High Growth Tech Start-Up:
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The 2012 Business Plan Competition at The Paul Merage School of Business is one of the nation's premier business plan competitions offering all UC Irvine students, staff and researchers the opportunity to form a team, create a business plan and potentially fund their business idea all within seven months. The competition begins with our signature Kick-off event. At the Competition Kick-off, participants learn more details about the competition prizes, rules, registration procedures and meet some of the winners from previous years. After registering on www.vator.tv, participants form a team, submit their concept papers, attend competition related workshops and submit their final business plan. This culminates in the selection of the semi-finalists and the finalists. The Final Presentations and Awards Ceremony for the Competition will be held on Friday, April 27, 2012, where over $70,000 in cash prizes will be awarded. Between the kick-off and finals, we offer eight workshops covering a broad area of business plan development skills led by expert practitioners from across Orange County. The Competition also provides individual team coaches to all teams that qualify for the semi-finals.
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The 2012 Business Plan Competition Description and Rules
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UPCOMING EVENTS:
Vator.tv People's Choice Award (on-line event)
April 19, 2012 - April 26, 2012
View select semi-finalist teams' elevator pitches at vator.tv and vot
Presenter
Mike Cannon, Mainpoint Communications
REGISTER TODAY!
2012 BPC Competition Final Presentations and Awards Ceremony
Friday, April 27, 2012
UC Irvine Student Center
Doheny A-D, Emerald Bay A-E, and Crescent Bay A-D
7:30 am-6:00 pm
View all competition events
2011 Competition Winners and Photos
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| 1. Competition Format |
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The Competition has Two Phases:
Phase One: Concept Paper Phase
Winter quarter, 2012, the Concept Paper Phase begins with all teams self-registering on Vator.tv and then joining the 2012 Business Plan Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business Group by 11:59pm, Monday, January 30, 2012. This is required.
For further instructions on how to register click HERE
Following joining the 2012 Competiton on Vator.tv, three workshops are provided to assist competitors with their concept papers. Teams then submit a three-page Concept Paper about their business opportunity by uploading their concept paper in .pdf form on Vator.tv. (Concept papers are due by 11:59pm, January 30, 2012.) With the Concept paper, please provide a cover sheet that gives the names of the team members including their respective school affiliations, graduate/undergraduate status and e-mail address. This cover page does not count against the 3-page maximum of the concept paper.
This initial three-page document is the equivalent to the Executive Summary of the business plan that the team will develop during the second phase of the competition. A suggested outline for the concept paper is provided at the bottom of this page. Teams must join the 2012 Business Plan Competition Group on Vator.tv before submitting their concept papers.
From the concept paper submissions, a panel of judges will select a maximum of 20 teams for participation in Phase II of the competition. The teams selected to continue in the competition will be notified on February 10, 2012 and coaches will be matched with each of the semi-finalist teams soon thereafter. Awards are given to recognize the team with the best concept paper for the overall competition as well as to the team with the best undergraduate concept paper.
Phase Two: Business Plan Development Phase
Teams that are selected for the second phase will work with their coach to submit a 15 page business plan (including all appendices) for the competition. (Business Plans are due by 11:59pm, April 2, 2012.)
The 15-page business plan must be submitted on time in order to compete in the final round of the 2012 Business Plan Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business. Please provide a cover sheet that gives the names of the team members including their respective school affiliations, graduate/undergraduate status and e-mail address. This cover page does not count against the 15-page maximum of the business plan. All submitted business plans are required to be uploaded through Vator.tv in .pdf format.
The judging of the written business plans is completed by the judges prior to April 27. The judging of each semi-finalist's presentation will be made to a panel of judges on Friday, April 27, 2012 in our presentation rooms the UC Irvine Student Center on the UC Irvine Campus. This will be an all day event. Judges will make their decisions and the formal recognition of all award winners will be acknowledged that day.
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| 2. Teams |
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All UC Irvine Graduate and Undergraduate students are invited to participate in the business plan competition and to form or be part of a competing team. Teams must have:
- At least three (3) total members:
- At least two (2) members must be registered UC Irvine students*
- At least one (1) member must be a student in one of the Paul Merage School’s degree programs**
*A “registered student” is defined as a bona fide student registered at UC Irvine for at least two (2) quarters during the 11-12 academic year.
** full time MBA, fully employed MBA, executive MBA, health care executive MBA, joint-MBA and Masters programs with other UC Irvine Schools, Doctoral or Undergraduate (major and minor) programs
May teams include any non-UC Irvine student members?
Yes, once the team is organized by a UC Irvine student and has at least one Paul Merage School student member, non-students may participate as Auxiliary Members of the team. There is no official upper limit on the number of team members, however about five (5) members is the practical upper limit for an effective team, including any auxiliary members. Auxiliary (non-student members) are expected to be present with their team during all competition events.
Undergraduate Teams:
An undergraduate team is defined as a team where all team members are current undergraduates. The team leader must be a registered UC Irvine undergraduate student in the Paul Merage School of Business (majors as well as minors.) Undergraduate teams may compete for all overall competition prizes as well as specific undergraduate Awards.
Changes to your team's composition are allowed up to April 2-- the point at which business plans are submitted. Your final team composition will be considered to be the individuals listed on your business plan cover pages submitted through Vator.tv. Please keep in mind that should your team win a cash award, University policy requires that all team members split the award evenly.
How can I attract more Team Members?
Please use the Vator.tv discussion wall to advertise your interest in recruiting additional team members. Similarly, use Vator.tv to solicit your interest in joining a team if you don't have team. Of course, use the Competition kick-off on November 15, 2011 to network with others.
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| 3. Business Plan/Idea |
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Teams must present an original idea for a company which may not have been in existence prior to 2010. Teams must be in a "pre-incubator" form and must not be backed by incubators, existing companies or venture capitalists.
Concept Paper and Business Plan Format:
Concept Papers must not be over three pages, excluding the cover page
Business Plans must not be over 15 pages, excluding the cover page
For both documents:
Margins must not be smaller than ½ of an inch on any side
Body text should be between 11 and 12 points inclusive.
Document text should be single-spaced
Submit documents only as a single file in Adobe Acrobat format (.pdf format).
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| 4. Judging Guidelines |
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The judges are professionals who come from various business backgrounds and they include experienced investors (angels, venture capitalists, investment bankers), experienced entrepreneurs and senior business people and service professionals who interact with early stage companies like intellectual property attorneys and early stage accounting and consulting firms. Each judge is an expert in the process of starting a business. The judges consider specific criteria when evaluating concept papers and business plans, however ultimately, winning teams usually are those in which the judges would most likely invest their own money. This decision is influenced heavily by several factors:
- Size and growth rate of the market addressed
- Likelihood that the team can create a sustainable competitive advantage
- Simplicity of the business model described
- Believability of the business plan
Specifically, judges are asked to evaluate each semi-finalist on the following criteria:
- 40% - Quality of business plan
- Executive Summary & Company Overview
- Products or Services
- Market Need
- Market Potential for Your Product or Service
- Competitive Advantage
- Management
- Financial Forecasts
- 40% - Impact of Presentation
- Provide evidence of a market
- Provide evidence of ability to execute
- Provide evidence of a return on investment
- 20% - Judges’ assessment of idea potential
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| 5. Award Divisions |
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The 2012 Business Plan Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business is organized into four award categories:
· Overall Competition Division
· Undergraduate Division
· Vator.tv People's Choice Poll
· Life Science Division
Overall Competition Division
All teams, including undergraduate teams compete in the Overall Competition Division, as it is open to all UC Irvine students, researchers and staff. Overall Competition Division teams, must have at least three (3) members of which two (2) of members must be registered students at UC Irvine and one (1) of which must be a Merage student. Students and researchers may be from any UC Irvine school or department. The prizes are:
- First Place Prize: $15,000 Cash
- Second Place Prize: $7,500 Cash
- Third Place Prize: $2,500 Cash
NEW THIS YEAR: Life Science Division
New to this year's competition, teams whose business idea in the Life Science industry will also be eligible for seperate awards. In addition to the general entrepreneur workshops that help all teams through the business plan process, we have added 3 additional workshops taught by leaders in the field, aimed at addressing the unique challenges brought on by the Life Science industry. These workshops include:
- FDA Regulation Overview
- Intellectual Property & Protection
- Product Development
The prizes are:
- First Place Prize: $15,000 Cash
- Second Place Prize: $7,500 Cash
- Third Place Prize: $2,500 Cash
Undergraduate Division
On the day of the final presentations, Undergraduate teams not placing in the Overall Competition will be considered for awards given in the Undergraduate Award Division. Teams considered for the Undergraduate Award Division must have at least three (3) members and be composed of only undergraduates of which two (2) of members must be registered students at UCI and one (1) of which must be a Merage student. The prizes are:
- First Place Prize: $2,500 Cash
- Second Place Prize: $1,500 Cash
- Third Place Prize: $1,000 Cash
Vator.tv People's Choice Poll
Vator.tv is a community-based website focused on the business of funding and building emerging technologies for startups. It combines social networking, industry news, and video to organize presentations about business opportunities within a diverse online audience of entrepreneurs and investors.
Vator.tv implements a web 2.0 platform for presentors to submit videotaped two-minute "elevator pitches", where they are ranked by the Vator community for quality. By submitting their video to an online community of investors, an aspiring entrepreneur makes one pitch instead of having to repeat the same presentation dozens of times to different investors and venture capitalists throughout the funding process. By viewing the highest rated pitches, venture capitalists save the time of having to sort through numerous business presentations. The prize is:
- People's Choice Award: $1,500
International teams are encouraged in all four divisions as are teams including members from other US universities.
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| 6. Special Awards |
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NEW THIS YEAR: California Dreamin' Competition:
The winner of the entire competition (including all divisions) has a great opportunity to participate in the California Dreamin' Competition, hosted by Chapman University. On April 28th teams from Universities across California will compete for prizes worth over $100,000. Participating schools include:
- UC Irvine
- UCLA
- UC Berkeley
- Stanford University
- Caltech
- Cal State Fullerton
- Chapman University
Fort Ashford InfoTech Innovation Award
The Fort Ashford InfoTech Innovation Award is a new addition to the list of competition prizes.
This award is given to the team whose IT solution best exemplifies the following:
- Innovative: The IT solution that best leverages current commercially available tools & techniques
- Elegant: The solution that best addresses the business problem it seeks to solve by effectively eliminating the point of pain
- Applicable: A solution that is user friendly, fast, robust, accurate and reliable
The winning team will receive $2,500 and an annual subscription to MSDN (Microsoft Developers Network)
Calit2 TechPortal Award:
TechPortal is a business technology incubator in the Calit2 Building. Calit2 TechPortal Award goes to the BPC first place winner. It serves as a gateway to commercial viability for UCI-based startup. It includes 6 months free tenancy worth $2,750, offers affordable space, access to facilities, services and mentoring.
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| 7. Clean Tech Award |
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NEW THIS YEAR: The UCI Environment Institute is sponsoring a $7,500 Clean Tech Prize within the School Business Plan Competition. All semi-finalists with an innovative product or service that solves a pressing environmental, energy or sustainability problem will be eligible for the Clean Tech Prize. The prize will be awarded to the team with the most promising and well-integrated financial and social returns.
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| 8. Competition Registration |
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Registering for the 2012 Business Plan Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business is easily completed by:
- Go to Vator.tv and have all team members register.
- One team member must create a team Company and fill out the resulting form. To add team members, click the Company Profile tab and then click Edit. Then click Admins/followers and add the team member email addresses.
- To join the 2012 Business Plan Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business, click on the Competitions tab and click on "The 2012 Business Plan Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business."
- Click on the green "Participate in this Competition" button to the right of the entry for 2012 Business Plan Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business and then register your company.
- Congratulations!! You have now joined the 2012 Business Plan Competition at the Paul Merage School of Business.
- You may now create your team homepage, upload pictures and documents, post your logo and e-mail friends and family about your new business opportunity
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| 9. Competition Calendar |
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Tuesday, November 15, 2011
2012 BPC Kick-Off
UC Irvine Student Center
Doheny A&B
5:30-7:30 pm
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
2012 BPC Workshop
Assessing the Market
Calit2 Auditorium
6-8:00 pm
Andy Mindlin, RealWorld Marketing
RSVP Today!
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
2012 BPC Workshop
FDA Regulation Overview
Calit2 Auditorium
6-8:00 pm
Brent Noblitt, Noblitt & Reuland
Dennis Rubenacker, Noblitt & Reuland
RSVP Today!
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
2012 BPC Workshop
How to Develop a Winning Concept and Lead Your Team to Success
Calit2 Auditorium
6-8:00 pm
Charlie Baecker, Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
John Creelman, Rain Tree Oncology Services
RSVP Today!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Competition Registration Closes
11:59 pm
Monday, January 30. 2012
Competition Deadline:
Concept Papers Due
Submit via Vator.tv by 11:59 PM
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Competition Advisory Board Meeting
Merage School Executive Commons
MPAA 100
7:30 am
Friday, February 10, 2012
Competition Semi-Finalists Announced
5:00 pm
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
2012 BPC Workshop
How to Write a Business Plan
Calit2 Auditorium
6-8:00 pm
Seth Yakatan, Yakatan and Associates
RSVP Today!
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
2012 BPC Workshop
Intellectual Property & Protection
Calit2 Auditorium
6-8:00 pm
Gerard von Hoffman, Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear LLP
RSVP Today!
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
2012 BPC Workshop
Product Development
Calit2 Auditorium
6-8:00 pm
Jeff Blanton, Waypoint Leadership, Inc.
RSVP Today!
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
2012 BPC Workshop
6-8:00 pm
Calit2 Auditorium
Value Creation Roadmap
Charlie Baecker, Don Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Panel Discussion with past BPC Teams
Stacked Wines (2011 SemiFinalist)
CritWalls (2011 1st Place Winner)
ZeroWatt Technologies (2009 1st Place Winner)
RSVP Today!
Monday, April 2, 2012
Business Plans Due
Submit via Vator.tv by 11:59 pm
** NEW DATE**
Monday, April 9, 2012
2012 BPC Workshop
Presentation Skills for Pitching Investors
Calit2 Auditorium
6:00-8:00 pm
Mike Cannon, Mainpoint Communications
RSVP Today!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Elevator Pitch Video Taping
Anteater Instructional Resource Building, Room 1030
1:00-8:00 pm
Monday, April 23, 2012 - Thursday, April 26, 2012
Vator.tv People's Choice Poll (On-line Event)
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Competition Judges Orientation Breakfast
Merage School Executive Commons
7:30-9:30 am
Friday, April 27, 2012
2012 BPC Competition Final Presentations and Awards Ceremony
UC Irvine Student Center
Doheny A-D, Emerald Bay A-E, and Crescent Bay A-D
7:30 am-6:00 pm
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| 10. Resources for Participants |
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There will be numerous resources available to the teams throughout the competition. They are as follows:
- List of reading materials on this site
- Links to various websites and online publications
- Guidelines on what is expected in the concept paper and final business plans
- Workshops on the key elements of a business plan will be offered from January through April
- Team coaches for teams selected for Phase II
Resource Center
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