2010 Shocker Business Plan Competition

April 23, 2009

Many steps are involved in translating great ideas into great businesses. A key step is the creation of a business plan. A business plan attempts to reduce the uncertainties surrounding the decisions needed to launch a business. It can be thought of as a blueprint or a roadmap. A business plan helps you determine if the business has a market, can make a profit and can produce to money you need.

The Wichita State University Center for Entrepreneurship Business Plan Competition is a state-wide student business plan competition, hosted by the Center for Entrepreneurship, W. Frank Barton School of Business. This is the marquee event for the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE). The competition is designed to encourage student innovation and venture creation by providing a forum in which students can present new business ideas to local business community leaders, including entrepreneurs and investors.

The Shocker Competition

Student teams consisting of 1 to 5 members from any 4 year college or university in Kansas are encouraged to enter. The only requirements are that all the team members must be currently enrolled as full or part-time students and that the submissions are the teams' own original work and ideas.

The competition consists of three rounds. After entering the competition, each submitted business plan will first go through the Screening Round in which a group of judges read and evaluate the plans. The top 16 teams will proceed to the Trade Show. This round takes on a trade show format where each team sets up its own booth to attract visitors, among whom will be the judges for this round. All visitors are free to walk around the trade show room and talk to different teams. Each judge is to decide how much of a fictitious $10,000 investment fund will be invested in each team by the end of the round. There will be eight teams that rise from the Trade Show and will be eligible to compete in the final day of competition which consists of the Semi-Final and Final Rounds. During the Semi-Final round, the eight teams will be divided into two panels and each will give a 15-minute presentation to their panel of judges and answer any questions judges have. From the Semi-Final round there will be four teams, two from each bracket, which will proceed to the Final Round of the competition. The remaining four teams will be eligible to compete in the Elevator Pitch round. Out of the four teams, judges will select the top three teams to receive prizes. The results will be announced in the evening at the Center of Entrepreneurship Banquet.

Prizes

A total of $15,000 in cash will be awarded to the top three teams whose new venture ideas have the greatest potential for growth and for attracting outside financing. First Prize is a one-time payment of $10,000; second prize is a one-time payment of $3,000; and third prize is $1,000. The prize money goes directly to the student winners. The winning team will also receive one-on-one consultation with senior managers from the local banking, legal and accounting professions.

Competition Stages

Screening Round

This is the first hurdle in the competition. This event is closed to the competition participants; students are required to submit three hard copies and one electronic copy of their business plan two days before the event ( TBD ) by 4:00 pm. Results from the Screening Round will be announced on the Centers website. Each business plan submitted is read and scored by three judges. All judges scores will be averaged to determine each teams total score. Judges will be encouraged to provide written feedback directly to each plan. The 16 teams with the highest total scores will advance to the Trade Show.

Trade Show

Friday, April16, 2010at 3:00 - 7:00 pm, Koch Arena

The Trade Show, arguably the most exciting event of the competition, follows a trade show format in which teams set up intricate displays and interact with investors/judges to sell their idea. Each team will have a 6 ft by 2 ft table to set up for their display. The judges, all prominent members of the local business community, will be given $10,000 in Shocker dollars at the beginning of the event. It is their job to invest their dollars in a portfolio of teams that they consider the "most viable" - that is, the teams that have the best chance for success in the real world. Each judge is allowed to give a maximum of $2,000 per team. At the end of the event, the investment decisions are collected and tallied. The eight teams receiving the highest total amount of Shocker dollars will advance to the Semi-Finals one week later. Students must submit a brief abstract of their business plan (no more than 100 words) by TBD . Click here for Trade Show tips!

Final Day of Competition

Semi-Finals & Final Round

Friday, April 30, 2010 at TBD

The Semi-Finals and Final Round conclude the competition. After perfecting their presentations, the eight teams first compete in the Semi-Final Round. Two panels of five to seven judges, all leaders in the local business community, are assembled prior to the event. These are different judges from the Screening Round. The eight teams are randomly divided into two brackets the morning of competition and evaluated separately by the two panels of judges. Each team has 15 minutes to present their business plan, plus 10 minutes for Q&A. After all four teams finish presenting, each panel of judges, will discuss the relative merits of the four teams, and, through consensus, two teams will be selected to proceed to the Final Round in the afternoon. Advancing teams will be announced before lunch. The remaining teams will be eligible to participate in the Elevator Pitch.

The Final Round is open to all competition participants, faculty, students and guests. The Final Round judges, a different set of five to seven members of the local business community, arrive during lunch and have approximately two hours to prepare for the Final Round. Their preparation begins with a briefing from the Semi-Finals judges about the reasons for their selection decisions. Judges will have ample time to familiarize themselves with the four finalist plans. Each team has 15 minutes to present, in addition to 10 minutes of Q&A. In the Final Round, judges will pick the winning team that is most likely to achieve its goals given the teams timeline. At the conclusion of the round, the judges will adjourn to the judges room to begin their deliberations. The judges will, once again, reach their decision by consensus. Winners will be announced at the Center for Entrepreneurship Banquet later that evening.

Order of presentations at both the Semi-Final and Final Rounds will be determined randomly immediately prior to each round. Students must submit five hard copies of their revised business plan and one electronic copy by TBD .

Elevator Pitch

The four teams that participated in the Semi-Final round but were not selected to move on to the Final Round will have a final chance to give an Elevator Pitch. An elevator pitch is a concise, planned and practiced description about your company that explains to your audience what your company is and what your company does. The purpose is to simply inform and grab your audiences attention, but do not overwhelm your audience with too much information. In this pitch there should be an overview of the idea, service, project, person or other solution. The elevator pitch also helps you to brand your business idea. The reward for the Elevator Pitch is $500 cash. The students participating in this round will have 6 minutes to pitch their business concept to judges. All participants should already have a shortened version of an elevator pitch mastered that they used at the Trade Show. To find out more information of what an Elevator Pitch is, click here.

Awards Announcements at the Center for Entrepreneurship Banquet

Friday, April 30, 2010 at 6:00 pm
Hyatt Regency Wichita

The Center for Entrepreneurship Banquet provides students and judges the opportunity to network without the pressure of the competition. Winners are announced at the end of the evening. All teams and their faculty advisors competing in the final day of competition are welcome to attend. Teams not participating in the final day of competition are welcome to attend at a discounted rate of TBD .

Attendance is on a first come first serve basis and open to the community. Limited seats are available. Advance reservations are required. Cost is $30 per person.

For more information or to RSVP, call 316.978.3000 or email linda.harris@wichita.edu.