Rules
  • You must form a team around an idea for a business. The team must have a minimum of one person who is a member of NECINA.
  • Each team must submit an executive summary of business plan by Tuesday, January 15, 2008 .
  • Each team must submit a full business plan by Friday, March 15, 2008 .
  • From all submitted business plans, first round judges will select six (6) to eight (8) semi-finalist teams, depending on the number and quality of entries. Selection results will be available on Friday, April 4, 2008 .
  • At a private session on Thursday, April 17, 2008 , all semi-finalists will present their business plans to the second round judges. Three finalists will be selected.
  • The three finalist teams will present their business plans to the final round judges on Sat, May 10, 2008 . One first prize winner and two runners up will be determined by the judges. This presentation and selection process is open to the public. The contest final ceremony will be held together with the NECINA annual meeting dinner on Sat, May 10, 2008 .

Awards

  • One (1) First Place : $10,000 cash + $12,000 in kind service
  • Two (2) Runners Up (each): $3,000 cash + $6,000 in kind service
  • Best idea award: $1,000 cash

Note: The unclaimed in-kind service awarded to winning teams or its members will expire one year after award ceremony, unless specifically extended by service providers.

Time Table

  • January 15, 2008 – Executive summary due
  • March 15, 2008 – Full business plan due
  • April 7, 2008 – First round selection of semi-finalists
  • April 17, 2008 – Second round selection of three (3) finalists
  • May 10, 2008 – Third round selection of first prize winner; Final Ceremony

Plan Submission

  1. Executive summary: A one page executive summary is required to officially enter the Contest. (Download) All forms must be received by the January 15, 2008 and submitted electronically to bplansubmit08@necina.org. Please make sure to describe the business concept in brief, including the market for the product or service you intend to offer. Please attach a brief team members’ bio.
  2. Full biz-plan: The Business Plan submission is the actual plan you are submitting for judging. Final Plans must be submitted to bplansubmit08@necina.org by March 15, 2008 . Submissions must be on 8.5 x 11 paper and may not exceed thirty pages of text, graphs, and appendices. At a minimum, final submissions should include:
    • Quarterly financial projections for two years and annual projections to five years with both a pro forma cash flow and budget analysis
    • Other analysis, as appropriate (e.g., break-even analysis; estimated market share calculations);
    • A working model or prototype, if practicable;
    • Market data based on customer research and customer response analysis;
    • (Recommended but not required) No more than a twenty-slide “Powerpoint” or similar overview/summary of the proposed business (does not count towards thirty page limit).

Judging Criteria

  • Business plans are judged by a group of professionals from various industries including venture capitalists and successful entrepreneurs.
  • Judges will be asked to evaluate the plans based upon their likelihood of actually becoming the basis of a viable business. This consideration, in turn, will include such factors as:
    • The degree of creativity and innovation embodied in the basic opportunity definition and business concept
    • The appropriateness of the strategy for exploiting the opportunity
    • The reasonableness of the plan for financing the business
    • Team's ability to actually implement the plan
  • NECINA encourages teams to take advantage of their culture background and the globalization trend. Business models that leverage growth in Greater China market and global sourcing models will be recognized, although it will not be a determining judging criterion.

Team Requirements

  • Each team must include at least one current member of NECINA.
  • The spirit of the contest is that it is both an educational experience for members as well as a potential launch pad for those members who wish to actually start a business. We encourage members to work with team members from their personal network including other entrepreneurs, scientists and executives from industry who may have an attractive idea. Note however, that under the terms of the funding for the contest, prize money can only be distributed to a NECINA member.
  • It is strongly encouraged that teams include a minimum of three members, since most successful ventures are rooted in outstanding team works. Team members with different background will contribute better to success of the venture by leveraging their unique background, skill sets and personal networks.

Confidentiality

The only individuals who will have access to your business plans will be the judges who are assigned to read your plan. These judges are largely professional venture capital investors, who regularly deal with confidential information in the course of their work. We have asked them to treat your work product with the same care and respect for confidentiality. We also ask them to remove themselves from judging your plan if they do have a real conflict of interest. Feel free to mark your plan—or particular piece of it—as "confidential." You could also request that the judges give you the hard copy of your plan back after you've completed your presentation. If you are concerned about any particular VC firm--because they have backed a direct competitor--feel free to request that we not put a judge from that firm on your panel.

Contest finalists will be asked to make presentations to the final round judges in front of a public audience. The teams are asked not to include confidential information in their final presentation.

It is NECINA’s belief that all team’s business plans will be treated by the judges with professional care. However, NECINA cannot control or monitor access to and handling of the plans, therefore it would be impossible for NECINA or the contest organizers to guarantee plan’s confidentiality. If a contestant feels uncomfortable of disclosing confidential information in the plan, we would strongly caution not to include in the competition documents or presentations any information that they consider confidential or proprietary. It is entirely the responsibility of the contestants to decide whether they should disclose such information, and to what extent.

Intellectual Property and Non-Compete Issues

NECINA will not be held responsible in any way for intellectual property infringement, disclosure of confidential information, violation of non-compete agreement caused by the contest teams. It is the sole responsibility of the contest teams to ensure their business plans and any products related to the plan do not infringe on others’ intellectual property, and comply with any prior non-compete agreement or non-disclosure agreement.