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The V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition
The Technology Entrepreneur Center is pleased to host the Eighth Annual V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition.
General Information
The V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) is designed to encourage students, researchers, and community members to create new sustainable businesses in the Champaign-Urbana area. The competition encourages the development of the entrepreneurial spirit through teamwork and competition. Teams are invited to create a business plan around a topic of their choice. Assistance is available in the form of mentors, workshops, and courses to guide teams through the phases of business plan creation.
Three competitive divisions provide for a wide range of opportunities for different ventures:
Commercial Venture Division: Viable ventures with high commercial potential.
Social Venture Division: Profit or non-profit ventures, with an emphasis on creating and sustaining social value. This may include introducing new entrepreneurial concepts, programs or initiatives within existing organizations.
Green Venture Division: Viable ventures with a focus on innovative products or processes that address ecological or conservation concerns.
There is no limit to the number of teams that can enter the CBPC. Teams may not enter in more than one division. Students, however, can serve on multiple teams, in multiple divisions. The Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) will work with judges to determine three finalist teams for each of the three divisions, for a total of nine teams that will present their business plan at the finals event. Teams in the final round will compete for an estimated $60,000 in cash, plus valuable in-kind prizes. Finalists and winners will have the opportunity to meet with venture capitalists, early stage investors and successful entrepreneurs who will serve as judges for the finals round.
Rules and Submission Requirements
Ability to participate in the CBPC is determined by the criteria outlined below. Please note the scheduled dates.
The official rules, requirements, and judging criteria for the 2007-2008 CBPC is available for download.
Entry Deadline
Each team must indicate their intent to compete in the CBPC no later than Wednesday, October 17, at 5:00 PM. To enter, one individual from each team should complete the online Intent to Compete Form. Each team member must sign a Rules Acknowledgement and Waiver form and turn it in to the TEC (313 Ceramics, 105 S. Goodwin Ave., U.) by Monday, January 28, 2008 by 5:00 PM. Failure to turn in necessary forms may result in ineligibility for the team. (For complete eligibility requirements, please see the "Eligibility" section.
**UPDATE**
We have extended the Intent to Compete deadline to the last day of the Fall 2007 semester (December 15, 2007). Interested teams should e-mail Rhiannon Clifton to enter after the original deadline of October 17, 2007, at rclifton@uiuc.edu. Rhiannon will then guide these additional teams through the intentto compete process.
Competition Rounds
Each team should submit a One Page Business Plan (OPBP) via the online OPBP Submission Form. OPBPs must be submitted via this form – alternate forms will not be accepted. OPBPs must be submitted on Monday, November 5, 2007 by 2:00 PM CST. The OPBP round is not a qualification round – that is, no teams will be eliminated in this round. The OPBP is meant to be a way for teams to receive feedback from TEC faculty and other experts. Feedback will be provided to teams by 5:00 PM CST on Monday, November 26, 2007.
**UPDATE (01-22-2008)**
Each team member must sign a Rules Acknowledgement and Waiver form and turn it in to the TEC (313 Ceramics, 105 S. Goodwin Ave., U.) by 5:00 PM on Monday, January 28, 2008. Failure to turn in necessary forms may result in ineligibility for the team.
Participating teams must submit a full business plan to the Technology Entrepreneur Center by 5:00 PM CST on Friday, February 1, 2008. No late plans will be accepted. Plans must be submitted via the guidelines outlined in the “Written Business Plan Guidelines” section of this document. Plans that do not adhere to these guidelines will not be accepted, and the corresponding teams will be disqualified.
Plan submissions must include a Business Plan Submittal Form in addition to the business plan. This form must be submitted electronically with the written plan submission, in Adobe Acrobat PDF. Plans that are submitted without the submittal form will not be accepted.
**Announcement (02-13-2008)**
Due to unavoidable delays, judges’ feedback will be available to CBPC participants on Monday, February 19, 2008. Also on February 19, a list of finalists will be announced via this and the TEC websites. We apologize for any inconvenience.
Withdrawal Penalty
Spaces for finalists are limited, and a last minute cancellation could prevent another team from competing. Teams that wish to withdraw from the competition after submitting a full business plan should do so by alerting the TEC via email at tec@uiuc.edu. The deadline for withdrawal from the competition is Monday, February 11, 2008 by 5:00 PM CST.
All members of teams that withdraw or are otherwise disqualified after February 11, 2008 for any reason, will not be allowed to enter or participate in the CBPC for one subsequent year. Additionally, members of teams that are disqualified for reasons of ethical or legal concern will not be allowed to compete in future CBPCs at any time.
Cash Prizes and Awards
In total, an estimated $75,000 in cash and in-kind prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and finalists. For each division, the estimated prizes to be awarded are as follows:
First Prize: $15,000
Runner-up: $3,500
Honorable Mention: $1,500
The First Prize winner in each division will also receive in-kind products and services of approximately equal value, donated from IP attorneys, business incubators, accountants, and other service providers, as needed. We anticipate that in-kind services will amount to over $15,000 in value ($5,000 per division).
The actual prizes monies will be determined by the level of sponsorship raised at the time of the Finals Event.
Cash Prize Conditions
The business plan should address how the money will be used in the business. If, in the opinion of the judges, the business plans do not represent a favorable business opportunity, then the prize money or some portion of the prize money will not be awarded. Judges are under no obligation to award all – or any – of the prize money.
Cash prizes will be awarded to the company that is created (therefore a company must be formed and company leadership identified). A business account with a recognized, preferably local, bank must be established.
An initial cash award of $1,000 will be deposited in the company’s account upon approval by the panel of judges for each division. Remaining cash awards will be disbursed against reasonable business expenses, upon completion of benchmarks identified in advance. Full cash award must be completed (allocated) within one year of winning the CBPC.
Support offered via in-kind donation of services (legal advice, accounting work, office space) may not be included in business expenses that are reimbursed via the cash awards.
There may be individuals on teams who do not wish to join the company that is formed. The company may pay these team members a portion of the prize money, not to exceed $250 per team member. The total prize money that may be allocated for this purpose for any individual team is $750. Teams are encouraged to set these amounts, in writing, before submitting the Intent to Compete form.
In addition, a cash prize of $500 will be awarded to the team that wins the elevator pitch competition at the Finals Event. This prize will be combined with the team’s other prizes and will be disbursed, with the other cash prizes, to the company for business expenses.
Description of In-Kind Prizes and Terms
In-kind products and services of approximately equal value, donated from IP attorneys, business incubators, accountants, and other service providers, will be awarded on an as needed basis. The services can only be applied to the business plan presented in the final round of the CBPC.
Assistance that the service providers will be providing is considered advice, and the therefore those providers will assume no professional liability in the course of donating these services.
Teams must use the donated services within one year of winning the CBPC, subject to the availability of the service providers.
A list of in-kind sponsors with descriptions of the applicable services will be available on the CBPC website before the Finals Event.
Team Eligibility Requirements
Competitor qualifications
The competition is open to all full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (Illinois), regardless of department or major. The management team must consist of at least one University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign student. Non-students may be members of the management team and participate in planning the venture; however, only students may present the plan in the Finals Event and answer questions from the judges.
Student Enrollment
The competition is for students enrolled in the current academic year, i.e., from August 2007 through July 2008. Students who graduated in the preceding academic year are not eligible to participate. However, an exception will be made for students who will graduate during the academic year for the current competition (i.e. students who graduate in December of 2007). Exceptions will NOT be made for students who leave the University for other reasons such as, but not limited to withdrawal or dismissal for academic or disciplinary reasons. If a student leaves the University during the CBPC for a reason other than graduation, the team may still compete if other Illinois students are members. If no other members are students, the team will be disqualified.
Team Size
There are no restrictions on team size. However, for the Finals Event, the presenting team should not exceed five students. Non-student team members are required to attend the Finals Event, but cannot participate in the presentations. More than five students can serve on a team, but only five students are allowed to present and participate in the Q&A sessions during the Finals Event.
Team Composition
This is a competition for University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students, and at least one student must be a member of the startup venture’s management team. All students, not just business and engineering students, are eligible to participate in the competition. This includes undergraduates, MBA candidates, executive MBAs, MD candidates, other Masters candidates, and PhD Candidates.
Non-students may be members of the venture’s management team and may participate in planning the venture. However, only students may present the plan and answer questions from the competition judges.
Student Involvement
The competition is for student created, managed, and owned ventures. In other words, students must:
- have played a major role in conceiving the venture,
- have key management roles in the venture, and
- own significant equity in the venture.
In general, a member of the student team should be the lead management of the venture, or members of the student team should occupy 50% or more of the functional area management positions that report directly to the CEO, COO, or President.
Nature of Ventures
The competition is for new, independent ventures in the seed, start-up, or early growth stages. Generally excluded are the following: buy-outs, expansions of existing companies, real estate syndications, tax shelters, franchises, licensing agreements for distribution in a different geographical area, and spin-outs from existing corporations. Licensing technologies from the University or research labs is not excluded and is encouraged, assuming they have not been previously commercialized.
Ventures with revenues (excluding Phase I SBIR/STTR grants) that exceed $50,000 in prior academic years, i.e., before August 16, 2007, are excluded. Ventures that have raised equity capital in excess of $50,000 from sources other than the members of the student team or their friends and families before the current academic year, i.e., before August 16, 2006, are excluded. However, both student and other team members may have worked on an idea or new technology in previous academic years or in the case of the student team members even prior to entering the University, provided that their venture had no revenues and raised no outside equity capital.
Schedule and Description of Events
Beckman Institute - Room 5602
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm
The Cozad Competition administrative team will host a CBPC Kickoff event that will include an overview of the Competition, a Speed-Teaming event, and a reception.
What is Speed-Teaming?
Useful definitions:
Skill students: those students that have a particular skill to offer a potential CBPC team, but without a specific product or company idea
Idea students: those students that have a company/product idea, but need to form a well-rounded team including students with skills in marketing, finance, writing, etc.
The CBPC administrative team would like to help “Idea” students and “Skill” students to meet and form teams that will then enter the CBPC. Forms that will serve as a pitch sheet for “Idea” students and for a résumé of sorts for “Skill” students can be found on the CBPC website. Interested students are asked to register, and to fill out a form in order to participate in the Speed-Teaming event by 5:00 PM on Monday, September 24, 2007. Only 15 “Idea” students and 30 “Skill” students are expected to be able to participate in the Speed-Teaming event, so interested students are encouraged to register early. Those students that register after the maximum number of participants is reached will be put on an alternate list and are still encouraged to attend the entire Kickoff event. The CBPC administrative team will work with those students who do not participate directly after the Speed-Teaming event to place them with a team.
Each student with a company or product idea will have two (2) minutes to present that idea to the audience at the Kickoff event. After all of these presentations are complete, each of the “Idea” students will be assigned a table, and each of the “Skill” students will “interview” with them in teams of two. The interview questions can be found on the CBPC website. Students who are seeking team members are asked to use the questions on the sheet, in order to keep the interviews short and on-task. Each interview session will last approximately 5 minutes, so that each “Skill” student can meet with each “Idea” student.
Please register to exhibit your skills by at: http://www.uiuc.edu/goto/cozadskills
Please register to present your idea, and meet those with applicable skills by 5:00 PM on Monday, September 24, 2007 at: http://www.uiuc.edu/goto/cozadideas
Once the interviews are complete, the Kickoff event reception will begin. Students are encouraged to stay for the reception, to continue networking. Refreshments will be provided.
While this Speed-Teaming event will be provided in order to connect students who have not yet formed teams, there are multiple points of entry to the CPBC. Any student/team may fill out an Intent to Compete form. In addition, students associated with the following programs/activities are strongly encouraged to enter:
- IdeaBounce (September 20, 2007)
- Technology Entrepreneur Center courses, particularly Introduction to Technology Entrepreneurship
- Other business/entrepreneurship courses
1404 Siebel Center for Computer Science
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Whether tackling a social justice issue, reinvigorating an arts organization, being an intrapraneur within a larger organization, working towards self-employment or creating a new business, success is aided by planning. The One-Page Business Plan aids you in creating a vision and strategy to reach your goals. This active learning workshop helps you to capture your vision and translate it into concrete results.
Teams competing in the Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) must attend at least two CBPC workshops. This workshop counts toward that requirement.
8:00 pm
Illini Union Room 407
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Who needs the product or service that your fledgling venture provides? Attend this interactive lecture to find out what kinds of tools are available to conduct the necessary market research for a new venture.
Teams competing in the Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) must attend at least two CBPC workshops. This workshop counts toward that requirement.
Levis Faculty Center Music Room
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Have you identified a business plan that will turn your entrepreneurial idea into a successful endeavor? Have you found a target niche that will make you profitable? Now all you need are models to help you decide what ventures will lead to long-term growth and success for your entrepreneurial idea.
Teams competing in the Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) must attend at least two CBPC workshops. This workshop counts toward that requirement.
Illini Union Room 407
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Every successful venture has a financial plan and has done financial analysis to determine that plan. Attend this interactive workshop to put together a financial plan for your new venture!
Teams competing in the Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) must attend at least two CBPC workshops. This workshop counts toward that requirement.
Monsanto Room, ACES Library, Information, and Alumni Center
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Teams in the Cozad Competition can attend this workshop to learn how to pull all of the pieces of information needed in a business plan together in one cohesive and succinct document.
Teams competing in the Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) must attend at least two CBPC workshops. This workshop counts toward that requirement.
Levis Faculty Center, 3rd floor
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
The Elevator Pitch is a business overview that you should be able to deliver powerfully and succinctly to any investor or customer who happens to ride the same elevator as you. The first impression is critical in capturing the attention of a potential investor or customer.The elevator pitch should provide enough information to peak the interest of potential investors and strategic partners. It should provide a clear picture of the company and its solution. It should be delivered effectively and concisely. Attend this interactive workshop to develop and hone your pitch!
Teams competing in the Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) must attend at least two CBPC workshops. This workshop counts toward that requirement.
Monsanto Room, ACES Library, Information and Alumni Center
5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
Presentation skills are a must for the management team of any new venture. Attend this interactive workshop to gain insight into how to transform your written document into a consise and engaging presentation.
Teams competing in the Cozad Business Plan Competition (CBPC) must attend at least two CBPC workshops. This workshop counts toward that requirement.
All finalist teams for all divisions of the CBPC must attend this workshop in order to compete in the Finals Event.
TBA
The final round of the CBPC will be held exclusively at the Finals Event.
The event will consist of: an elevator pitch competition; full business plan presentations from nine finalist teams in three competitive divisions; an awards ceremony; and a reception. The event is open to the public, and is free of charge.
All members of all finalist teams must be present.
* All times unless otherwise noted, are Central Time.
Workshops
The Technology Entrepreneur Center organizes a series of business plan development workshops. The workshops are highly recommended for all participants in the competition. No team is required to attend all of the workshops, but each team must send at least one representative to at least two workshops. All finalist teams must attend the oral presentation workshop on February 28, 2008. Attendance will be tracked via sign-in sheets at each workshop. Be sure to sign in when you attend.
Team attendance is strongly recommended at all workshops. In previous CBPCs teams that attended all workshops fared significantly better than those that did not. Poor performance is a waste of everyone’s time.
Workshop schedule is listed on the main schedule page on the left.
Light refreshments will be provided at each workshop.
Sponsors
2007-08 Partners & Sponsors:
Platinum:
IllinoisVENTURES
http://www.illinoisventures.com
Gold:
Fox Development Corp
http://www.fox-companies.com
Silver:
Bronze:
Supporting:
Origin Ventures
http://www.originventures.com
Cozad Asset Management
http://www.cozadassetmgmt.com
Texas Instruments
http://www.ti.com
In-kind sponsors:
DFJ Portage
Palo Alto Software, Inc
http://www.paloalto.com
About V. Dale Cozad
Born on a farm in Illinois, Dale Cozad earned a degree in Agricultural Economics from Southern Illinois University, and promptly embarked on a career in insurance. Although very successful, his growing interest in diversified financial services led him to found Cozad Asset Management in 1972. Today, the company is a registered investment advisor with over $350 million in assets under management.
Dale Cozad was also one of the entrepreneurs who founded Cozad Westchester Agricultural Asset Management, which to date has received $390 million in commitments from institutional agricultural investors.
In recognition of Dale’s great success, and of his long friendship with Peter Fox, Peter and his wife Kim have, through a generous endowment, established both the V. Dale Cozad Lecture Series in Entrepreneurship through the College of Commerce, and the V. Dale Cozad Business Plan Competition through the Technology Entrepreneur Center in the College of Engineering. These gifts, enhanced by family and friends of Dale Cozad, honor his memory, his hard work, dedication and entrepreneurial spirit.
Speaking of his father, Greg Cozad, now the president of Cozad Asset Management, recalls that “he was always an entrepreneur at heart, always looking for new financial services that would allow him to serve his clientele better. He was very competitive by nature and loved to encourage and assist young people in their career goals. The Lecture Series in Entrepreneurship and the Business Plan Competition are therefore fitting memorials to my dad, and an outstanding tribute to his legacy. They combine his business interest with his commitment to the University of Illinois."
Dale Cozad was a valued member of the Commerce Business Advisory Council from 1981 until his untimely death in 1993.