"You Belong in Connecticut"  Business Plan Competition 
for Connecticut Universities
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THE COMPETITION. Founded by the Connecticut Venture Group in 1998, the Connecticut Business Plan competition is underwritten by the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD). There is no entry fee.  All administrative costs are borne by DECD and contest sponsors. 

Note: beginning with the 2006-07 academic year, we will be holding competitions for both Fall and Spring classes.

The entire process is paperless and on line.  You will be asked the following questions about your business plan:  

• Contest category (see "Categories" listed below.)

• Adviser name and email address

• Product/service description, including unique aspects

• Business Model (How much you charge and what it costs to provide product/service) 
• Target Market Niche, Number of Prospective Customers and the Annual Demand in Units.
• Strength and Weaknesses of Competitors
• Sales and Distribution Plan
• Amount of New Investment Sought ($x,xxx,xxx) and Intended Use

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS for COLLEGIATE COMPETITION
a.  At least one member of the management team must be associated with a Connecticut university as a full or part-time student.  (Entries may be submitted by individual students or teams of students.)  A "Student" is defined as anyone currently enrolled in full- or part-time capacity, or who graduated during the current (September-May) academic year.
b.  The student or team must have a faculty adviser.
c.  All industry categories are eligible.  
d.  The plan must be for a new business. Enterprises that already have annualized sales
     in excess of $50,000 are ineligible, but may apply to CVG business-funding programs for
     graduates. Call the CVG office at (203) 256-5955 for details.
e.  Students who reached the Finals during a prior year are ineligible, but may apply to CVG
     business-funding programs for graduates. Call the office at (203) 256-5955 for details.

CONTEST CATEGORIES 

AWARDS
All entrants will receive candid feedback from a business financing expert on their on-line executive summary plus an invitation to a Connecticut Venture Group networking even.

Each category winner each semester will receive an unrestricted grant of $1000. The check will be issued in the name of the winning company.  All four category winners may also exhibit at a Connecticut Venture Group meeting.

One category winner will be selected to present at a meeting of the Angel Investor Forum.

The two Venture Enterprise Category winners may exhibit at the Crossroads Venture Fair, on May 1-2, 2007, at the Marriot Hotel in Stamford. Crossroads is the largest business financing event in the Northeast. 

THE APPLICATION PROCESS
1.  Click Here to Access On-Line Application.  (Your first step will be to create a
     user name and password. This will enable you, your adviser, or team members to
     review or revise the draft prior to submitting. The deadlines for submission are:
           FALL SEMESTER: November 10, 2006
           SPRING SEMESTER:  March 30, 2007.  
2.  Applications will be reviewed by a panel of business financing professionals.  
     Finalists will be posted on this site 10 days after the submission deadline.
3.  Finals Orientation: 
           FALL SEMESTER: December 1, 2006
           SPRING SEMESTER:  April 13, 2007.  
4.  Final Round (4 minute PowerPoint presentation followed by Q&A from judges):
           FALL SEMESTER: Friday, December 8, 2006
           SPRING SEMESTER:  Friday, April 20, 2007.  
     At the Finals, the clock will start when the team leader is introduced. Therefore, if you
     elect to hand materials to judges, or engage in demonstrations, or other activity, the
     time taken up to do this will leave less time for speaking.

     Click here for suggestions on preparing an audiovisual presentation.

PROTECTION OF INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.  The information you submit is password protected and available only to assigned mentors and judges. However, the contest managers and sponsoring organizations cannot accept responsibility to protect the intellectual property or other rights of entrants. Therefore, do not include trade secrets or confidential information in your submissions.  Additionally, it is the responsibility of each team to determine if their ideas or concepts are the property of any other person or organization.  Neither the Academy Group, Angel Investor News, CVG, nor DECD are responsible for any issues relating to the ownership of intellectual property or patents.

QUESTIONS.  If you have any questions, please contact Roer@cvg.org. 

Good luck!
Mike Roer
Contest Administrator
Connecticut Venture Group
(203) 256-5955

PRIOR WINNERS (Click here for a list of prior winners.)

FALL 2006 FINALISTS. 

SPRING 2006 FINALISTS

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