Business Plan Competition Rules
The U.S. Entrepreneurship Competition (USEC) at Ohio Wesleyan University is the largest in Ohio. Open to all college students and community entrepreneurs, the competition represents the state and university’s commitment to business development and the entrepreneurial spirit.
With nearly $500,000 in investments at stake, the USEC allows entrepreneurs from all areas to pitch their business ideas to investors, receive feedback, and potentially earn prize packages to start their businesses successfully. The competition will include both a student track, open to all current college students and 2024 graduates, and a professional track, open to all others. First-, second-, and third-place winners in both tracks will be awarded a combination of products, services, and investments, including access to the Delaware Entrepreneurial Center at OWU and its resources.
- Registration opens July 1, 2024, and will remain open until 11:50 p.m. EST September 1, 2024. All teams wishing to compete must be registered no later than September 1, 2024.
- Teams must confirm their ability to attend and compete by September 9, 2024. Any team unable to attend will be replaced and will forfeit their invitation to participate.
- All competing teams must be in Delaware, Ohio, on September 26, 2024, to participate in all rounds of competition.
- On-site competition registration opens at 7:30 a.m. September 26 with the competition beginning at 9 a.m. and concluding at noon, the same day.
- Each team and its team members may submit only one business plan to the competition.
- For the student competition, there must be at least two members on the team and they must be either:
- Currently enrolled in a college or university within the United States for the 2024-2025 academic year.
- Recently graduated within the 2024 calendar year.
- Each team is required to complete the registration form and submit a business plan. Business plans may be uploaded as a Word document, Google doc, PDF, or presentation slides.
- Each team is required to submit media materials, including a company logo, social media links, and company description (100 words or less).
- All submitted materials and information must be original works and factual for each team. Upon submission, the team, company, stakeholders, and all involved individuals unilaterally agree to such. Any materials found by the judges or committee members not to be original or factual will disqualify the team immediately.
- The top three teams will be announced on September 26, 2024, at the conclusion of the competition. Those three teams will reconvene on October 5, 2024, to learn their final placement in the competition and receive their awards.
Required Materials
Presentation
All presentations will be 10 minutes. All pitches are followed by a Q&A session with the judges.
60-second Elevator Pitch
All teams should be prepared with an elevator pitch. An elevator pitch is a brief explanation of the company, its products or services, and the problem they solve. Individual prizes will be awarded for the top elevator pitches in each category.
Business Plan
Business plans should be detailed and concise. There is no set format for the business plan, but the following parts are recommended:
Section 1: Executive Summary
- Present the company’s mission.
- Describe the company’s product and/or service offerings.
- Give a summary of the target market and its demographics.
- Summarize the industry competition and how the company will capture a share of the available market.
- Give a summary of the operational plan, such as inventory, office and labor, and equipment requirements.
Section 2: Industry Overview
- Describe the company’s position in the industry.
- Describe the existing competition and the major players in the industry.
- Provide information about the industry that the business will operate in, estimated revenues, industry trends, government influences, as well as demographics of the target market.
Section 3: Market Analysis and Competition
- Define the company’s target market, their needs, and their geographical location.
- Describe the size of the market, the units of the company’s products that potential customers may buy, and the market changes that may occur due to overall economic changes.
- Give an overview of estimated sales volume in regard to what competitors sell.
- Provide a plan on how the company expects to combat the existing competition to gain and retain market share.
Section 4: Sales and Marketing Plan
- Describe the products the company will offer for sale and its unique selling proposition.
- List advertising platforms the business will use to get its message to customers.
- Describe how the business will price its products in order to make a profit.
- Give details on how the company’s products will be distributed to the target market and the shipping method.
Section 5: Management Plan
- Describe the organizational structure of the company.
- List the owners of the company and their ownership percentages.
- List the key executives, their roles, and remuneration.
- List any internal and external professionals the company plans to hire, and how they will be compensated.
- Include a list of the members of the advisory board, if available.
Section 6: Operating Plan
- Describe the location of the business, including office and warehouse requirements.
- Describe the labor requirement of the company. Outline the number of staff the company needs, their roles, skills training needed, and employee tenures (full-time or part-time).
- Describe the manufacturing process and the time it will take to produce one unit of product.
- Describe equipment and machinery requirements, whether the company will lease or purchase equipment and machinery, and related costs the company estimates it will incur.
- Provide a list of raw material requirements, how they will be sourced, and the main suppliers that will provide the required inputs.
Section 7: Financial Plan
- Describe the financial projections of the company, including a projected income statement, projected cash flow statement, and balance sheet projection.