BizStarts Collegiate Business Plan Competition
sponsored by
Notes to Prospective Judges
The BizStarts Collegiate Business Plan Competition was developed to provide motivation for Milwaukee 7 college students to create high-quality plans for new ventures and for Milwaukee metro area post-secondary institutions to create educational programming to support the development of competitive plans. The competition process increases the potential for viable new ventures in the Milwaukee Metro region, either as a direct result of the contest or as a result of the experience gained by participants. The BizStarts College Consortium will act as a lead entity in sponsoring the competition. A general description of the competition and some information about the overall contest process is provided on the main page for the competition
Our Need for Volunteer Judges
We have a need for two different groups of judges. The first group of judges will review 2 to 4 candidate venture plans between Friday, April 13 and Monday, April 16 to evaluate using the Initial Evaluation Scorecard. A group of five finalist plans will be chosen based on the numerical aggregation of the scores given by the first group of judges. The second group of judges would review five finalist business plans between April 21 and April 26 and be present for the finalist presentations of their plans on April 26, 2012. Finalists will deliver 10-15 minute presentations of their plans, similar to what they would give to a funding provider like an angel investor or a venture capitalist. Judges for this round will use the Top Finalists Evaluation Scorecard which is similar to that used for the first round, but also including feedback on the quality of the presentation. The ranking of the top five winners will be decided on April 26.
The best volunteers will be individuals that have had experience evaluating the quality of venture plans, particularly if those plans involve proposals in many different industrial sectors. However, we welcome volunteers from individuals who are responsible for venture development or product development within larger organizations as well. Successful serial entrepreneurs would be of interest.
Generally, the communications for the competition will take place over the internet. If a judge is challenged in this regard, we may be able to conduct some correspondence by fax. However, the restrictions of the schedule for the contest may preclude the use of some individuals for which the communications process is not swift and reliable. We will not be able to provide transportation or accommodations support for the judges for the final evaluation round.
Volunteering to be a Judge
If you feel that you would like to participate as a volunteer judge for the competition, please fill out the Judge Registration Form and submit it online by March 21. You will be notified by contest officials by April 1, 2012 regarding our intentions to use you as a judge.
Judging Schedule: 1st round
BizStarts will be receiving business plan entries from universities and colleges by April 12, 2012, at which point they will be organized and sent out for judge evaluation. The latest you will receive a business plan for evaluation will be noon on Friday, April 13. Judges will then be required to submit their completed scores online by noon, on Monday, April 16. Expect to judge between 2-4 full business plans, including financials and other appendices.
Judging Schedule: Finalist round
BizStarts will be receiving completed evaluations from first round judges by noon on Monday, April 16 and the winners will be announced by noon on Wednesday, April 18. The top five teams will then have an opportunity to rework their plans and resubmit them by Friday, April 20. You will receive the top final plans by 4pm on April 20. You are encouraged to grade the plans according to the Top Finalists Evaluation Scorecard before April 26, 2012. As a finalist judge, you are requested to be present for the finalists presentations on April 26 at the Todd Wehr Center located on the MSOE campus. Plan on bringing one filled out evaluation scorecard for each of the five finalists. After the presentations, you and the other finalist judges will then complete your final evaluation and the ranking of the top five will be decided shortly thereafter.