Business Plan Competition
Got a great idea?
If you are an aspiring entrepreneur we have the opportunity you've been waiting for! Put together a top-notch business plan and bring it to the University of New Brunswick.
For two days every November, in conjunction with our major sponsor, CIBC, UNB brings together budding entrepreneurs from across Canada and around the world to compete in the region's premier business plan competition.
Teams compete in a variety of events at either the undergrad or graduate levels in front of accomplished judges in the fields of marketing, finance and entrepreneurship. The competition is designed to challenge participants to think outside the box.
The plan
Each team will be required to present their business idea to a panel of judges with the aid of a PowerPoint presentation. The presentations are limited to twelve minutes, which will be followed by an eight minute question and answer period. If these times are exceeded the team's total score will be reduced accordingly.
On the elevator to success
You are in an elevator with a business executive with whom you have been trying to arrange a meeting for months. The executive is not able to set up a meeting due to his/her busy schedule, but is willing to listen to you for the duration of the elevator ride. You must convince this attentive business leader to invest in your product or service in one minute. Absolutely no visual aids are permitted.
The Elevator Pitch Competition requires teams to deliver a one-minute verbal pitch of their business plan to a panel of judges. Each team should select one person to present the elevator pitch on behalf of the team. A panel of judges will evaluate the elevator pitches and award a cash prize based on the teams' ability to sell their product or service to the audience.
Are you an aspiring director?
Enter the vodcast competition, where teams make their case in video form. Vodcasts should be no more than one minute in length and follow the same idea as the elevator pitches. You must bring a DVD copy of the vodcast to the competition.
If you would like to submit a Vodcast, email us at: cibc@unb.ca and we'll give you the acceptable file formats and instructions.
Keynote
The entire event is capped off with a keynote presentation. Past speakers have included:
- 2005: Pete Luckett, of Pete's Frootique
- 2006: John Dunsworth, Mr. Lahey of The Trailer Park Boys
- 2007: Peter Mansbridge, of the CBC's The National
- 2008: Citizen Cope, Musician
There are prizes, right?
This year, UNB's CIBC Business Plan Competition is proud to announce that there is over $30,000 in prizes available. Once again, a big thank you goes out to our generous sponsors. The following are some of the categories in which prize money will be awarded: A Grand Prize of $5000* will be awarded in each track (Graduate and Undergraduate) to the teams with the best overall Business Plan.
A prize will be awarded to the first and second runners-up in each track.
A prize will be awarded to the plan with the best financial analysis.
A prize will be awarded to the team with the best elevator pitch.
A prize will be awarded to the team with the best vodcast
All of the winners will be announced at the gala awards dinner following the competition.
*There are no restrictions applied to the use of these funds after they are awarded to the deserving participant. Amount is subject to change
Am I eligible?
The UNB CIBC Business Plan Competition is open to all Canadian and International graduate and undergraduate students. Each applicant can register either individually or in a team consisting of a maximum of four members.
Teams are required to compete in the division dictated by the highest educational level in the group. For example, if a team consists of two undergraduate members and one graduate member, the team is required to compete at the graduate level.
Each team may submit only one business plan to the competition, and plans that have been previously submitted to the competition are not eligible. Teams are required to have personally conducted the business plan analysis and prepared all financial projections. Any business plans that are prepared in full, or in part, by an outside professional firm are not eligible.
*UNB students cannot register directly for the CIBC Business Plan Competition. They must first register for the UNB Only Business Plan Competition and place within the top two teams in their division.
Deadlines
Entrants must submit Participant and Team Registration Forms by Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2010 at 4 p.m. AST.
Note: To register, a team must complete a Team Form, and each participant must fill out a separate Participant Form. Once you and your team has registered we will email your guidelines to submitting your plan.
Entrants are required to submit an electronic copy by Friday, Nov. 20, 2010 at 4 p.m. AST.
You must bring three hard copies of your plan and your PowerPoint presentation upon registration on the first day of the competition.
Please ensure that you adhere to the deadlines.
How do we select the winners?
A panel of judges will evaluate business plan submissions in each track. Teams and business ideas will be reviewed by the judges and given a score of one to five on various criteria. The scores will then be averaged amongst the judges. The top score will be awarded the Grand Prize in that track, the second highest score with receive the second place prize, etc.
Please download and read the complete CIBC Business Plan Competition Guidelines. The competition is not responsible for any issues that may arise due to ignorance of complete rules, regulations and requirements.
