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Business Plan Competition

Rules

Tim Kim and Dean Livingstone2010 winner Tim Kim and Dean Livingstone

Overview for Teams

  • Business plans may be submitted by individuals or teams; both will be referred to as a "team."
  • Each team must have a minimum of one Pepperdine University student in good standing and in a position of consequence (CEO, CIO, CMO, etc.) from any college or graduate program. (Those graduating in August 2010 and beyond are qualified.)
  • If the team is chosen to present in the semi-final and/or final rounds, the Pepperdine University student must be a presenter of the proposed business. If there are conflicts, please contact Diane Singel at .
  • If chosen to advance to the semi-final or final rounds of the Competition, teams, or members of, must be available to make their oral presentations. If for any reason no member of the team is available on or during the scheduled competition dates and times, the team is ineligible to compete in the Pepperdine University Business Plan Competition. The required oral presentations dates and locations include:
    • Semi-finals: March 26, 2011, Drescher Graduate Campus (½ hour slots scheduled with each team. Team only needs to be available during their scheduled time on this day)
    • Finals: April 2, 2011, Drescher Graduate Campus, Malibu
  • An online registration form with contact informaiton and confirmation of team eligibility must be submitted.
  • Teams/persons who submitted final business plans in previous Pepperdine University Business Plan Competitions and Miven Venture Partners/Pepperdine University Business Plan Competitions, may reenter the Pepperdine University Business Plan Competition. However the following restrictions apply:
    • Business Plans previously submitted into the competition that did not advance to the semi-final or final rounds, may be reformatted, updated and resubmitted.
    • Business plans that advanced to the semi-final or final rounds of the Pepperdine University Business Plan Competition are not eligible. Teams may still be qualified, but a new business not previously seen is required.

Requirements for the Business Idea

  • The objective of the business plan contest is to provide a meaningful learning experience for students interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial opportunity at some point in their careers. As such, plans entered in the competition must be ideas for a new business.
  • Your new business is not eligible if, by January 21, 2011, your company has made revenue or has pledged investment funds equal to or greater then $100,000USD. All revenue and funding sources must be disclosed. Please review the section on eligibility for further details.

Deadlines and Protocol

1. Team Registration

  • Team registration will open online in November 2010. All teams must be registered by January 21, 2011. Please note that it is the team's responsibility to ensure the accuracy of the contact information.
  • Once your team is registered, you will be added to the Pepperdine Business Plan Competition page in Sakai (sakai.pepperdine.edu).

2. Final Business Plan

  • The business plan submission is the actual plan submitted for judging.
  • Submissions must be formatted for 8.5" x 11" paper and may not exceed 30 pages of text, graphs, and appendices.
  • All business plans must be uploaded into Sakai by 5 p.m. on February 25, 2011.
  • 8 copies of the business plan are required
  • Minimum font size is 11 pt. font (graphs and appendices excluded). You may use the font style of your choice.
  • Plans may be double or one and a half line spaced. Do not single space the plan.
  • Submitted plans will be judged by a panel of students, venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and faculty members.

Semi-Final Fast Pitch Competition

  • Eight business plans will be chosen to continue on to the Semi-Final Fast Pitch presentations.
  • The eight semi-finalists will be informed of their advancement by March 11, 2011. The semi-final round will be held on March 26, 2011.
  • Teams will be asked to prepare and present a 10 minute "Fast Pitch."
  • Due to the short time period between the dates that the business plans are turned in and notification of advancement to the semi-finals, it is recommended that teams begin development of their Fast Pitch immediately after their plans are turned in.
  • Four finalists will be chosen based on both the written business plan and the Fast Pitch presentation and informed of their advancement immediately following the fast pitch presentations.

Finals

  • The finals will take place on April 2, 2011 at the Drescher Graduate Campus in Malibu.
  • The four final teams will be required to make a presentation to their peers, judges and the investment community.
  • The final presentation will be 20 minutes in length followed by a 10 minute question and answer period. Both the presentation and the Q & A will be timed.

Awards

  • The panel of judges will meet after the competition to determine the winner of the business plan competition.
  • The winner of the 2011 Pepperdine Business Plan Competition will be announced immediately after the judges deliberate.

For more information about the Business Plan Competition, please contact Diane Singel, Director of Administration, Full-time Programs, at .