Mississippi New Venture Challenge
Innovate Mississippi will present the 6th Annual Mississippi New Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition Tuesday, May 21, 2013, at the Jackson Convention Complex.
The competition will take place from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. and will conclude with a networking reception at 5 p.m. where the winners will be announced. The event is open and free to the public.
Don't miss this opportunity to have your startup company's business plan heard and critiqued by some of Mississippi's top entrepreneurs and investors.
Who can participate?
The Mississippi New Venture Challenge is open to all Mississippi innovation and technology entrepreneurs in three categories: student led teams - made up entirely of students; pre-revenue teams - representing pre-revenue stage companies; and commercial teams - open to post-revenue, startup or existing companies with an innovation-based new venture opportunity. Innovation-based ventures derive their primary business from proprietary products, processes or business systems – whether protected by intellectual property or not. For existing companies, judging will be based solely on the new venture opportunity.
Judging criteria:
Participants will be screened for the competition based on their executive summary created from an online questionnaire provided by Innovate Mississippi. Judging at the May 21 event will be based on the executive summary and the team's live PowerPoint presentation. The same criteria will be used to judge teams in each division. Judges for the competition will include angel investors and select entrepreneurs.
Click here to review the judging criteria.
Mentoring:
Each team selected to participate will be paired with a mentor who will assist in preparation for the competition. Mentors will be matched with companies based on their areas of expertise and experience. Mentors include angel investors, Venture Coaching Academy fellows and industry experts.
How to enter:
To apply for the competition, complete an executive summary by answering an online questionnaire. When creating your executive summary, please disregard the video option on the questionnaire. Selected applicants will be contacted and invited to participate in the competition where they will make a 10-15 minute live PowerPoint presentation with 2-4 minutes of Q&A. The length of the presentations may be adjusted depending on the number of applicants. The deadline for applications is April 12.
Applicants will be notified by April 15 if they have been selected. The audience will include investors, service providers and other professionals.
Prizes:
Cash prizes and trophies will be awarded for first, second and third place in each division. In-kind services donated by service providers (accountants, attorneys, web developers, etc.) will be awarded to winners based on current needs. Winners will be recognized at the networking reception immediately following the competition.
Contact Tasha Bibb for more information.