The winners of the Tech Valley Collegiate competition take home up to $50,000 in cash and prizes. The cash awards are as follows: first place – $5,000, second place – $4,000, and third place – $3,000.

The other prizes for first-place winners include submission to a national business plan competition, including up to $2,000 in travel and meal expenses; one-year membership to the Virtual Incubator Program, which provides select services through the Venture Affiliates of RPI organization;

$5,000 in engineering and design services from the school’s Center for Automation Technologies and Systems, which could be used to develop prototypes, further product design or develop a manufacturing strategy; and up to $20,000 in direct investment capital and $15,000 in services, based on successful completion of milestones after launch of the actual company.

The contest begins with a written business plan of no more than 40 pages, which is due the second week in April. A team of judges, made up of private investors, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurial businesspeople, look at these plans and determine their validity. Within 10 days, they notify the semi-finalist teams that will continue in the competition. These semi-finalists give presentations to the judges during the last week in April. The next day, the finalists are notified and given one more week to prepare their final presentations and elevator pitches, usually the first week in May.

The elevator pitch contest on the day of the finals is separate from the rest of the contest. Only one member of each semi-finalist team is allowed to give a two-minute pitch to the judges. The winner of the elevator pitches takes home an additional $1,000 prize and could be separate from the final first-prize winner.

    Competition organizers at University of Akron have traditionally divided the teams into two divisions: graduate and undergraduate categories, each with their own finalists and independent prizes. The 2005 competition awarded $3,000 to first place in each category, with second getting $2,000. The 2006 competition site does not mention the different divisions, just prizes of $2,500 for first place, $1,500 to second, and $500 for the third place winner.

    Regardless of which division applies or how much the prizes are, the contest is only open to registered University of Akron students and plans must be the original work of the students. Teams are limited to five members each.

    The University of Akron business plan competition does not only give entrepreneurs a cash prize. It also gives them valuable experience that could increase sales, the chance to network with business leaders from the northeast Ohio area, and prestige among colleagues and potential employers.

    The competition is laid out in a similar fashion to many others around the country. First, potential competitors register online and submit their 25-page business plan to contest organizers. These plans are usually due at the end of February and should address every aspect of a potential or current business.

    In the middle of March, teams are notified if they have made it to the finals, so they can begin preparing their presentations for the actual competition, held in April. The judges base 40 percent of their evaluation on the written business plan and 60 percent on the oral presentation given at the competition.

    In addition to the three institutions of higher learning that participate, there are three different categories for competition. First is the Student-Generated division – all members of the team must be enrolled students and their business must be based on an original student idea. First place in this competition is sponsored by Itron Corporation and the winner takes home $10,000. Second place receives $5,000, and third gets $2,500.

    Second is the Community-Based division – for teams who work with community-based entrepreneurs on for-profit venture ideas originated by the entrepreneur.  The entrepreneur’s venture must be at the startup stage, less than two years old as a legal entity.  At least one person on the team must be an enrolled student.  The first-place prize is $7,500, second gets $3,500, and $1,500 for third place.

    Both of these categories are judged on the following criteria: local presence, sustainable competitive advantage, superior management team, understanding of the environment, large accessible market, good business model, fundability, internal key value drivers, technology/innovation, quality of the operating and financial plans, quality of business plan, presentability, and exit strategy.

    The final competition division is the Social Enterprise Plan – for teams who work with local non-profits or create their own non-profit organization. The sponsor of the first prize in this category ($7,500) is Avista Corporation. The second place is awarded $3,500, and $1,500 gets third place.

    Winners in this category are based on the following criteria: local presence, social return on investment, feasibility of the business model, integration of social and financial missions, management team, understanding of the environment, scalability, fundability, quality of the operating and financial plans, quality of business plan, and presentablility.

    For competitors in all categories, the process is the same. There are workshops during the fall semester and teams must officially enter the competition through an online form by February. Business plans are due at the beginning of April and Finalists are announced about a week later. Later in the month, finalists have a presentation before the judges and at the end of April the winners are announced.