Preparing your entry - Melbourne University Entrepreneurs' Challenge :: . plan . pitch . pursue.

Preparing your entry

Submission of Registration Form and Questionnaires:

Registration Form and Questionnaires are due at 9am o­n the Due Date (see Timeline). To enter:

Submit your Registration Form (including the signatures of all Team members acknowledging agreement and compliance with the Terms and Conditions of Entry) by either fax, mail or hand delivery (See 2.1 of Terms & Conditions for further details).

Email your Questionnaire to muec@mbs.edu with the subject line “Questionnaire - {Team Name}”.

Submit 6 (six) printed copies of your Questionnaire to MUEC 2006/2007, 200 Leicester St, Carlton VIC 3053

Ensure that you read and understand the Terms and Conditions of Entry to the Challenge prior to completing the Registration Form. The Questionnaire consists of a series of questions which outline the following:

Business Concept Overview: Description of your business concept, including the business model and commercial viability of that model.

Target Market: Description of the market, including industry and competitive analysis, identification of customers, and discussion regarding ability to create barriers to entry and achieve sustainability.

Product or Service: Description of your value proposition, differentiation, and source of sustainable competitive advantage. Why is your business idea significantly different and/or better than what currently exists? Analysis of the competitive environment.

Resources Required: Description of resources, including human and capital resources, required to execute the business plan.

Financials: Outline the overall financial model with basic projections. Discuss assumptions and capital requirements.

Your questionnaire responses will be judged primarily o­n viability of your overall business idea, the size of your overall market opportunity and the strength of your management team.

Semi-Finalist Business Plans and Pitches:

Teams successfully passing the Questionnaire stage (Semi-Finalists) will be invited to prepare and submit a Business Plan, and then pitch this plan to a panel of judges. The Business Plans are due at 9am on the Due Date (See Timeline), and must include :

Six (6) printed copies of your Business Plan, each in a separate sealed envelope that is labeled with your team name

An electronic version of your Business Plan, submitted via muec@mbs.edu with the subject line “Semi-Finals Business Plan - {Team Name}”.

- The file must be your full Business Plan in final ready-to-print form, saved as “Semi-Finals Business Plan - {Team Name}”. - Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files are preferred, but Microsoft Word files are acceptable. - All appendices, graphs, exhibits, and so forth must be incorporated into the single file; do not submit auxiliary files such as spreadsheets.

Printed copies must be submitted at the Student Services desk at the Melbourne Business School, 200 Leicester Street, Carlton, Victoria, 3053. Your Business Plan should be no longer than 30 pages, including an appendix of no more than 10 pages, and should present the following:

A o­ne- to two-page Executive Summary which must address the following issues:

- Your business idea or concept; - The target market and size; - The target customers; - Your competitive advantage; - Barriers to entry for competitors; - Estimated year of breakeven profitability; - Three (3) years of estimated revenues and net income; - Your funding requirements.

Expansion of concepts outlined in the Questionnaire and Executive Summary;

Financial projections, including pro forma cash flow and budget analysis;

Other analysis, as appropriate (i.e. break even analysis);

A description of a working model or prototype, if appropriate;

A brief profile of each member of your Team.

Semi-Finalist entries are then pitched to judges on the Judging Evening (see Timeline).

At the pitch, your Team will have 12 minutes to present your business plan, and will then respond to questions from the Judging Panel. For the pitch, you may use either overhead transparencies or PowerPoint presentations. If you will be using PowerPoint, either bring the PowerPoint file with you o­n a removable storage device (this is preferable), or make arrangements in advance with the Judging Team to get your PowerPoint file loaded o­nto the MBS file server (if any of your Team Members are MBS students, they can load the file into their own MBS directory, and access it for the pitch). Do not count o­n being able to connect your own computer to the projector. This event will not be open to the public, nor any person outside the Judging Panel and the MUEC Organising Committee. Mentors may attend your teams pitch as observers, but may not participate in either the pitch or the questioning by the judges. All Business Plans will receive either verbal or written feedback following the completion of this phase of the competition.

Finalist Business Plans and Pitches:

Up to six (6) Semi-Finalists will be selected by the Judges as Finalists. These Teams will be invited to revise and resubmit their Business Plans, and make another pitch to the Judges. All Revised Business Plans are due at 9am on the Due Date (see Timeline).

The requirements for submission of the Finals Business Plans are the same as for the Semi-Finals (listed above), with the following modifications:

Finalist Teams are required to submit eight (8) printed copies of their business plans for the Finals.

Electronic version of the Finals Business Plan must be

- saved as “Finals Business Plan - {Team Name}”; - submitted via muec@mbs.edu, with the subject line “Finals Business Plan - {Team Name}”.

Finalists then pitch to the panel of judges on the Final Judging Evening (see Timeline).

All Business Plans will be available for collection after judging. None of the Organising Committee, the Mentors or the Judges will retain any copies of the Business Plans after they have been judged.