University of Dayton, Ohio

Welcome to the 2012-2013 University of Dayton Business Plan Competition

Congratulations to this year's Final Round teams!!



Congratulations to this year's Elevator Pitch Competition winners and the teams advancing to the Cameo Round!!

This year, participants will compete for $175,000 in cash prizes and other support, a new competition record!

On this website, you will find details about the 2012-2013 UD Business Plan Competition.

For the 7th straight year, the University of Dayton is ranked as having one of the top-20 undergraduate entrepreneurship programs in the nation!

  

Please direct any additional questions to the following:

Diane Sullivan

Associate Professor and Competition Director

UD Business Plan Competition

sullivan@udayton.edu

(937) 229-3705

Dean McFarlin

Chairperson, Department of Management & Marketing & NCR Professor of Global Leadership Development

mcfarlin@udayton.edu

(937) 229-4928

2012-2013 Schedule and Key Dates

2012-2013 UD Business Plan Competition Applicant Eligibility

2012-2013 UD BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION APPLICANT ELIGIBILITY

APPLICANT / TEAM ELIGIBILITY

This is a team-based competition (teams can range from 1-8 individuals). Team members may come from anywhere, subject to the restrictions and eligibility requirements below (PLEASE READ CAREFULLY!). Specifically:

• Anyone may participate in the Elevator Pitch and Cameo stages of the competition. But if your entry is selected to be one of the five finalist teams, your team MUST include at least one currently enrolled UD student (in any undergraduate or graduate degree program), OR at least one alum who has earned a UD degree (graduate or undergraduate)
• Teams MUST select ONE team member who will present the elevator pitch.  Any prize money won is awarded to the presenter only.
• Teams CANNOT  include students who are currently serving a University disciplinary suspension
• An individual may be a member of a maximum of TWO competition entries (judged separately on each), but may only be on ONE finalist team
• Team rosters may be modified (members added or dropped) up to 4:00pm on Friday, December 14, 2012—after that, no roster changes are permitted. Anyone initially submitted as a team member must agree in writing to be dropped.   Everyone on the roster as of December 14, 2012 time is guaranteed a minimum of 10% of the prize package.  Unless written documentation is provided stating otherwise (signed by all team members), prize money is split evenly among all team members. 
• ALL finalist team members must appear at the finalist competition presentations though not all are required to speak (finalist team members who fail to attend finalist presentations will forfeit all prize money winnings over 10%, which will NOT be shared among the remaining members). 
• To receive individual prize monies, all elevator pitch and finalist team members MUST provide payment information (i.e., social security numbers, proof of citizenship, etc.) to Pam Stukenborg, Management/Marketing Department Office Manager, by December 14, 2012 at 4:00pm (Miriam Hall, room 710, 937-229-3745)
• If a finalist team wants prize monies to be paid to a company or non-profit, then firm ID and tax numbers must be submitted to Pam Stukenborg, Management/Marketing Department Office Manager, by December 14, 2012 at 4:00pm (Miriam Hall, room 710, 937-229-3745)
• By entering the UD Business Plan Competition, applicants agree to allow the University of Dayton to use their application materials, photos, likenesses, and presentations to market, promote, and provide information about the Competition (this extends through all stages and aspects of the 2012-2013 UDBPC)

EVALUATION CRITERIA -- WHAT JUDGES LOOK FOR

This is a generalist competition.  It is open to any type of business (subject to the restrictions listed below).  Elevator pitches and business plans are evaluated on the following criteria:

• Ease of growth potential
• Level of innovation/creativity/originality
• Quality of benefits/customer value propositions
• Competitiveness in the marketplace/concept viability
• Perceived ability to execute
• Quality of the presentation
• Coverage and thoroughness

BUSINESS PLAN ELIGIBILITY GUIDELINES

The competition reserves the right to disqualify business plans that fail to adhere to competition rules or are inconsistent with the values and mission of the University of Dayton as a Catholic institution of higher education. The following guidelines were created to clarify what is and is not acceptable for the competition. Each entry is vetted by members of the competition eligibility committee, who make the final determination whether or not the entry meets acceptable guidelines.

• All work must be the original work of the applicants--proposals and plans that constitute “academic dishonesty” will be disqualified even if discovered after the competition ends.
• If the application involves an existing venture, major start-up event (e.g. first sales, incorporation in Ohio or other states) dates should be 30 months old or newer, at the time of the competition's launch. Researching the business and discussing it with others are not generally considered major start-up events. If you are unclear if your business fits this guideline, please contact Dean McFarlin via email: dmcfarlin1@udayton.edu.
• All plans must be based on a legitimate business enterprise--ventures that involve breaking the law as part of their business model are prohibited (e.g., music piracy)
• Plans or any venture that involves a liquor license to be legal, or whose primary purpose is the promotion or sale of alcohol, are prohibitedPlans that conflict with University values are prohibited--these include, but are not limited to, plans involving:
  • Payday loan/check cashing companies
  • Gambling
  • Events/activities featuring violence
  • Pornography

• All plans must be startups--purchasing a current venture, including Business Opportunities and Franchises, is prohibited
• Plans involving pyramid-based marketing are prohibited

PARTICIPATION EXPECTATIONS FOR FINALIST TEAMS

It is imperative that ALL teams advancing to the finalist round (including five finalist teams and two alternates) adhere to the participation expectations outlined below. This ensures fairness as well as helps teams do the best that they can in the competition. Specifically:

• Finalist teams MUST meet with their assigned mentors in January 2013
• Finalist teams MUST complete (if asked) up to five periodic status reports from December 2012 to March 2013
• Finalist teams MUST attend one UDBPC finalist dress rehearsal/coaching session prior to making their final presentations
• Finalists must submit their initial slide show two days before their assigned dress rehearsal sessionFinalist teams must submit a rough of their business plan draft on February 2, 2013 
• Finalist teams MUST submit their final business plan submission on February 23, 2013 
• Finalist teams MUST submit their final PowerPoint presentation on March 4, 2013 
• Finalist teams MUST present their business plan at the UDBPC Finals on March 9, 2013 
• Finalist teams’ UD Students MUST discuss their experiences in the competition at UD’s Stander Symposium on April 17, 2013
• Alternate finalist teams are subject to all of the same expectations as the five finalist teams—should a finalist team withdraw, the first alternate team will be allowed to compete for the top prize packages (the same holds if a second finalist team withdraws and the second alternate team advances)

This is a three stage competition:

1. Elevator Pitch → 2. Cameo Round → 3. Finalist Round

Stage 1 - Elevator Pitch
One minute, one slide... $1,500!

During the fall term, entry applications are submitted no later than Saturday, October 13, 2012 at 5:00pm.  The number of entries is capped at 125, so enter early!   Entrants will make an elevator pitch about their business ideas to a panel of judges on Saturday, October 27, 2012, in Miriam Hall, room 119 (the O'Leary Auditorium).  Pitches last a maximum of one minute and entrants are limited to ONE PowerPoint slide that must be submitted to competition director (Diane Sullivan, dsullivan1@udayton.edu) via email no later than Saturday, October 20, 2012 at 5:00pm.  Slides should be saved as a JPEG file (.jpg) prior to emailing it to the competition director.  Only one person from an entry needs to be present at the elevator pitch stage of the competition.  

Elevator pitch presenters may NOT…

• Bring additional slides
• Use equipment or computers other than what is provided by the Competition
• Set up additional props or materials  

The ten best elevator pitches will win the following prize monies:

• 1st place:            $1,500
• 2nd place:           $1,000
• 3rd place:            $   500
• 4th place:            $   500
• 5th -10th place:   $  250 each

Stage 2 - Cameo Round
Five minutes, five slides... $1,000

After the elevator pitch stage concludes, the panel of judges will select 15 entries for participation in the cameo round, to be held Saturday, November 17, 2012 at noon.  All entries advancing to the cameo round, are guaranteed $1,000, provided they adhere to all cameo round team expectations as described in the rules.  

The 15 entrants advancing to the cameo round must submit a 5-page write up about their business and participants must present up to a five minute presentation about their business to the cameo round judges on Saturday, November 17, 2012.  In addition to the five-minute presentation, cameo round judges are allowed up to five minutes to ask questions of participants following their presentation.  At the five-minute presentation, cameo round participants are allowed a maximum of five PowerPoint slides and they may use props as appropriate.  The five-page write up and five PowerPoint slides must be submitted to competition director (Diane Sullivan, dsullivan1@udayton.edu) via email no later than Saturday, November 10, 2012 at 5:00pm. 

During the cameo round presentation, teams may choose to have just a single presenter, or they may have the entire team present.  Unlike the elevator pitch round, we assume an equal split of prize monies among all team members, unless there is a written agreement (signed by all team members) stating otherwise.  Each member will get no less than 10% of the prize winnings.  After the cameo round the judges will select five finalists (as well as up to two alternates) to advance to the finalist stage of the competition. 

Stage 3 - Finals Round
First prize:  $25,000

Once named, the five finalist teams will be guaranteed a minimum of $5,000, if the team adheres to all finalist team expectations as described in the rules -- including the completion of status reports, business plan submissions, PowerPoint slide submissions, and presentations delivered by the respective due dates (see www.udbpc.com).  The finalist round will occur on March 9, 2013.  Teams can use as many slides as they want--but they only have 20 minutes to present their business plan to the finalist round judges.  After the 20 minutes are up, judges may ask questions.  

All team members are expected to be present for the finalist round, although not all are required to speak during the presentation.  Each team at the finalist round stage must include either a current UD student (undergraduate or graduate), or an Alumni from UD.  Each team member is guaranteed at least a minimum of 10% of the winning prize package for their team.  We assume an equal split among all team members, unless there is a written agreement (signed by all team members) stating otherwise. 

The finalist teams will win the following prize monies based on the finalist round judge's final rankings: 

• 1st place:  $25,000
• 2nd place: $15,000
• 3rd place:  $10,000
• 4th place:  $5,000
• 5th place:  $5,000

In addition to the prize money outline above, all finalist teams and alternate teams will win five hours of free legal advice and support via the UD Law School's Entrepreneurship and IP Clinic (executable between January 2013 and the start of finals week in May 2013).

The top three finalist winners will also win 20 additional hours of free legal advice and support via the UD Law School's Entrepreneurship and IP Clinic (executable between the start of the summer session in May, 2013 and the start of finals week in the Fall, 2013 term). 

Former Winners

Competition Application

The 2012-2013 UDBPC application system is now clased.  Thanks to all who entered and we hope to see you next year for the 2013-2014 UD Business Plan Competition