The Enterprise Challenge Rules
The Enterprise Challenge is a business plan competition created and sponsored by Oregon State University's Austin Entrepreneurship Program to highlight OSU innovators and further our mission of fostering entrepreneurship across the OSU community. The Enterprise Challenge is an opportunity for OSU students to present their business ideas to business experts including successful entrepreneurs, senior executives, venture advisors, and venture investors.
Eligibility:
The idea of the Challenge is to encourage student created enterprises. Eligible enterprises are new, independent start-ups with no prior monetary investment and must be seeking outside capital.
Team Composition:
The Enterprise Challenge is open to all current OSU students. Entries from former students and off campus are eligible as long as at least one full time OSU student is a member of the student's enterprise startup management team. Non-students may be members of an enterprise's management team and may participate in planning the enterprise. However, only OSU students may present the plan and answer questions from the competition judges. The maximum number of students on a competition team is five (5), although there is no restriction on the total size of the enterprise's founding team. The business plan must represent the original work of members of the team.
The Austin Entrepreneurship Program reserves the right, at any time, to disqualify any team that violates the rules, regulations, or the spirit of the competition. All decisions of the judges are final.
Phases:
I. Team Building:
Ever dream of launching a new product? Imagine pitching your idea to successful entrepreneurs, senior executives, venture advisors, and venture investors at The 2010 Enterprise Challenge.
The Enterprise Challenge Network Night is the kick-off event to The 2010 Enterprise Challenge, the OSU business plan competition held each April, where prize money totals $17,500. Here is an opportunity to meet other students, hear ideas, get help with your idea, connect with fellow entrepreneurs and find out what The Enterprise Challenge is all about.
The TEC Networking Night is open to all students, faculty, and community. However, teams must meet the criteria defined under Team Composition. The TEC Networking Night will be October 6, 2009 from 6-7:30 p.m. in Weatherford Hall, Trysting Tree Conference Room D107.
II. Skill Building: Building Your Business Plan Series:
Use the Austin Entrepreneurship Program’s Building Your Business Plan Series to meet local experts and learn from them best practices for preparing your ideas and projects for submission to The Enterprise Challenge, the OSU business plan competition. FREE
October 13, 2009
Introduction to Entrepreneurship
6-7:30 p.m.
Kelley Engineering Center 1003
Speaker is Bill Witt of Witt Consulting
October 20, 2009
Marketing and Sales
6-7:30 p.m.
Kelley Engineering Center 1003Speaker is Norm Galvin of ORM Consulting, Inc.
November 3, 2009
Competition
6-7:30 p.m.
Kelley Engineering Center 1003
Speaker is Amir Hartman of Mainstay Partners, LLC
November 17, 2009
Profit and Loss Statements and Cash Flows
6-7:30 p.m.
Kelley Engineering Center 1003
Speaker is Dan Whitaker
November 24, 2009
Sources and Use of Capital
6-7:30 p.m.
Kelley Engineering Center 1003
Speaker is Nick Fowler of Orion Ventures, LLC
January 5, 2010
Intellectual Property
6-7:30 p.m.
Location TBA
Speaker is Ray Jenski
January 12, 2010
Company Structure and Management Team
6-7:30 p.m.
Location TBA
Speaker is Jeanne Smith of Jeanne Smith and Associates
January 19, 2010
What It Takes to Win
6-7:30 p.m.
Location TBA
Led by Last Year’s Wining Teams:
Northwest Phytoproducts
CSR Robotics
III. Business Plan Deadline: Intent to submit is due by February 5, 2010 to Mary McKillop and Business Plans are due by February 19, 2010 by NOON in Weatherford D106. Plans should be submitted as one hard copy version and one electronic file. All submitted business plans will be reviewed by a panel of judges which include successful entrepreneurs, senior executives, venture advisors, and venture investors. The best business plans will move forward in The Enterprise Challenge.
IV. The finalist teams will be notified on or before March 15, 2010.
V. Mentoring: Each finalist team will be paired with a mentor to help them refine their business plan presentation.
VI. Finals: Each of the finalist teams will present their business plan to a panel of judges on April 16, 2010 and have time to entertain questions from the judges. In addition each finalist team will demonstrate their business idea to judges in a trade-fair format on April 16, 2010. The winning teams will be selected based on the potential success of the new business enterprise. | 
