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Business Plan Competition - Submit Entry
There are three submission deadlines for the business plan competition. Here's how you submit each portion of your entry.
October 20, 2006: Intent to Submit or
October 27, 2006: Late-Entry Intent to Submit
If you are submitting before 11:59 PT on October 20, send an email to entries@ofb.intervarsity.org with the title "Intent to Submit" and the following information in the body:
- The name of the proposed business
- The names and emails of each member of the entry team
If you are submitting after 11:59 PT on October 20 but before 11:59 PT on October 27, follow the above instructions and include a short paragraph explanation as to why you were unable to send an "Intent to Submit" earlier. Regardless of when you send your "Intent to Submit," all Executive Summaries are due at 11:59 PT on October 27. There will be no exceptions.
You must send a separate email for each business plan entry.
October 27, 2006: Two-Page Executive Summary
By 11:59 PT on October 27, send an email to entries@ofb.intervarsity.org with the title "Executive Summary" and an executive summary attached as a Word .doc or Acrobat .pdf file. Judges will only review the attachment, not the body of the email. It must have at least 1" margins and be in at least 10-point font.
The Executive Summary should be divided clearly into the four sections listed below; judges will evaluate them on a 100-point scale. We've included specific questions you may wish to address. Executive Summaries should be about two pages, and should not exceed three pages.
Business Overview
- How would you define your company? (e.g., manufacturer, retailer, professional service provider, etc.). Include a brief description of products and/or services to be sold.
- At what stage of the business life cycle is your company? (e.g., initial concept, start-up, ongoing business, etc.)
- What makes your business unique?
- Where will your product or service be consumed?
- Where will the product be manufactured or the service be performed?
- Who are the current and future key contributors to your company and what roles are they likely to assume going forward?
Mission Overview (40 points possible)
- Why does your company exist? What is the purpose or ‘cause’ of the company that is worth fighting for?
- How will financial, social, and spiritual values be integrated into your company?
- What financial, social, and spiritual goals will the business seek?
Viability Assessment (40 points possible)
- What is the market opportunity for your business?
- What is the company’s strategy for market entry of your product or service? If already an ongoing business, what is your company’s strategy for expansion?
- What are the biggest risks to the success of your company?
- Include a brief operations plan, including a discussion of types of partnerships the business may require in order to realize and sustain its financial, social, and spiritual goals.
Funding Requirements (20 points possible)
- What are the total capital requirements for your company over the next three years?
- What is your business’ potential for financial support from additional sources, including foundations, social venture funds, angel investors, and venture capitalists?
December 15, 2006: Business Plan Due
Only those entries invited to be finalists should submit business plans. If you are a finalist, your business plan is due electronically at 11:59 PT on December 15. Send an email to entries@ofb.intervarsity.org with the business plan attached as a Word .doc or Acrobat .pdf file. Judges will only review the attachment, not the body of the email. Business plans should not exceed a total of 20 pages (including charts and graphs), have at least 1" margins, and be in at least 10-point font.
Below are specific questions you may wish to address in each section. Strong business plans should be concise, provide analytical rigor, and reflect an understanding of the local financial, social, and spiritual environment.
Executive Summary
- What is your company’s business idea or concept?
- How does your company’s mission reflect financial, social, and spiritual aims?
- What is your company’s target market? What is the size of this target market?
- Who are your likely clients or customers?
- What is your company’s competitive advantage relative to its competition?
- What is your company’s expected three-year financial, social, and spiritual impact?
- What are the total capital requirements for your company over the next three years?
- How do you define your company (e.g., manufacturer, retailer, professional service provider, etc.)? Describe in detail the products and/or services to be sold.
- At what stage of the business life cycle is your company (e.g., initial concept, start-up, ongoing business, etc.)?
- Where will your product or service be consumed?
- Where will your product be manufactured or the service be performed?
- What makes your business unique?
- Why does your company exist? What is the purpose or ‘cause’ of the company that is worth fighting for?
- What financial, social, and spiritual goals will the business seek?
- How will financial, social, and spiritual values be integrated in your company?
- What is your company’s target market?
- What is the size of this target market? At what rate is it growing? Explicitly state relevant market research or calculations used to evaluate the market size and growth.
- What is attractive about the industry you have chosen to be in?
- Who are your target customers?
- What is the key problem or need you are addressing for your target customers?
- Who is your primary competition?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of your primary competition? Where are the gaps where the problem/need is not being addressed?
- How does your product or solution differ from your top primary competition? How is it similar?
- What competitive advantage does your business have over its primary competition? What are the key benefits to your target customer?
- What are the critical success factors that will make the operations of your company sustainable?
- What are the biggest risks to making your company successful?
- How well can the company’s financial, social, and spiritual goals be scaled or replicated?
- What are the growth opportunities for your company?
- What is the company’s strategy for launch of your product or service and market entry? If already an ongoing business, what is your company’s strategy for expansion?
- What is your pricing strategy for your product or service (i.e., above, below or equal to competition)?
- What are the barriers to entry in this business?
- What is the business background and prior management experience for your management team? Include a statement describing level of involvement of the student on the team.
- How does your background and experience help you in this business? How will you compensate for your weaknesses?
- What additional management team members will you need to add to the business in the next two years?
- List past and future key company milestones.
- Describe your company’s production and service facilities.
- Where is your business located? Why is the general region and specific location desirable?
- How does your business make use of region-specific or local-country resources?
- Is the local community likely to be enthusiastic for you and your business? Why?
- How will you build your employee base? What are your plans for hiring and training?
- What strategic partnerships will be critical for building your business? To what degree has the business contacted local officials and other potential partners?
- What benchmark data can you provide to show that your business will be viable as compared with other similar businesses?
- Provide a three-year projected income statement. Include the detailed financials in a spreadsheet if possible.
- What are your key financial assumptions (for both revenue and costs)? Provide supporting data and research for this section.
- When will the business achieve break-even and be completely self-sustaining?
- Outline your company’s social impact objectives.
- What social issues will your business address?
- In what manner will your company address these issues?
- How are these issues significant in your particular region or community?
- How will your business increase employment in the local community?
- Will your business have a positive impact on the environment? If so, how?
- Outline your company’s spiritual impact objectives. Responses should reflect an understanding of the local spiritual environment and will be kept confidential.
- Have traditional approaches to missions encountered political or cultural barriers in the local community? If so, how will this business overcome these barriers?
- How will the business aim to integrate Christian business practices into your company (e.g. in human resources practices, financial priorities and goals, approach to marketing and competition, etc.)?
- How will the business support or interact (directly or indirectly) with the local church? What effect will the business have on local church membership and giving?
- To what degree and how will your company’s employees be exposed to the person of Jesus Christ?
- What are the total capital requirements for your company over the next three years? Of this amount, how much will be contributed personally by you and other founders?
- What are the major uses of the capital raised for the business? This should be shown in each of the next three years.
- What is your comapny’s potential for financial support from additional sources, including foundations, social venture funds, angel investors, and venture capitalists?
- How much additional capital will be required beyond the three-year forecast timeline? How will your company finance these additional capital expenses?
- How will the capital be repaid? What return can an investor expect on their invested capital into your business?
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