The idea of ​​a business plan competition began in the 1980s at the initiative of some Texas MBA students and has become increasingly popular. These events occur annually and enjoy a large influx of contestants, greatly increasing their competitiveness.

Competitions

Organized by universities

* Babcock Elevator Pitch Competition – Wake Forest University

* Business Creation Contest – Ball State University

* Moot Corp. Competition – University of Texas

* Duke Startup Challenge – Duke University

* IBK Capital Ivey Business Plan Contest – 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

* SEED Business Plan Contest – TechKnowledge Point Corp.

* Venture Bowl – National Institute of Entrepreneurship and Carrot Capital

You are probably wondering what exactly these contests consist of and where their popularity comes from.

Organizers

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

Contestants

Business plan contests are events for student entrepreneurs. The competitions are organized for graduate or undergraduate students and do not necessarily have to be MBA students. Contestants can be student scientists, engineers, doctors, or other specialists who are striving to create a viable business plan in the hopes of participating in such contests.

The popularity of these contests also reached other levels: business plan contests are also organized for the purpose of giving people the ability to start a business. Business plan competitions usually happen as interuniversity events, but this competition formula has also been adopted by companies that want to facilitate the creation of new businesses.

This is also the case with Ford Motor Company, which 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 was held in the winter of 2004 and was addressed to all US citizens 18 years of age and older. All submitted business plans were reviewed by a SCORE advisory panel.

Why the need to participate in these types of events?

In addition to the cash prizes, which, although quite large, will rarely be enough to finance the founding of a company, there is the advantage of learning from this experience, which will enrich the knowledge of the students to a greater extent than the mere theoretical aspects of those who learn. readings.

Last but not least, there is the valuable opportunity to present your business plans to a large number of investors in a very short time.

How do the winners benefit?

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

I would say that choosing between purely theoretical plans would be highly unlikely for a venture investor. However, this is how many successful companies came about.

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.

Lawyers at work

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

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

Competition: 1997, University of Chicago.

However, doing well in a major competition does not necessarily mean launching a successful business. There is a risk that some investors will consider their plan as an academic exercise before actually studying it and therefore the confidence percentage will be reduced substantially.