the legal system. Throughout the trial, Trump referred to Merchan as "conflicted" and "corrupt" and to the case itself as a "sham." 

"In New York, a 78-year-old defendant, who's a first time offender, committed a non-violent offense, and has an otherwise, well, distinguished record — in some regards being an ex-president is distinguished. In that kind of world, there'd be no chance of an incarceration sentence," said Coffee. Trump turns 78 on June 14. "They can use probation, they can use fines. But there may be a view of many judges that you have to show that no one's above the law, and even the future president should have a taste of prison."

Even if Merchan does order Trump to serve time behind bars, the sentence could be deferred until his appeal has run its course.

"In other cases, when you don't have someone running for the White House, it would be more or acceptable to put him immediately into incarceration," said Coffee. "You certainly could put special conditions on what he could do or put him under house arrest, but I think until we get to the actual election, we're going to have to let Donald Trump run around and campaign."

The conviction's possible impact on Trump's poll numbers and support

Trump has predicted that a conviction in this trial could boost his poll numbers. 

"Even if convicted, I think that it has absolutely no impact. It may drive the numbers up, but we don't want that. We want to have a fair verdict," Trump told CBS Pittsburgh in an interview earlier this month.

Trump's support among his Republican base has been remarkably resilient in the face of his various criminal cases. In the months following his four indictments last year, Trump maintained his commanding lead in the Republican primary, capturing the nomination despite the dozens of criminal charges he faced.

Many Trump supporters who CBS News has interviewed since the trial began have said a guilty conviction will not change how they vote in November, adopting the former president's grievances as their own.

"Stormy Daniels has already been reviewed and stuff. It's kind of coincidental," Michigan resident Lori Beyer said at a recent rally in Freeland, Michigan, adding she would vote for Trump regardless of the conviction. "I don't think it's going to impact it, as far as I'm concerned."

Whether a conviction changes the minds of voters who are not committed to the former president remains to be seen. A recent CBS News poll found that the majority of Americans believed Trump is "definitely or probably" guilty of the charges he faced in New York. The overwhelming majority of Democrats — 93% — believed Trump was guilty, while 78% Republicans said he was not. Independents were split, with 53% believing he was guilty and 47% saying he wasn't. 

Opinions about whether Trump was guilty or not were already highly partisan, according to Kabir Khanna, deputy director of elections and data analytics for CBS News. Most people who believed Trump was guilty also thought the jury would convict him, and vice versa. 

Additionally, Khanna said people who followed the trial closely were the most polarized in their views.

"Together, these factors could blunt the impact of the verdict on the views of an already divided public," Khanna said. "Some voters may be swayed by the news, but I wouldn't expect a sea change." 

Other polling supports that notion. A NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey released Thursday found that 67% of registered voters nationwide said a Trump conviction would not make a difference in how they vote. Among independents, just 11% said a guilty verdict would make them less likely to vote for Trump.

The conviction also gives the Biden campaign a potentially potent new weapon in their arsenal: the ability to label Trump a convicted felon. Mr. Biden remained largely silent about the Trump trial while it was ongoing, but NBC News reported last week that he planned to become more aggressive about Trump's legal woes after the trial concluded, while acknowledging that Trump would be on the ballot regardless of how his legal cases played out.

Trump has used the trial to help boost his fundraising, and will likely look to capitalize on the conviction. The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee saw an influx of donations after jury selection began, with the two entities raising $76 million in April. His campaign had about $50 million cash on hand at the beginning of May as he prepared to get back out on the campaign trail after the trial.

The former president repeatedly used the developments in the trial to raise money, including when he was held in contempt for violating the gag order against him.

"I'd get arrested ONE MILLION TIMES before I'd let those filthy dogs get their hands on you," one typical fundraising appeal read. 

Trump's other criminal cases

The New York case might be the only one of Trump's four criminal prosecutions to reach a conclusion before voters cast their ballots in the fall, giving the guilty verdict added weight.

The two federal cases brought by special counsel Jack Smith remain in limbo. 

In Washington, D.C., Trump faces charges related to his actions to remain in power after the 2016 election. Trump has argued that he is immune from prosecution, and the Supreme Court is currently weighing his claim.

The high court heard arguments in the immunity dispute on April 26 and is expected to issue a decision on the matter before the end of the court's term, likely in June. If the case is allowed to move forward, there is a slim possibility that the district court could schedule the trial before November. If the justices side with Trump and find him immune from prosecution, the charges would be dropped.

In Florida, Trump faces federal charges stemming from his retention of classified documents after he left the White House. Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, has indefinitely postponed the trial. She ruled in early May that picking a trial date would be "imprudent and inconsistent with the court's duty to fully and fairly consider" numerous unresolved pre-trial motions. Those motions include Trump's efforts to dismiss the case altogether, as well as issues related to what classified information can be revealed at trial.

In the third case that remains outstanding, Trump faces state charges related to the 2020 election in Fulton County, Georgia. The trial in that matter is also on hold as Trump seeks to have District Attorney Fani Willis removed from the case. Georgia's Court of Appeals recently granted Trump's appeal of a decision that had allowed her to remain, bringing the trial to a temporary halt.

Trump's two federal cases could largely be in voters' hands if they are not resolved by November, a fact that raises his personal stake in the outcome. If he wins and returns to the White House in January 2025, Trump could order the Justice Department to seek to drop the charges altogether.

Trump has pleaded not guilty in all of the criminal cases against him.

• Donald Trump

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High schoolers developing accent-softening tool for call center agents win teen startup competition

S eattle-area high school students competed in the finals of the TiE Young Entrepreneur (TYE) Seattle chapter finals competition last week and a team called Soundwave is moving on to TYE’s Global Business Plan Competition next month.

Soundwave created an artificial intelligence-enabled accent softening program for call center agents aimed at increasing customer satisfaction. They won the top prize of $2,750.

Two other groups gained recognition for top business ideas at the competition, held May 23 at Bellevue City Hall, including:

• KEY Beauty: An AI and scanning technology platform for creating accurate makeup shade matches for girls and women of color. (1,250 prize)
• MyPath: An AI-driven college counseling bot providing personalized feedback and detailed application analysis for high school students. ($1,000 prize)

Ten other teams won $250 awards (two in each category) for best teamwork, execution, customer validation, elevator pitch and business model. And three teams won $100 honorable mention prizes.

The finalists were part of the TYE 2023-2024 program, which aims to guide and mentor young entrepreneurs in creating and launching their first real businesses. The Seattle program featured 14 teams and more than 70 young entrepreneurs who presented their ideas in two semifinal tracks.

Soundwave’s members include: Pradyu Kandala (Eastlake High School); Sathvik “Andy” Kurapati (Transition School at UW Robinson Center for Young Scholars); Dhruv Arora (Skyline High School); Vedaant Kulkarni (Eastlake High School); Prithvi Aravind (The Overlake School); and Koshin Sharma (Bellevue High School).

Along with the three top teams, other business ideas from students at Seattle-area schools included a two-sided marketplace for carbon credits; a haptics and LIDAR-enabled camera for the visually impaired; biodegradable bottles; analyzing real-time concussion-related data; and an AI bot for talking to special needs and autistic people and helping them focus.

During the program, TYE mentors support students in ideation, market opportunity assessment, product-market fit validation, and prototype creation. The aim is to give students essential skills and knowledge for creating a viable startup.

“The students in our TYE program are not just entrepreneurs of tomorrow but are also a source of inspiration and energy to us all — entrepreneurs, mentors, judges, instructors, and the entire TiE fraternity,” said Yash Wagh, TYE program chair.

The final competition was judged by a panel of Seattle-area tech executives, including Anoop Gupta , CEO of SeekOut; Joseph Sirosh , CEO of Creators AGI; Aseem Datar , vice president of Next-Gen Computing & AI at Microsoft; and Sabrina Wu , a principal at Madrona Venture Group.

SeekOut CTO Aravind Bala, a TYE instructor and mentor, said he was amazed by the students’ dedication and commitment.

“Despite their busy schedules, they have gone above and beyond my expectations,” Bala said. “Collaborating with new team members, developing innovative ideas, creating demos, and preparing presentations are not only the core activities of this program but also vital skills that will serve them well in their future endeavors.”

Soundwave will represent TYE Seattle at the TYE Global Business Plan Competition in Silicon Valley, June 19-21.

Founded in 2000, TiE Seattle is a chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs, a global nonprofit with 61 chapters in 14 countries, dedicated to growing and fostering entrepreneurship throughout the world.

Tyler Dirks thinks Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars will ignite his business opportunities, interview

By cristine struble | jun 3, 2024.

Although he might have been the first person eliminated in Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars Season 2, Tyler Dirks looks beyond his limited time in the competition. With a strong business plan for Lite Rite Charcoal Grills, Tyler is ready to set fire to the outdoor kitchen space.

From his initial pitch to the food truck challenge, Tyler was unlike the other contestants on Gordon Ramsy’s Food Stars. While he has the business knowledge, tenacity, and drive for this own brand, applying those skills to the fast paced, chaotic world of a FOX reality television show is quite different.

During a recent call with Tyler Dirks, he shared some insight on his Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars experience, what he took away from the competition, and why his Lite Rite Charcoal Grills could be a game changer for anyone who appreciates outdoor cooking.

Tyler was clear about his purpose for appearing on the show. He believed that it could offer his business and brand exposure on a large scale.

When it came to the food truck challenge, it was curious that he decided to join the design team instead of the culinary team. Although he admitted that that he had no culinary experience, he does look back and wonder if the decision was a wise one.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Reality Club FOX (@realityclubfox)

Tyler said, “I am very much a numbers guy in my line of work.” Given that the culinary team put strategic pricing in place, it might have been a better fit for his expertise.

Although the outcome was not necessarily what he hoped, Tyler said that he is “big on pushing myself out of my comfort zone.” He might not be comfortable in front of the camera and has not watched the episodes in their entirety, but he appreciates that the opportunity is going to help with his business. Understanding the ins and outs of embracing the camera and pushing past the uncomfortable feeling in front of the camera can help him expand the business. He has no regrets about being on the show.

Given that the FOX reality television competition was an opportunity to showcase his product, Tyler was keen on sharing why his charcoal grills fill a void in the otherwise competitive space. As many people appreciate, the outdoor kitchen has become an extension of the home.

Tyler Dirks explains the benefits of Lite Rite Charcoal Grills

As many chefs have explained, grilling is the only cooking method that imparts flavor to food. From the perfectly seared steak to the char on vegetables, the flame is vital to bringing the nuanced flavor to a dish.

Tyler explained that his company, Lite Rite Charcoal Grills, is unlike other brands because it can bring the grill up to 650 degrees in a matter of minutes. The traditional charcoal grill would require much more time or lighter fluid to achieve a similar result.

Although there can be funny social media memes showing the gigantic flames produced by lighter fluid dousing the grill, that visual should have people running away from table full of food. The bitter, unpleasant aftertaste on those burgers or other grilled food comes from the lighter fluid.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lite-Rite Charcoal Grills (@literite_charcolgrills)

Tyler’s product makes charcoal grilling easy. From the novice who thinks a chimney is for a fireplace or the person who thinks that there is only one type of briquette, the Lite Rite Charcoal Grill simplifies the process. From there, the grill master needs to showcase good cooking techniques to ensure a flavorful meal hits the table.

While the Lite Rite Charcoal Grills might not be a staple in every Home Depot or Ace Hardware stores, Tyler says that the response to his brand has been positive. Even though he mentioned on Food Stars that he would deliver that grill to many customers, the company’s growth is expanding to the point where he is working on larger scale shipping opportunities.

Additionally, he is working on accessories for the Lite Rite. From a griddle attachment to a fryer option, the charcoal grill is becoming an all-in-one outdoor kitchen appliance. Even some Big  Green Egg users have converted to the charcoal grill.

Tyler Kirk might have seen his Gordon Ramsay Food Star’s opportunity go up in flames quickly, but his Lite Rite Charcoal Grill business is going to burn brightly for a long time. Sometimes just a spark is all an entrepreneur needs to make a business idea take off.

Gordon Ramsay's Food Stars Season 2 airs new episodes on FOX every Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET/PT. Episodes can be streamed the next day on Hulu.

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