2008 Rochester Regional Business Plan Contest
The 2008 Rochester Regional Business Plan Contest is designed to encourage entrepreneurship and advance new, high-growth ventures in the Greater Rochester New York Region. Each of four contest finalists will receive a customized package of professional services and incubation services to accelerate their growth. The contest winner will receive a $25,000 cash prize.
2008 Contest Guidelines
Application Form - MS Word
Application Form - PDF
Suggested Business Plan Outline
2008 Contest Sponsors
Sponsorship Opportunities
Contest Eligibility
- For-profit companies headquartered within the nine-county Rochester, NY/Finger Lakes Region
- Scalable business concept with high growth potential
- Companies must be early-stage defined as: 1) Less than $250,000 investment not including sweat equity, and 2) Less than $500,000 cumulative revenue excluding research grants
Judging Criteria
The Selection Committee will rely on information provided in each company's Application Form and Executive Summary to select Semi-Finalists who will then be reviewed based on their business plan and investor verbal presentation. Four Finalists will then be selected and invited to present before a panel of judges at the Awards Ceremony. The judges will choose the contest winners based on the written Business Plans and delivered Presentations. The winning teams will be chosen based on the following criteria:
- Business scalability and growth potential
- Clear, concise, compelling executive summary and business plan
- Probability of success
- Compelling investor presentation
Registration
Registration in the Business Plan Contest is $100 and includes attendance (limit two people per company) to workshops being offered to assist participants in developing meaningful business plans. Registration for the contest lasts until April 11, 2008. Executive Summary submissions are due by 8:00 am April 21, 2008. Business Plan submissions for semi-finalists are due by 4:00 pm April 25, 2008.
Networking: 5:30-6:00 pm
Workshop: 6:00-8:00 pm
Location: HTR's Lennox Tech Enterprise Center, 150 Lucius Gordon Drive, W.
Henrietta
Fee: $25 per person for each workshop (general public) No charge for
registered Business Plan contestants (limit two per company)
Refreshments: Included
| Workshop One - Assessing Your Business Opportunity |
April 2 |
| Workshop Two - Planning Your Business |
April 10 |
| Workshop Three - Communicating Your Plan & Funding Your Business |
April 16 |
CLICK HERE to register for the Rochester Regional Business Plan Contest and Workshops.
Key Contest Dates
| April 2 |
Workshop One: Assessing Your Business Opportunity |
| April 10 |
Workshop Two: Planning Your Business |
| April 11 |
FINAL REGISTRATION DEADLINE - Completed Application and $100 fee due
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| April 16 |
Workshop Three: Communicating Your Plan and Funding Your Business |
| April 21 |
Final submission deadline for Executive Summary - submit by 8:00 am in PDF or MS Word format via email to: BusinessPlan@htr.org |
| April 24 |
Semi-Finalists notified |
| April 28 |
Final submission deadline for Business Plan - submit by 10:00 am at HTR's Lennox Tech Enterprise Center, 150 Lucius Gordon Drive, W. Henrietta, NY 14586 |
| May 7 |
Rochester Regional Contest Finals, winners announced at Awards Ceremony |
| May 13 |
2008 Golden Horseshoe Business Plan Contest Finals |
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Prizes
- First Place winner receives a cash prize of $25,000 plus services and incubation credits
- Finalists receive cash and services prizes
- First and Second place winners of the Rochester Regional Business Plan Contest will advance to the Golden Horseshoe Business Challenge and will compete with other regional winners from Buffalo, Ithaca and Waterloo, Ontario for a grand prize of $100,000 cash
Submission Requirements
Each contestant must submit:
Each Semi-Finalist must submit:
- An electronic version of the Executive Summary, and of the Business Plan (separate files on a single CD) either in MS Word or Adobe PDF format
- Five (5) printed copies of the Executive Summary
- Five (5) printed copies of the complete Business Plan. Double-sided printing is encouraged, fancy packaging and/or binding is not required.
For additional information please contact HTR...The Innovator's Edge at 585-214-2400.
If you want to be added to the HTR email list, reply with your contact information to janet.causyn@htr.org.
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