RULES
Students are permitted and encouraged to use all available resources
in developing their written business plans and oral presentations. Such
resources include, but are not limited to, those described in RESOURCES.
In order for a business idea to be eligible for the competition, it must be a media product, service, or entity and distributed via a digital platform; e.g. online, tablet or mobile. The entrepreneurial concept must be fresh and innovative. The products or services offered must include interactive aspects and be supported by sustainable business plans. Ideas not meeting these criteria will be rejected.
This competition is open to both for-profit and non-profit business ideas, with no penalty or benefit given to choosing either type of business. The primary criteria is that the business is viable, and each business submitted will be evaluated on its own merits.
The competition will be conducted in three rounds as follows:
1. Submit Online Entry and Executive Summary Final due date: 11:59 pm on November 1, 2012
Click here to SUBMIT.
The competition is open to individuals and teams. Each team may have up to one member who is not a currently enrolled full-time QU student (academic year 2012-2013). This outside member may not hold the primary lead position in the business or organization.Only one entry may be submitted per team.
Since the competition is designed for new businesses, the business must not be more than two years old (as of Jan. 31, 2012), must have gross sales of less than $200,000 (for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011), and may not be a previous business plan competition prize winning business. New businesses that have not yet been formed are most welcome to apply.
You must submit your entry by 11:59 pm on November 1, 2012.
The application requires that you attach an Executive Summary of your business plan. This summary may not exceed two pages single-spaced and must use the Arial 12 font with one-inch margins. MS Word format is required (e.g. .doc or .docx format). Note: Unlike the second round Executive Summary (described below), this Executive Summary is not required to include a Mission Statement.
Participants whose Applications and Executive Summaries of their Business Plans have been accepted will be notified no later than November 8, 2012.
2. Written Business Plan Final due date: 11:59 pm on November 15, 2012
This second round of the competition is open only to those individuals and teams who are notified as having advanced to the Written Business Plan phase.
Written business plans may not exceed 15 pages single-spaced plus up to 5 pages of appendices. The cover page and table of contents page (since they are not numbered) do not count toward the 15-page limit. Plans must use the Arial 12 font with one-inch margins; however, charts may use the Arial 10 font. Word .doc or .docx format is required. The document name must be the same as the name of the business (businessname.doc or businessname.docx). Submissions that do not comply with these specifications will be rejected.
Written business plans must be submitted using a link to be provided to those teams that qualify. No plan may be submitted later than 11:59 pm on Thursday, November 15, 2012.
Each business plan must include the following sections:
3. Oral Business Plan Presentation Finals at 6:00 pm on December 6, 2012
This third and final round of the competition is open only to those teams and individuals who are notified as having advanced to the Finals.
The time limit for oral presentations is 10 minutes. Oral presentations may be accompanied by PowerPoint slides, Prezi, and samples of the online or digital product or service. Warnings will be given at three minutes remaining (green), at two minutes remaining (yellow), and at one minute remaining (red). Judges will have approximately 5 minutes for questions and answers.
All team members must participate in their team’s oral presentation; however, individuals' presentation times need not be equal.
Following the finalist presentations on December 6, the ranking of the top four finalists teams will be announced. An awards reception, to which finalists are invited, will follow the announcement.
Prize money will be paid to the winning companies upon presentation of appropriate documentation regarding their companies. The first place team will be required to provide follow-up information to QU about their company and their use of the prize money.
Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Guidelines
In order for a business idea to be eligible for the competition, it must be a media product, service, or entity and distributed via a digital platform; e.g. online, tablet or mobile. The entrepreneurial concept must be fresh and innovative. The products or services offered must include interactive aspects and be supported by sustainable business plans. Ideas not meeting these criteria will be rejected.
This competition is open to both for-profit and non-profit business ideas, with no penalty or benefit given to choosing either type of business. The primary criteria is that the business is viable, and each business submitted will be evaluated on its own merits.
The competition will be conducted in three rounds as follows:
1. Submit Online Entry and Executive Summary Final due date: 11:59 pm on November 1, 2012
Click here to SUBMIT.
The competition is open to individuals and teams. Each team may have up to one member who is not a currently enrolled full-time QU student (academic year 2012-2013). This outside member may not hold the primary lead position in the business or organization.Only one entry may be submitted per team.
Since the competition is designed for new businesses, the business must not be more than two years old (as of Jan. 31, 2012), must have gross sales of less than $200,000 (for the year ended Dec. 31, 2011), and may not be a previous business plan competition prize winning business. New businesses that have not yet been formed are most welcome to apply.
You must submit your entry by 11:59 pm on November 1, 2012.
The application requires that you attach an Executive Summary of your business plan. This summary may not exceed two pages single-spaced and must use the Arial 12 font with one-inch margins. MS Word format is required (e.g. .doc or .docx format). Note: Unlike the second round Executive Summary (described below), this Executive Summary is not required to include a Mission Statement.
Participants whose Applications and Executive Summaries of their Business Plans have been accepted will be notified no later than November 8, 2012.
2. Written Business Plan Final due date: 11:59 pm on November 15, 2012
This second round of the competition is open only to those individuals and teams who are notified as having advanced to the Written Business Plan phase.
Written business plans may not exceed 15 pages single-spaced plus up to 5 pages of appendices. The cover page and table of contents page (since they are not numbered) do not count toward the 15-page limit. Plans must use the Arial 12 font with one-inch margins; however, charts may use the Arial 10 font. Word .doc or .docx format is required. The document name must be the same as the name of the business (businessname.doc or businessname.docx). Submissions that do not comply with these specifications will be rejected.
Written business plans must be submitted using a link to be provided to those teams that qualify. No plan may be submitted later than 11:59 pm on Thursday, November 15, 2012.
Each business plan must include the following sections:
- Executive Summary (including Mission Statement)
- Industry and Company Overview - Products & Services
- Competitor Analysis & Business Strategy
- Marketing Plan
- Operations Plan
- Management Team & Company Structure
- Financial Projections (including, at a minimum: capital required, 12 months of cash flow and income statement forecasts)
3. Oral Business Plan Presentation Finals at 6:00 pm on December 6, 2012
This third and final round of the competition is open only to those teams and individuals who are notified as having advanced to the Finals.
The time limit for oral presentations is 10 minutes. Oral presentations may be accompanied by PowerPoint slides, Prezi, and samples of the online or digital product or service. Warnings will be given at three minutes remaining (green), at two minutes remaining (yellow), and at one minute remaining (red). Judges will have approximately 5 minutes for questions and answers.
All team members must participate in their team’s oral presentation; however, individuals' presentation times need not be equal.
Following the finalist presentations on December 6, the ranking of the top four finalists teams will be announced. An awards reception, to which finalists are invited, will follow the announcement.
Prize money will be paid to the winning companies upon presentation of appropriate documentation regarding their companies. The first place team will be required to provide follow-up information to QU about their company and their use of the prize money.
Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Guidelines
- The authors of the business plan will retain all rights to the plan regarding its use at all times prior to and following the competition except as stated below. Due to the nature of the competition, QU will not ask judges, reviewers, staff, or the audience to agree to or sign non-disclosure statements for any participant.
- As all oral presentations and question/answer sessions are open to the public at large. These public sessions may be photographed, videoed, and/or broadcast to interested persons through media which may include radio, television, and the Internet. Any data or information discussed or divulged in public sessions by entrants should be considered information that will likely enter the public realm, and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged, or presented in these sessions.
