RI Business Plan Competition

Applying to the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition

2012-01-26T16:24:00.000-08:00

Even though the deadline to apply to the 2012 Rhode Island Business Plan Competition is April 2, you shouldn’t wait to get started on your full business plan.

Applying involves completing an online form, which is available at:

http://www.ri-bizplan.com/Application/HowtoApply/tabid/187/Default.aspx.

The idea behind the online application is to have all applicants answer the same set of questions. This is especially helpful for people who have never written a business plan. Even if they have, completing the online form ensures that all applicants are evaluated on the same set of information.

Completing the application is the single most important step you will make in the competition, because the judges will use the information in your application to decide whether to designate you as a semi-finalist and invite you to submit a full written plan. Therefore, obviously, if you don’t get past this first step, you can’t go any further.

The application is pretty straightforward. You’re asked to answers questions like:

What is the market for your product or service?
How will you generate revenue?
What are the three greatest strengths of your business idea?
What are the three greatest weaknesses of your business idea?

For each question, your answer is limited to the number of words you can provide, usually around 75 words. This is why completing the application takes work. Answering these questions in relatively few words, and demonstrating your credibility and thoughtfulness, means being very careful and precise.

The best way to approach the application is by working on your full business plan. (Click on http://www.ri-bizplan.com/Application/HowtoApply/tabid/187/Application/Guidelines/tabid/190/Default.aspx for tips on how to format a full business plan.) It makes sense to work on your full plan now for two reasons:

By having your full plan nearly completed by the time your application is due on April 2, you can basically copy information from your plan to the application (although you may have to edit to fit the word count).
If the judges designate you a semi-finalist, you will have only eight days between the time you are notified on April 9 and when your full plan is due on April 17. It would be difficult, if not nearly impossible, to create a full plan in eight days.

Starting work on your full business plan right now (if you haven’t already begun) also gives you an opportunity to really think through the idea and how you will make it work. Putting thoughts on paper lets you see if they make sense and if all the pieces fit together. If you find something needs adjustment, you can fix it because you have the time now to do it. Doing that will also let you get all your ducks in order so that when it comes time to complete the application, everything will be in place.

So, here’s the best way to proceed:

Review the online application to see what will be required.
Work on your full plan now.
Complete the application based on your full plan.

FINALLY, remember that since the deadline to apply is 5 p.m. Eastern time on April 2, 2012, you should use the time between now and then to work on your plan. You won’t gain any advantage by applying way in advance of April 2.

Good luck everyone!

RIBPC Workshop: How to Develop Financial Projections

2012-01-05T10:19:00.000-08:00

Date: January 12, 2012
Time: 5 pm - 6:30 pm
Place: RI Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, One Davol Square, Providence, RI

Led by Larry Davidson, principal with Kahn, Litwin, Renza & Co., Ltd., who has worked extensively with start-up and established, entrepreneurially-driven companies, this workshop will help attendees learn:

What a financial plan for a start-up business is and what it accomplishes
Why cash flow is king
That developing financial projections is an iterative process
Why consistency within the plan is more important than accuracy
That timing is everything
About the difference between one-, three-, five-year projections
How key assumptions will drive your plan

Free and open to the public, but pre-registration is required.
Registration Link: http://financial-workshop.eventbrite.com/

Directions are available here, as well as parking information:
http://www.ri-bizplan.com/Events/WorkshopHowtoDevelopFinancialProjections/tabid/215/Default.aspx

Applying for The RI Business Plan Competition

2011-12-14T17:22:00.000-08:00

If you, your team, or your company are trying to enter the RIBPC, you must submit an application form located on our website. However, there are many guidelines to follow and criteria to meet which must be considered before submission of an application.
We highly advise that you read the application procedure and tips posted on our website, located here:
http://ri-bizplan.com/Application/HowtoApply/tabid/187/Default.aspx

If you are chosen as a semi-finalist, you will also be asked to submit a hard-copy of your proposed business plan. Due to this, it is highly recommended that you do not wait until the last minute to start this plan. Optimally, you will have already started before applying to the competition. Guidelines for a business plan can also be located on our website:
http://ri-bizplan.com/Application/HowtoApply/tabid/187/Application/Guidelines/tabid/190/Default.aspx

While writing this plan, and filling out your application, there are many judging criteria to keep in mind. This information will be extremely valuable to you as you write, and can be found here:
http://ri-bizplan.com/RulesPrizes/JudgingCriteriaJudges/tabid/200/Default.aspx

Finally, after you have read over this information, it will be time to submit your application. Please keep in mind that these are all general guidelines and do not guarantee your success, they are simply available to assist you. The application form is located on a secure website; the link can be found below, but may take a minute to load:
https://apply.ri-bizplan.com/DefaultPermissions/Login/tabid/149/Default.aspx?returnurl=%2fdefault.aspx

We sincerely wish all of our applicants the best of luck. We will continue to update this blog and our other social media outlets with valuable application information, tips, and advice, so continue to check these sites!

Our twitter is: http://twitter.com/#!/RIBizPlan , and our FaceBook page is: http://on.fb.me/vFbPlg , please follow us on these pages for updates!

E-Pitch Wrap Up!

2011-12-08T18:25:00.000-08:00

The Elevator Pitch Competition held at the Rhode Island Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship was a great experience and huge success yesterday evening. With so many competitors and just as much support, the competition was quite close. About 56 separate pitches were made, leaving judges to decide on the 9 finalists. Congratulations to Kipp Bradford, who took home the grand prize for his winning Elevator Pitch about the KippCool Medical Cooling System!

Watch the video of all the winners here: http://youtu.be/OuIK43fimbo

E-Pitch Only a Week Away!

2011-12-01T06:21:00.000-08:00

A reminder, this Friday December, 2 is the registration deadline for the E-pitch competition. The
competition itself is officially a week away today! With $1,000 in total prize money to the winners, it is a great way to present your ideas to a panel of judges and get their feedback. You are also able to attend even if you simply want to watch and although you may not be competing it would absolutely be worthwhile to go anyway and just watch. The competition will not only showcase some of the top up and coming entrepreneurs in the area, but also will give a first look at the way the competitions are judged. It is free to the public, but you do need to sign up by tomorrow to attend. The competition will be held at the RI Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, One Davol Square in Providence, RI, and it will held from 5 to about 7 pm. Sign up for it here:
http://www.ri-bizplan.com/Events/StatewideElevatorPitchContest/tabid/214/Default.aspx

For those of you who are competing next Wednesday, although you have already written your
pitch, here are a few tips to perfect your e-pitch

Do not speak too fast

Use words that people who are not in your field would understand
You cannot use any audio or visual support, because you would not have access to any if you were in an elevator
Be enthusiastic!

Good luck to all who are competing, it should be a good time!

Elevator Pitch Rules

2011-11-14T18:08:00.000-08:00

Just a couple simple points to inform you of so you can prepare your E-Pitch accordingly:

1. After 90 seconds, your pitch will be cut off
2. Time warnings will be given to all presenters at the 30 second and 10 second remaining marks

During the networking period directly following the competition, scores will be totaled and a winner will be determined. The winners will then be announced right after, but you must still be present to receive your winnings so make sure to stick around! Good luck again everyone!

Elevator Pitch Competition December 7th!

2011-11-09T16:37:00.000-08:00

With the E-Pitch competition less than a month away and $1,000 in total prize money to be rewarded to the top performers, now might be a good time to begin preparing. It seems simple enough, making a straightforward, no-nonsense pitch in favor of your business concept or idea. But in reality, you need to know how to make an impact yet be brief considering you only have the time of an elevator ride to sell yourself. So what do you say and how do you say it?

Microsoft Office actually has written a very well done summary of how to approach the E-Pitch and what needs to be included. Check it out here for some great ideas:
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/3-steps-to-a-great-elevator-pitch-HA010074786.aspx

You may want to start rehearsing now! Good luck everyone!

Welcome!

2011-10-13T07:34:00.001-07:00

I would like to welcome you all to the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition blog. This blog will be a place where you can go to as a reference for when you are working on your business plan or just for general information on the competition. Here you will find: pertinent articles, summaries of workshops, podcasts from the workshops, as well as videos and podcasts from people who have gone through the business plan competition, and have a wealth of information to share with you about the lessons they have learned along the way. The goal of this blog is to deliver additional information concerning your business plan and help keep you up to date with the competition. Be sure to check us out here regularly as well as on our Facebook and Twitter pages for upcoming events, deadlines, and general information about the competition. If you have any questions that you would like to get answered either on this blog or via Facebook or Twitter please feel free to email us at ribizplan@gmail.com, on Facebook at the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, or tweet us @ribizplan. We wish everyone good luck and a successful competition!

2012 Kick Off Event Coming Up Soon!

2011-10-13T06:58:00.000-07:00

The Kick Off event for the 2012 RI Business Plan Competition is coming up fast. It will be held on October 26th at the RI Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship, One Davol Square, Providence, RI. It begins at 5pm and preregistration is required before you can attend.You can do it here:
http://www.ri-bizplan.com/Events/KickOffof2011Competition/tabid/213/Default.aspx
Governor Lincoln D. Chafee will be there to kick it all off! We hope to see you there!

Providence Business News

2011-10-03T15:34:00.000-07:00

Published today about the 2012 competition!

http://www.pbn.com/RI-Biz-Plan-2012-competition-announced,61640