Business Plan Competitions


The idea of a business plan competition first started in the 1980's at the initiative of some MBA students from Texas and has increasingly gained popularity. Such events happen yearly and rejoice a great affluence of contestants, which highly increases their competitiveness.

Competitions

Organized by Universities

* Babcock Elevator Pitch Competition - Wake Forest University

* Enterprise Creation Competition - Ball State University

* Moot Corp. Competition - University of Texas

* Duke Start-Up Challenge - Duke University

* IBK Capital Ivey Business Plan Competition - University of Western Ontario

* OFC Venture Challenge - Clark Atlanta University

* Venture Adventure - Colorado State University

Held by business organizations

* Jungle Business Plan Challenge - Jungle Media Group

* S.E.E.D. Business Plan Competition - TechKnowledge Point Corp.

* Venture Bowl - National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Carrot Capital

You will wonder probably what exactly do these competitions consist of and where does their popularity come from?

Organizers

Although the organizers and sponsors are usually universities, there are several business organizations that host business plan competitions.

Contestants

Business plan competitions are student entrepreneur events. The contests are organized either for graduate or undergraduate students and it does not necessarily have to be MBA students. The contestants may be student scientists, engineers, MDs or other specialists who strive to create a viable business plan hoping to enter such competitions.

The popularity of such contests also reached some other layers: business plan competitions are also organized with the purpose of giving people the possibility of starting a business. Business plan competitions usually happen as intercollegiate events, but this contest formula has also been taken over by companies who want to facilitate the founding of new businesses.

It is also the case of Ford Motor Company that sponsored the Ford BEST (Building Entrepreneurial Success Today) Business Plan contest in association with SCORE "Counselors to America's Small Business" and DiversityInc. The BEST Business Plan contest took place in the winter of 2004 and addressed all U.S. citizens over 18. All the submitted business plans were judged by an advisory panel from SCORE.

Why the need to participate in such events?

Besides the cash prizes, that, although quite important, will rarely suffice for financing the foundation of a company, there is the advantage of learning from this experience - this will enrich students' knowledge in a greater degree than the mere theoretical aspects they learn from lectures.

Not in the last place, there is the valuable opportunity of pitching the business plans to quite a lot of investors in a very short time.

How Do Winners Benefit?

Innitially started as a valuable opportunity for the students with bright business ideas to express them within contest conditions, the business plan competitions have become a resource for some investors. There are two categories of results of such competitions:

You would say that choosing from purely theoretical plans would be highly improbable for a venture investor. Yet, that's how many successful firms came into being.

1-800 Contacts

A mail-order contact-lens-replacement company in Draper, Utah. The business plan won the 1995 Brigham Young University tournament in Provo, Utah.

Attorneys @ Work

An Internet recruiting and placement service in Atlanta. Competition: 1996, University of Georgia. SensAble Technologies Inc.

In Cambridge, Mass., won the MIT competition in 1995. Epotec Inc.

Competition: 1997, University of Chicago.

However, having good results in an important competition does not necessarily imply launching a company successfully. There is the risk that some investors consider your plan an academic exercise before really studying it and thus the percentage of trust is substantially reduced.

Laura Ciocan writes for http://www.businessplanning.ws where you can find more information about business planning
Please feel free to use this article in your Newsletter or on your website. If you use this article, please include the resource box and send a brief message to let me know where it appeared.
Contact:lauracio@gmail.com


MORE RESOURCES:

Arizona lawmaker proposes new version of bill to allow guns on college ...
The Republic
PAUL DAVENPORT AP PHOENIX — An Arizona lawmaker is renewing his fight to allow students and professors to carry guns on higher education campuses, raising a controversial issue that resulted in a veto by Gov. Jan Brewer last year.

and more »


College, university students marching 'National Day of Action'
680 News
TORONTO, Ont. - More than 1000 university and college students are marching from the University of Toronto to Queen's Park, taking party in the National Day of Action. They are protesting rising tuition fees amid soaring levels of post-secondary debt.

and more »


Grand Central Magazine earns EPPY
Midland Daily News
The student-run online publication has been named Best College/University Journalism Website for 2011. In winning the top honor, Grand Central competed against finalists from DePaul University, Temple University, Berry College and City University of ...



College, university students to take part in 'National Day of Action' Wednesday
680 News
TORONTO, Ont. - Thousands of college and university students are planning to take to the streets of Toronto and many other Canadian cities, Wednesday, on the 'National Day of Action.' Spokesperson Sandy Hudson told 680News this will be a controlled ...



Tehelka

'Are there any rules in love and lovemaking?'
Tehelka
WHO This Kerala-born artist has a BFA from Sir JJ School of Art, Mumbai, and a Masters in Visual Arts from Goldsmiths College, University of London. Based in Mumbai, he has exhibited and curated several shows in India and abroad.



Morning Sentinel

Carrabec elevates the bar
Morning Sentinel
By Erin Rhoda erhoda@mainetoday.com ANSON — Eleven sophomores at Carrabec High School sat in a classroom Wednesday beneath painted ceiling tiles depicting the colleges they dream of attending: Harvard University, Marist College, University of Georgia, ...

and more »


The Express Tribune

Arfa stamps at GCU stall
The News International
THE commemorative postage stamp, issued for Arfa Karim Randhawa, Wednesday received a warm response from the students of Government College University, Lahore, at a special ticket stall set up by Ravians Seniors Club in the university to pay homage to ...
Postage stamp for Arfa received warmly at GCUPakistan Daily Times

all 7 news articles »


Early autism sign might be found in babies' gaze
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Researchers from Birkbeck College, University of London, placed sensors on the scalp to register brain activity while the babies viewed faces. During the exam, the faces sometimes looked at the babies and other times looked away.

and more »


GCU students to 'Teach for Pakistan'
DAWN.com
LAHORE, Feb 1: The students of the Government College University (GCU), Lahore, with international organisation 'Teach for Pakistan' will teach public schools' students improving their communication skills and knowledge besides developing their ...
GCU achieves best library awardBusiness Recorder (blog)

all 2 news articles »


State College/University Association's New CEO Appoints Director of Government ...
ParamusPost.com
By Mel Fabrikant Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 03:40 PM EST Michael W. Klein, who became CEO of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities (ASCU) this month, today announced the appointment of a new director of Government and Legal ...


Google News

Acne - Advertising - Aerobics & Cardio - Affiliate Revenue - Alternative - Attraction - Auction - Audio Streaming - Aviation - Babies & Toddlers - Beauty - Blogging & RSS - Book Marketing - Book Reviews - Branding - Breast Cancer - Broadband Internet - Muscle Building - Careers & Employment - Coaching - Coffee - College & University - Cooking Tips - Copywriting - Crafts & Hobbies - Creativity - Credit - Cruising & Sailing - Currency Trading - Customer Service - Data Recovery - Dating - Debt Consolidation - Debt Relief - Depression - Diabetes - Divorce - Domain Names - E-books - Ecommerce - Elder Care - Email Marketing - Entrepreneurialism - Ethics - Exercise - Ezine Marketing - Ezine Publishing - Fashion & Style - Fishing - Fitness Equipment - Forums - Games - Goal Setting - Golf - Grief Loss - Hair Loss - Happiness - Hardware - Holidays - Home Improvement - Home Security - Humanities - Humor - Innovation - Inspirational - Insurance - Interior Decorating - Internet Marketing - Investing - Landscaping & Gardening - Language - Leadership - Leases & Leasing - Loans - Lung, Mesothelioma & Asbestos - Management - Marketing - Marriage & Wedding - Meditation - Mobile & Cell Phone - Mortgage & Refinancing - Motivation - Motorcycles - Music - Negotiation - Network Marketing - Networking - Nutrition - Organizing - Outdoors - Parenting - Personal Finance - Personal Tech - Pets - Philosophy - Photography - Poetry - Politics - Positive Attitude - PPC Advertising - Press Release - Pregnancy - Presentation - Psychology - Public Speaking - Real Estate - Recipes - Relationships - Sales - Sales Management - Sales & Teleselling - Sales Training - Satellite TV - Science - Security - SEO - Site Promotion - Small Business - Software - Spam Blocker - Spirituality - Stocks & Mutual Funds - Strategic Planning - Stress Management - Structured Settlements - Success - Supplements - Taxes - Team Building - Time Management - Top7-Or-10-Tips - Traffic Building - Vacation Rentals - Video Conferencing - Video Streaming - VOIP - Wealth Building - Web Design - Web Development - Web Hosting - Weight Loss - Wine & Spirits - Writing - Writing Articles - Yoga

Top
Main Home Email Category Home