ABOUTCALENDARNEWSRESOURCE LIBRARYHOW TO ENTERCONTEST DETAILS

Business Plan Requirements and Deliverables for 2008 Entrant Teams

For the 2008 competition, the following three documents must be submitted by entrant teams to the Lester Center as instructed below.

1. Business Plan Guidelines

  • Business Plan must be limited to 25 pages of text, including the executive summary and summary financial data (typed, 12-point font, and 1-1-1-1 inch margins, page size: 8 1/2 x 11 inches). Detailed spreadsheets and appropriate appendices may follow the text portion of the plan but must be limited to 5 pages. Your resumes are not included in the 25 page total. In total, the plan should be no longer than 30 pages. Pages should be formatted to 8 1/2 x 11 inches (standard U.S. page size).
  • The Business Plan must have three distinct sections:
    1. An executive summary, which should not exceed 3 pages in length.
    2. The business plan, which should not exceed 22 pages in length
    3. One team resume booklet, wherein each individual’s resume should not exceed 2 pages in length.
  • Financial data should include a cash flow statement, income statement, and balance sheet. Include an explanation of the offering to investors indicating how much money is required, how it will be used, and the proposed structure of the deal, i.e., stock, debentures, etc. The team is not required to reveal its desired deal, although the judges may ask questions about it. Also, delineate the possible exit strategies.

The Lester Center will make black and white copies of all received plans and distribute to the judging panel. The judges will have an opportunity to review all plans prior to the presentations. Should your team want the plans printed in color you will need to send ten paper copies of your plan in color to the Lester Center to be received no later than 12:00 pm Pacific time on Wednesday, November 5, 2008. Please be sure to follow the formatting guidelines outlined above.

Mailing Address to send color paper copies:

University of California, Berkeley
Walter A. Haas School of Business, F453
Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Berkeley, CA 94720-1930, USA

Please email a copy of your business plan as a Word or PDF (preferred) attachment to erbland@haas.berkeley.edu no later than 12:00 pm Pacific time on Wednesday, November 5, 2008.

2. One Page Summary for Program Book and Distribution

We are asking each team to submit a one-page summary outlining your business plan. This one-page summary will not be used by the Judging panel, but will be provided to potential investors and other representatives who will visit your public presentations on Thursday, November 20. The level of technical detail should be suitable for a general audience. Please include your contact information on the summary page. Summary should be in black and white (no color logos, please) and page size should be formatted to 8 1/2 x 11 inches (standard U.S. page size).

Please email your one-page summary as a separate attachment to erbland@haas.berkeley.edu no later than 12:00 pm pacific time on Friday, October 1, 2008.


3. PowerPoint Presentation for Semi-Final Judging on Wednesday, November 19, 2008

PowerPoint presentations must be submitted no later than 12:00 pm Pacific Time on Tuesday, November 18, 2008.

E-mail your presentations to erbland@haas.berkeley.edu.

Presentation Guidelines

  • During the Semi-Finals and Finals, each team will be given 15 minutes to present its business plan followed by a 10-minute question and answer session between the presenting team and the judges. THESE TIME LIMITS WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED.
  • We strongly recommend that only two members of the team present. A student team member must be one of the two presenters during the formal presentation of the plan, and give most of the presentation.
  • Equipment needs: the presentation room will be set up with a LCD projector and a computer loaded with your PowerPoint presentation. You will not be allowed to use your own comptuer, so please make sure your presentation is compatible for a PC and Office 2007.
  • Any additional requirements cannot be guaranteed due to the short timeframe of the judging event. If you have an outstanding reason for additional equipment requirements, please contact the organizers no later than 5:00 pm Pacific Time on Friday, October 31, 2008.

  • Formal business attire (a suit and tie) are required for Semi-Final and Final presentation judging rounds.

Summary of Deadlines for Deliverable Deadlines and Events

  • Registration Form due October 1 via email or fax
  • One-page summary due October 1 via email submission in Word or PDF format
  • Full Business Plan due November 5 - paper copy and/or email submission in Word or PDF format.

  • Private Presentation due November 18 via email in PowerPoint format

All email submissions should be sent to:
erbland@haas.berkeley.edu

All hardcopy submissions should be sent to:
University of California, Berkeley
Walter A. Haas School of Business, F453
Lester Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Berkeley, CA 94720-1930, USA

FedEx or DHL shipping of hardcopy materials is strongly recommended


Contact for Questions regarding deliverables and travel:

Jill Erbland
Tel +1 510 642 4255
Email : erbland@haas.berkeley.edu