Business Plan Competition

Competition Overview

An integral part of NYC ENT week is our business plan competition. We are seeking companies from the New York area that are engaged in high growth industries and with substantial potential to compete for pro-bono services from a wide variety of NY service firms.

The competition will be broken up into four phases: an intial screening, semi-finals, workshops for the semi-finalists, and finals. Entrepreneurs will take what they learn in the semi-finalist workshops and apply it to later stages of the competition.

Our goal in creating a competition with an educational component is two fold; find promising entrepreneurs and give them the business skills to succeed in their respective industries.

The Applicant

The quintessential NYC ENT business plan applicant is a fully formed startup company with a working management team in place. Entrants can be from any high growth industry, and can have at most $1.5MM seed financing from non-venture capital sources. Applicants are generally seeking counsel around go-to-market tactics, growth planning and strategic partnerships. 21 applicants will be selected to present their business ideas; these companies must be able to attend NYC ENT week from April 20-24, 2009. Only two members of each management team may attend the venture pitches and workshop events.

Additional requirements of NYC ENT applicants are:

  • Executive Summary and Business Plan in Word or PDF
  • Company Financials in Excel
  • A Working Prototype (if Applicable)

The Process

Round 1

Analysts from Connectors Group and Solidea will review the submitted business plans and select the top 21 promising companies with compelling value propositions.

Round 2

The 21 companies selected will be invited to the semi-finals of the competition to present their ideas in front of Solidea, Connectors Group, venture capitalists, and members of the press on April 20th. From this group, 7 companies will be selected to attend the Semi-Finalist workshops.

Round 3

The 7 semi-finalists will be evaluated by Solidea, Connectors Group, venture capitalists, and members of the press, to select one winner who will gain over 100 hours of counseling from leading service providers in NYC.

Competition Overview

The seven semi-finalists selected from Day One will be invited to attend educational workshops presented by Connectors Group and Solidea.

The workshops will focus on topics that are traditionally difficult for entrepreneurs to master; as well as those that all emerging companies need to consider in order to engage investors and successfully run their business.

This content is different and fresh as it is truly written for this audience by experts who are helping emerging companies. Each 90 minute module will include important content and one activity for the participants.

Course 1
Turning Your Offering into a Company

  • Philosophies of Equity Sharing
  • Methods to Best Engage Partners & Leverage Expertise
  • Approaches to Making a "Bigger Pie"
  • Methods for Selecting the Appropriate Corporate Structure
  • Approaches Extracting Value and Oversight from Advisors/Directors

Course 2
Understanding Investors & Their Needs

  • Understanding the "Financing Life Cycle"
  • Approaching the Right Capital Sources
  • Planning for the Next Round of Capital Raising
  • Avoiding Legal Pitfalls [Term Sheet Ticking Time Bombs]

Course 3
Determining Valuation & Secrets to a Successful
Angel Investor Pitch

  • Understanding Valuation Concepts
  • Valuation Techniques
  • Overview of the Prototypical Angel Investor
  • Do's and Don'ts of an Angel Presentation
  • Essential Points to Cover During the Angel Presentation

The facilitators will also extract key themes from Day One and integrate important concepts into the workshops. The participant structure for these workshops will allow the instructors to probe and address individual challenges of the semi-finalists.

The goal is to coach each early-stage company on the key success factors that allow ideas to launch effectively. Both Connectors Group and Solidea will integrate success stories from their portfolio companies into these forums in order to share real world lessons.

At its conclusion, the coursework will position the seven semifinalists for success by challenging each management team to refine its pitch into the most compelling package possible.

Prize Package

Over $50,000 in products and services from the following providers:

  • Solidea
  • Connectors Group
  • Bite Communications
  • E-mercury
  • Geller and Co.
  • Corporate Suites Business Centers
  • New Work City
  • PCM Exchange
  • Rebel Digital
  • Squarespace
  • Sun Microsystems