2015 Business Plan Competition
General Rules & Eligibility Requirements
1.
All High Point University undergraduate students enrolled during the spring semester of the competition year are eligible to
participate in that year’s competition. Individuals who are not students at HPU may be members of the management team and
participate in planning the business, however only students may present the plan in the competition. If a company has been
formed, the student or students must own at least 50 percent or more of the company and should hold the top position within the
company.
2. All authors who will be competing in the HPU Business Plan Competition must be currently enrolled and in good standing with
High Point University and the community. Good standing is defined as having a minimum cumulative grade point average of
2.0 and a record of exemplary citizenship. All authors must agree to release a copy of their official academic transcript and
disciplinary record to the Center for Entrepreneurship staff. The Center staff reserve the right to disqualify any author who does
not meet the minimum grade requirement and/or is ineligible to be enrolled at HPU as a result of disciplinary action.
3. Individual students or groups are eligible to present their business plans.
4. Students submitting a plan must commit to present their plan in the final competition on April 23, 2015.
5. The plan must cover the entire business concept and implementation for a new venture in the seed, start-up or early growth
stages, having not been in existence for more than 18 months. Generally excluded are the following: buy-outs, expansions of
existing businesses, real estate syndicates, tax shelters, franchises, licensing agreements for distribution in a different geographic
area, and spin-offs from existing corporations.
6. Ventures/companies may only compete in the HPU Business Plan Competition once.
7. All authors must agree that the business plan they submit is their original work. The author(s) will retain all rights to the plan
regarding its use at all times prior to and following the competition.
8. By participating in this competition, students agree to give the competition organizers and university the right to post the
business plan on a password protected site in order for judges/reviewers to access the plan, post comments, and assign a
numerical value to the plan. Judges, staff, and the audience related to the competition will not be required to sign non-disclosure
documents. All public sessions of the competition are open to the public. Any information discussed in these sessions is
considered information that will enter the public domain and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality to any
information presented in these sessions.
9. Once submitted, no changes can be made to the executive summary, business plan, and presentation. All submissions must
include the name and phone number of the key contact person(s) and copies of any documentation needed for investors. The
information will be verified for accuracy. All deadlines stated in the schedules will be held – no exceptions will be made.
10. Finalists are required to sign a waiver allowing the Center for Entrepreneurship the express right to videotape their final
presentation. They will also be required to sign an audio-video release form allowing High Point University to use the business
plan presentation within the University for faculty, staff, students, the Center for Entrepreneurship and to be part of the archives
of High Point University.
11. All students are expected to abide by these rules as well as the overall spirit of the competition. The Director of the Center for
Entrepreneurship and the Dean of the Phillips School of Business reserve the right to disqualify any student or student team that
violates the rules, regulations, or spirit of the competition.
12. The winner(s) of the Competition will be the individual or student team whose plan and presentation conveys the most
promising combination of:
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business model clarity and viability
attractive investor possibilities
investor returns potential
realistic implementation and sustainability opportunities
product/service originality
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market opportunity
team quality and competencies
financial feasibility
business plan and presentation quality and completeness