Eligibility/Rules

1. ELIGIBILITY

The contest is open to all UW-Madison undergraduate and graduate students who will be enrolled full time during fall semester, including MS in Biotech and Evening MBA programs. Contestants must be present for judging and the awards ceremony to collect their prizes. To enter the competition, students register for the G. Steven Burrill Business Plan Competition by registering online and by submitting their plan and related entry forms and materials by the deadline.

The purpose of this competition is to encourage collaboration between cross-disciplines, therefore teams are STRONLY encouraged to have at least 2 people with students from different schools or colleges across campus. While an individual student may enter and compete alone, teams with 2 or more students from different disciplines have traditionally been very competitive. Each team might include someone with science or engineering qualifications as well as business/social science expertise. For example a law student and a chemistry major might form a team.

If it is unclear whether or not you and/or your team is eligible, your team leader must speak with the Burrill Planning Team to determine eligibility. Other team members may be students from any UW-Madison school or college. There is no limit on the number of team members.

Students who have interrupted full-time study with co-op work experience during spring semester are eligible but must attend the contest judging in Spring.

 

2. QUALIFYING IDEAS

Each team will do the market research and business planning for a new business venture. IMPORTANT - As of September 2007, plans do not necessarily need to be based on a technological innovation but may derive a substantial advantage from underlying technology. Projects may be initially triggered either by (1) the identification of a market need for a new or substantially improved product or service or; (2) the identification of a new technology or method of conducting business that has promise as the basis for a new or substantially improved product or service. Regardless of the initial stimulus for the venture, each team will:

• evaluate the market potential of the product or service, including its potential for sustained profitability
• apply or develop the proposed technology or other key business features, and assess feasibility issues
• develop a comprehensive business plan

Teams may submit more than one entry. Our experience is that teams that focus on one plan work best, but we will allow up to three entries per team. Also each registered participant is allowed to compete on up to 3 different teams. Complete, separate documentation must be submitted for each entry. Contestants may use any reference materials or consult with any other persons, but it is expected that the plan will be the team's own work.

 

3. REQUIREMENTS

1. On-line Registration: We are expecting the students to register on-line to receive announcements and identify their teams. Teams can add and drop members until submission of a business plan for the competition.
2. Educational Component: Contestants are strongly encouraged to register in related courses and attend topical seminars associated with the competition during the Fall Semester and the Spring Semester.

Participation will include:

• Each team will submit seven stapled copies of a written business plan with a Competition Cover Sheet to the Burrill Plan organizers on the due date.
• The team leader should complete and attach the Cover Sheet to the front of each entry. (Prototype, if applicable, should not be submitted at this time. See below for further details.)
• ALL TEAM MEMBERS MUST CERTIFY THAT ALL WORK ON THE BUSINESS PLAN IS ORIGINAL. The technology used - if any - does not have to be original. (See the Competition Cover Sheet.)
• All team members must be present in the presentation of their business plan to the selected panel of judges on the day of competition.

 

4. CONTEST PRIZES

The prizes are:

The prize money will be split evenly with each team member receiving a check for an equal amount. No other disbursement arrangements will be made by the Burrill Organizers. Team members can arrange to alter individual amounts at their own discretion after the checks have been received.

 

5. JUDGING/PRESENTATION

The judging panel will consist of judges selected from the entrepreneurial community: entrepreneurs from successfully launched businesses, those who are currently participating in a business, or key advisors such as lawyers, angel investors, accountants and venture capitalists.

 

6. JUDGING CRITERIA

The decision of the judging panel is final. Judges reserve the right to alter prize amounts. Judges will determine placing based on both the quality of the business plan and its presentation. They will assess each business in terms of the feasibility of its survival and prosperity. Elements that typically play key roles might include market, financial, technological and risk assessment and comprehensive business planning in support of a viable start-up venture. Judges will also be looking at factors such as originality and creativity.

 

7. OWNERSHIP/DISCLOSURE

All contestants own the rights to their ideas (see section 8). Contestants must properly acknowledge any trademarks or copyrighted materials of others that are incorporated into the contestants' materials. The contestants are responsible for obtaining any necessary permission before incorporating such materials into their submittals.

The judging/presentation will be conducted in an open meeting with possible attendance by faculty, students and staff of UW as well as media representatives and the general public. By participating in this competition contestants agrees to allow their presentations be broadcast online through SonicFoundry. Once materials are submitted, the University of Wisconsin and its Schools and Colleges reserve the right to publish information about the contestants' work in university publications and to release information to the news media.

Download the Approval for Public Disclosure Form [pdf] - COMING SOON

 

8. PATENTING

Where applicable, contestants may choose to file patent applications on their own or to disclose their inventions to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (610 Walnut Street, Madison, WI 53705) before or after the competition.

Submission of an idea to the competition should be considered a public disclosure of the idea. (In some countries, patent applications must be filed prior to disclosure. In the U.S. inventors generally have one year after disclosure in which to file patent applications.)