MABPC - Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition

The 2008 Mid-Atlantic
Business Plan Competition

The Premier Collegiate Business Plan Competition in the Mid-Atlantic USA
Produced by the
MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington-Baltimore
in Collaboration With

In Collaboration With

Frequently Asked Questions

Entrepreneurial Resources

What is The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition?

For college students in the Mid-Atlantic area who are interested in creating and managing a business that delivers innovative products and services to the marketplace, but need much counseling and capital, The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition, is the premier collegiate entrepreneur competition that allows them to vie for substantial capital and other prizes while learning valuable life and business lessons from experienced academians, venture capitalists, and business leaders.

By participating on a team in the Competition, a student will gain valuable insight to the challenges faced by businesspeople in startup companies. Their individual role in this experience as a team member will better prepare them for when they are ready to assume leadership roles the business world.

Unlike other business plan competitions, The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition is open to 2-year colleges in addition to 4-year institutions across several states, offers a social networking platform for its participants, and rotates its final stage of competition among school venues on an annual basis.

The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition is produced by the MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington-Baltimore.

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Who is the MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington-Baltimore?

The MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington-Baltimore is a non-profit, volunteer organization established in 1981 to support and promote high-tech entrepreneurship in the greater Washington DC and Baltimore area. This Forum is one of 25 chapters throughout the world. Although the Forum is associated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), an MIT affiliation is not required for participation, membership, or leadership of the Forum. For more information, please visit www.mitef.org.

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Who can compete in the Competition?

Any full or part-time student enrolled in a degree granting institution (two- or four-year college or university) in Delaware, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Virginia or West Virginia or graduated from one of those institutions since Spring 2007 may apply to compete in The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition. Both undergraduate and graduate students may compete. Teams may consist of up to four students from more than one of the qualified academic institutions.

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Do I have to be a business or engineering major?

No. You only need to be a student with a good idea.

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How much does it cost to enter the competition?

There are no fees to enter the competition. However, if your Team advances to the STARTUP SMACK DOWN!! Main Event, it shall have to bear the costs of any travel and lodging and other expenses to participate. Light food and refreshments will be available at the venue the morning and afternoon of the STARTUP SMACK DOWN!! Main Event. All other food expenses are the responsibility of the participants.

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Do I have to incorporate a business to participate?

No. For the purposes of the competition, you do are not required to already have a registered company, partnership, or any form of legal commercial organization.

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Do I need to have a business plan right away?

No. The first round of STARTUP SMACK DOWN!! consists of a brief Executive Summary of your team's idea. If you advance, you will have guidelines on how to write a complete business plan for your idea that will serve as a structure for how you will need to make your presentation at the STARTUP SMACK DOWN!! Main Event.

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Can I get a copy of other competing business plans?

The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition does not provide copies of other competing plans. We provide only a brief "thumbnail summary" of each entry on the website for public review.

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Is there a special format for the Executive Summary?

No. There is no strict format for the Executive summary but it should be in narrative form with complete sentences and must satisfactorally address the criteria as outlined in the rules. While grammar, punctuation and writing style are not a line item on the scoring criteria, each may make a definite impression on the judges. Mistakes will make your summary harder to understand and may signal the judge that you do not have sufficient attention to detail.

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Do I have to start the business in the Mid-Atlantic region?

No, but to take advantage of some of the prizes, the winning team must utilize the prizes based on whatever conditions the prize sponsor has defined. For instance, donated office space may only be available in a certain area and nowhere else. This applies to both products and services.

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I have an idea but don't have all the skills I need to make it a business.

If you have an idea but no team or have a team but lack a specific talent to compete, there is a Facebook group created by the STARTUP SMACK DOWN!! to facilitate social networking and communication. Regardless of team completeness, all participating individuals are required to join the Facebook group to foster the spirit of intercollegiate competition and shared commonalities.

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Do I have to be part of a team?

No, you can go "solo" and prepare your plan and present your business all on your own. However, given the complexities of marketing, finance, intellectual property, operational, and other issues, it behooves most students to form a team to address these various topics based on an individual's knowledgebase and skill set. The division of responsibilities and subsequent collaboration between team members can usually improve the probability of a business plan's longevity in the competiton.

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Do I have to team with students from my own school?

No, part of the purpose of the Facebook group is to encourage intra-school cooperation and to help give every student the opportunity to compete by teaming with others.

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Can I be on more than one team?

You can be a member of as many teams as you want, but it may be seen by the judges as a lack of commitment to making any one of them a success. Most often your efforts are best spent making one entry as strong as possible.

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Do we have to have a faculty advisor?

No, but we strongly encourage you to work with a faculty advisor who could point out ways to improve your plan and introduce you to other valuable resources to help you compete.

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How do I protect my ideas from being used by others?

STARTUP SMACK DOWN!! will take all reasonable efforts to assure that all applicants retain their rights to their business plan and intellectual property, but will not sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before accepting or reviewing plans submitted to the competition. The MIT Enterprise Forum, the Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition (STARTUP SMACK DOWN!!), its sponsors and the judges constantly work with individuals and invest in the ideas of entrepreneurs without signing NDAs. Any submission should be assumed "public disclosure" in the eyes of United States Patent & Trademark Office (US PTO). Participants whose ideas or inventions may be patentable may want to consult counsel prior to disclosure.

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May I attend the STARTUP SMACK DOWN!! Main Event even though I'm not competing?

The STARTUP SMACK DOWN!! Main Event will be held at a university in the greater Washington DC or Baltimore metropolitan areas and will be open to the general public for the second half of the day, after the Semi-Finalists are announced. Students are more than welcome to observe. All attendees must provide their own transportation and lodging.

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How can I participate as a judge?

Students will not be part of the judging. Invited judges will be current professionals be invited to participate and will possess strong academic, technical or entrepreneurial business backgrounds from various arenas.

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How will the competition be judged?

Round 1 - A group of judges from the academic, technical and business communities will score each Team's submitted Executive Summary plan using an objective template with a scale of 1-10. The scores will be averaged and the top ten to twelve scoring teams will advance to the Semi-final Rounds (STARTUP SMACK DOWN! Event).

Round 2 - Business plans and presentations will be judged by small judging panels using an objective template with a scale of 1-10. There will also be some ad hoc questions by the judges that must be answered satisfactorily. The scores will be calculated and the one or two top-scoring teams from each panel will advance to Round 3, the public presentation stage.

Round 3 - The teams make their full presentations before a public audience and final judging panel that will see all presentations. The judges will be using an objective template with a scale of 1-10. There will also be some ad hoc questions by the judges that must be answered satisfactorily. The team with the highest score will win the Competition and the STARTUP SMACK DOWN! Championship belt award. Depending on the makeup of the competitive pool, there may be one or more runner ups, and an award for concept (if not incorporated), and an undergraduate team award and graduate team award.

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How can I volunteer with The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition?

The Competition organizing team is broken into a number of areas: judging; operations; publicity; sponsorship, and school outreach. Each of these areas has an MIT Enterprise Forum member volunteer in charge. Send email using the form below with the name of the group(s) you are interested in helping.

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How can I sponsor The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition?

The 2008 Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition will be happy to discuss sponsorship opportunities with you. Donations to the $100K are donations to MIT Enterprise Forum of Washington-Baltimore, a non-profit educational institution, so they are fully tax-deductible for most donors. Contact the Sponsorship Committee for more information.

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What if I need more clarification on a rule?

If an Entrant believes that there is any ambiguity, conflict, discrepancy, omission or other error in these rules, such Entrant should immediately notify the Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition of such error or request clarification of or modification to this document. Such notice shall be given prior to the final filing date for submission of entries. Modification of these rules, when appropriate, will be made by addenda hereto and distributed to all parties who have entered this competition and will be posted and available at www.mabpc.org.

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What if I have some other question not answered on this website?

You may submit a question by clicking here or filling in the form below. Questions that may be relevant to other competitors may be posted with answers on this FAQ page.

ENTRANTS ARE URGED TO CHECK THIS SITE FREQUENTLY DURING THE COMPETITION PERIOD FOR RESPONSES AND OTHER INFORMATION AND ANNOUNCEMENTS OF INTEREST TO COMPETITION ENTRANTS.

Your Question




  

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Entrepreneurial Resources

MIT Enterprise Forum

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Business Plan Writing

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Making Presentations

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Leadership

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Intellectual Property

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Private Foundations and Organizations

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State & Federal Agencies

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Blogs

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Entrepreneurship & Business Magazines/Newsletters

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Want your organization listed here to help students entrepreneurs? Send name and URL to sponsor@mabpc.org.

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