Today the Central Valley Business Times announces a $250,000 business plan contest accepting nationwide entries. Finalists will compete in October. Entrants have to have a convincing business plan and be at least 18 years old. That’s it as far as entry requirements.
“Anyone who has an idea for an innovative new business, and a business plan to match–or who has already started and is growing a business with a promising business plan–is welcome to enter,” says the sponsor, the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
The Lyles Center, by the way, is at California State University, Fresno. Click here for the fully detailed Web announcement. Read down past the sponsorship discussion and the local business justification to the details, including the unusually open entry.
The top 10 finalists will travel to Fresno for a two-day competition Oct. 2Â - 3, where they will present their business plans to a panel of judges. On Oct. 4, the winner–and recipient of $100,000 in cash and $150,000 worth of in-kind services–is to be announced during halftime at the Fresno State Bulldog football game.
In the wake of last week’s Moot Corp competition in Austin, Texas, I picked up the list of feeder competitions that lead to the Moot Corp. Winners in these competitions are invited to compete at the Moot Corp.
If things go as they normally do, these venture competitions will be held again for the next venture competition season, beginning this fall and running through next April. If you have connections with any of these, it’s a great experience; I recommend you get into it. Normally you do have to have direct involvement with an MBA-level program, ideally as a student. If you aren’t a student but know somebody who is, you can become involved by recruiting that person onto a team, because each team normally has to include one MBA student.
Idea to Product Competition
Early November
Hosted by The University of Texas at Austin
Contact info@ideatoproduct.org
Launch Silicon Valley 2008 is accepting executive summaries for about one more week, until May 9. This is the best kind of venture contest — sponsored by venture capital for venture capital — looking at what it wants to be the best and most interesting startups around. Organizers want startups that are already launched, that have something to show, but haven’t been around very long.
The prize? The right kind of audience. Journalists, other opinion makers and, generally, people with money to invest.
So last month the idea elevator was set up in the business school at the University of Oregon. Go in, start recording… you have 30 seconds. The results are posted at the U of O’s New Venture Championship site as a prelude to the event in Portland, Oregon, at the end of this week. And here’s a selection that’s being shared (and if for any reason you don’t see the video here, then click this link):
The NVC awarded $100 for the best 30-second idea and a $100 gift certificate for the worst. Hmmm… there’s an intercollegiate elevator speech contest (25 teams from five countries) that kicks off the event Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Embassy Suites. It’s open to the public all day Friday and Saturday.
As part of that competition, in a judges’ meeting before it started, Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship managing director Brad Burke shared the following list of questions to ask about a new venture:
Is there a real need? What problem is being solved?
Is the market big? Will customers pay for this?
Is there sustainable, significant differentiation?
Is there IP (patents)? Exclusive license?
Are members of the team committed to launch this business?
Strong management team? Are gaps understood?
Are the timelines, milestones, capital needs and financials realistic? Is there an exit in five to seven years?
The context Friday morning was judges looking at business plans, but I asked Burke for permission to share this because it’s a good list for anybody to use.
And while I seem to be on the theme of business plan competitions–I posted about one here Friday; there are a lot of them in April, and I’ll be judging at the University of Oregon this week and the University of Texas at the end of the month. I posted about the Forbes $100,000 business plan contest for existing companies over at Business in General. Forbes is accepting applications now through the end of May.
Stu Phillips calls it The Valuation Trap and also “the hot button of the week” in his most recent post on Soaring on Ridgelift. I call it surprising, counterintuitive and, therefore, more interesting and more important. For the record, I would have said the opposite of what he does. Here’s what he says:
Never answer the classic VC question, “So, what valuation are you looking for?” with a specific number. Got that? Never!
And let’s say this too: If you’re dealing with venture capitalists, seeking financing, listen to what Stu says first, he knows better.
The subject hits home with me because I’ve been favored by being a judge at multiple venture contests, not as an investor, and I want the contestants to come up with a proposed valuation as part of their financial strategy. I get frustrated when they seem to have forgotten about valuation as one of the key factors.
Stu, however, is very convincing, particularly since he’s talking about real investment deals, not just hypothetical:
Whatever number you give in answer to this question, you wind up negotiating with yourself (a fool’s errand in anybody’s book of strategy):
If you give too high a number, the prospective new investor might start thinking, “Boy, these guys are being totally unrealistic…” or worse. Many VCs don’t relish being the bearer of bad news and so tend to nod politely and then go chase other deals where they don’t have to be the bad guy who brings you back to earth.
If you give too low a number, do you think the prospective investor is going to say, “Oh, that’s way too low, we were thinking of a much higher number…”?
So, never give a specific number!
OK, I’d say, but isn’t that naive, for reasons I put above? Don’t you just look like you don’t know the territory and haven’t done your homework? He has a good positive suggestion of what to do instead:
The question itself is a fair one and has one of two answers:
If you have raised money before, the answer runs along these lines… “Our last round was at $X million post money. We think you will agree that we’ve made substantial progress in building the company since then and that will translate into the valuation that the market will set.”
If this is the first money you have raised from institutional investors… “We’re realistic about the valuation that the market will set and look forward to hearing your opinion of a fair valuation.”
VCs ask this question to test the waters and see how realistic you are about the fundraising process–think of this as a pass/fail question, remember the answers above and you’ll do fine.
So OK, I’m convinced. Take his advice, not mine … unless you’re competing in a venture contest and I’m one of the judges. For this coming year, that would be contests at Rice, University of Oregon, Notre Dame and University of Texas.
Intuit’s “Just Start� Startup Story Contest — Offers a $50,000 grand prize (a grant of cash and services) and two $5,000 prizes. Deadline is December 15, 2007. For this contest you tell your story of the business you started or plan to start.
ATG’s e-Commerce Ingenuity Business Plan Competition– ATG is offering a $50,000 prize for a business plan competition, of which e-commerce must be a business-critical component. There is also a $10,000 second “people’s choice� prize. Deadline is January 30, 2008.
Advanta’s Ideablob Monthly Business Idea Contest — Advanta is running monthly contests on its Ideablob site, of $10,000 each month. You submit your business idea. See the site for monthly deadlines.
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