1996/1997 MIT $1K Warm-Up Business Idea Competition

1996/1997 MIT $1K Warm-Up Business Idea Competition

A Fall semester warm-up for the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition

Official Contestant Kit Entries Due: November 26, 1996

1996/1997 MIT $1K Warm-up Business Idea Competition Official Contestant Kit

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REGISTER NOW!

If you haven't already subscribed to the $50K official announcements mailing list, go to the MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition home page ( ) and sign up. Register now to get official announcements of deadlines and upcoming events.

1996/1997 MIT $1K Warm-up Business Idea Competition Official Contestant Kit

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COMPETITION GUIDELINES

What is the $1K?

The $1K Warm-up Business Idea Competition is an easy-to-enter warm-up round for the $50K Competition in the Spring semester. The $1K consists of a short, written description of mthaerket opportunity for your service or product, the product or service concept, your competitive advantage, and brief descriptions of the skills, achievements and other qualities that you and any team members bring to the process of creating a new company.

The $1K Warm-up Business Idea Competition is designed to help you generate ideas and begin to build a team. If you enter the $1Kn, o matter whether you win a prize or not, you put yourself in a better position to enter the $50K because you will have looked at different issues involved in planning a business. Then you can either build on your $1K idea or discard it to work on a different project. Going through the different sections of your $1K entry will also help you identify areas in which you need the skills, perspectives and personalities of other people to fill different roles on your founding team.

The $1K Competition is intended to encourage a broad range of MIT undergraduates and graduate students to flesh out their ideas in business terms and form teams that combine technology and business strengths. The $1K rewards all competitors with feedback from qualified judges and offers cash prizes to 10 exceptional entries.

What are the prizes?

A cash prize fund of $1,000 will be split among winning entries in the following categories:

Software & New Media Life Sciences/Biotech Hardware Materials/Physical Sciences/Environmental Consumer Products Service Revolutionize an Old Industry Whole New Industry Open Category: Team Open Category: Individual

$100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100 $100

How does the judging work?

A panel of judges from the MIT and Boston venture communities, including experienced entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, legal professionals, and patent experts from MIT's Technology Licensing Office reads the entries. The following are some of the general criteria considered by the Competition judges, both in the $1K and the $50K. These criteria are also used by industry, private investors, and venture capitalists in evaluating the attractiveness of new venture opportunities:

? high growth potential ? defensibility from competitors ? up-front capital investment ? short time-to-market ? market leadership potential ? stage of idea development ? quality and breadth of team ? why is this business going to be around in 5 years?

1996/1997 MIT $1K Warm-up Business Idea Competition Official Contestant Kit

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Who is eligible? All full-time and part-time MIT students at all levels of education and from any department, registered in the Fall 1996 and/or Spring 1997 semesters, are eligible to enter. Entries must be the original work of entrants and may be entered by a single student or a multistudent team. The size of a team is not restricted, and neither is the number of entries submitted by a team or an individual. People from outside the MIT community may be on the team, as long as one of the principal contestants is an MIT student. Teams are encouraged to seek the involvement of their professors.

What do I include in my entry? You may submit a maximum of1200 words or 3 pages describing your business idea. Additional pages can be submitted to describe the team. Keep in mind that the judges appreciate brevity and clarity. If you are submitting your entry on paper, be sure to complete and attach the "Cover Sheet" and "Certification and Agreements" found at the end of this contestant kit. An editable version of the entry forms can be downloaded from the web site. In describing your business idienacl,ude the sections below in order: 1. Opportunity Statement: How would you describe the business to a potential investor, team member, or customer if you had only a short elevator ride to share together? Use one to three sentences. 2. Market Opportunity and Strategy: What existing problem(s) will you solve with your service or product? What are the primary benefits to customers? What is the level of potential sales of your product or service? How will these sales happen? Who will your first customer(s) be? 3. Product or Service Concept: How will your service or product solve problems for real customers? Develop a brief concept statement for the product or service that can be shown to potential customers. 4. Competitive Advantage: Who will the competitors be? How will your service or product compare to those of your competitors in terms of usefulness, cost, styling, ergonomics, time-tomarket, strategic alliances, technological innovations, compatibility with related products, etc? 5. Team: Include a paragraph summary of each team member's background applicable to the proposed venture. If the full team is not assembled, include a description of the desired background and skills of the team members remaining to be recruited.

Can I enter on the Web? Yes. This year, the $1K Warm-Up can be entered on-line using the world wide web. The web site for entries ( ) will be available on November 4. The purpose of offering on-line entry is to enable the judges to provide feedback more efficiently. Therefore, web entries will receive higher priority for feedback.

1996/1997 MIT $1K Warm-up Business Idea Competition Official Contestant Kit

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Will my entry remain confidential? Yes. All entries are confidential and will not be disclosed. All judges will sign non-disclosure agreements. However, we ask that you submit a title for your business idea and a short (50 words or less) description of your idea, which may be published by the organizers in promotional materials or press releases. Do not feel obligated to disclose proprietary information about your idea in the short description. On the attached entry form you will find questions relating to your interest in: a) entering the $50K in the Spring semester and b) having a qualified mentor from whom to obtain feedback. If you say yes to question b, your entry will be shared with prospective mentors who will also sign non-disclosure agreements. The Organizing Team is working to select qualified mentors for all teams that want them.

When is the entry due? The due date for submitting your entry iTs uesday, November 26 at 4pm. No entries submitted after 4pm will be accepted. Winners will be notified and awarded at the $1K Awards Party on Tuesday, December 10th, 1996. Paper entries should be sent to or dropped off at: Price Waterhouse Entrepreneurial Services Center One Kendall Square, Building 200, Cambridge, MA 02139 Attn: MIT $1K Warm-up Business Idea Competition (617) 439-4390 -- ask for the Cambridge office

What if I don't win? This competition is intended to be a "warm-up" for the $50K Entrepreneurship Competition in the Spring semester. Even if you don't win, we encourage you to develop your idea into a plan and enter it in the $50K. Various classes are offered during IAP to help you do this, including (check the 1997 IAP Guide for more details): ? The Nuts and Bolts of Writing Business Plans , taught by Joe Hadzima SM '77, of council to the High Technology/New Ventures Group at Sullivan and Worcester and executive VP of Quantum Energy Technology. ? Preliminary Venture Analysis and Personal Entrepreneurial Career Strategy , taught by Professor Russ Olive. Additional relevant classes are offered during the Spring Semester: ? 15.375 New Enterprises, taught by Professor Russ Olive. ? 15.828 New Product Development, taught by Professor Drazen Prelec. ? 15.837 MIT Technologies with New Venture Potential , taught by Professor Dhebar. By entering into the $1K Warm-up, you will also benefit from the feedback and assessment you will receive from the judges. You also get the opportunity to meet potential team-mates for the $50K Entrepreneurship Competition. However, participating in the $1K Warm-up Business Idea Competition does not bind you in any way to take part in the $50K Entrepreneurship Competition. The $1K should be considered as a stepping stone to writing a real business plan.

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