How the Business Plan Competition is judged

The various rounds of the competition have different criteria:

Screening Round

In the Screening Round, the participant’s executive summary (5-7 pages) is evaluated on a 1- to 5-point scale.

Judging Criteria
  • Overall impression of the executive summary
  • Management team
  • Market opportunity
  • Competitive strategy
  • Go to Market strategy
  • Traction
  • Financials

Final Round

During the Final Round, participants’ business plan (12-15 pages) is evaluated on the document itself and the presentation. Specifically, they will be evaluated by a panel of judges on how effectively they address the target market’s needs, viability of the business model, the quality of the presentation and ability to answer tough questions.

Who are the Judges?

We rely on entrepreneurs, business leaders from the community, professionals (attorneys, accountants, consultants, etc. who work with early-stage companies) and others to be our judges.