Submission Guidelines
The Submission Guidelines are divided into the five categories below
All plan submissions must include:
Executive Summary
Up to 3 pages typed and double-spaced in 12-point font with one-inch margins.
Plan and Exhibits
Text, financial data, exhibits, or other appendices, not to exceed a total of 25 pages (not including the executive summary, resumes or publicity statement.) The body of the plan must be typed and double-spaced in 12-point font with one-inch margins. Non-text exhibits may be in other formats.
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 and how it will be used. Also, delineate the possible exit strategies.
Resumes
For all team members. Resumes should not exceed one page per team member.
Publicity Statement
A one-paragraph statement of 150 words or less with brief descriptions of (a) the business plan idea, and (b) the team. The statement may be distributed to the press, other CU departments, and/or other attendees at the competition.
Nondisclosure Agreement
Each team member must sign a copy of the Nondisclosure Agreement and return with the paper copy of the submission.
To submit a plan, send an electronic version to
Patty.Graff@colorado.edu and one paper copy to:
Patty Graff
Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Leeds School of Business
University of Colorado
419 UCB
Boulder, CO 80309-0419
Both the electronic copy and the paper copy must be received no later than 5 pm MST on Friday, January 15, 2010.
For assistance in writing a business plan, see the business plan templates and tips here.
Teams selected to attend the competition must submit an electronic copy and nine copies of their final version of the plan, including all elements listed above, by 5 pm MST on Friday, February 19, 2010. Hard copies of this final plan must be bound. Teams do not need to resubmit copies of the nondisclosure agreement or publicity statement (unless it has changed).
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Judging Criteria
Plans will be judged according to the criteria listed below.
Market Opportunity
Plan demonstrates a clear market need and a way to take advantage of the need.
Distinctive Competence
Venture offers a unique value proposition that gives the company a competitive advantage in its market.
Cleantech Impacts
Venture provides solutions, services, or products that are responsibly produced and address an unmet need that contributes to a long-term sustainable future. Preference will be given to plans that offer innovative products, services, and/or business models, as opposed to plans that offer incremental improvements to existing business practices and products. Example: a plan for a hybrid auto engine would be ranked above a plan for more sustainable manufacturing of an existing engine.
Financial Analysis
Team demonstrates an understanding of the financial requirements of the industry, financial models are thorough and realistic, and plan shows an acceptable return on risk for early stage companies in the industry.
Management Capability
Team demonstrates that it has or will have the experience and training needed in relevant areas, as well as an ability to handle risks and growth.
Investment Opportunity
This business represents a real investment opportunity in which judges would consider investing.
Communication
Quality and readability of the written business plan; effectiveness of the executive summary and the financial data. Poise, professionalism, and impact of the presentation.
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Competition Definitions
Cleantech
Comprises a diverse and growing range of products, services, and processes that --
Enhance the sustainable use of natural resources
Lower the cost and waste in the product life cycle
Improve product performance
This is accomplished while reducing or eliminating negative environmental impact and without reducing our capacity to provide for future generations. Cleantech encompasses businesses in a wide range of industries, including agriculture, energy, construction, water, transportation and manufacturing. It represents an emerging growth sector within the financial community, attracting venture capital, angels and other investors.
For the purposes of this competition, a cleantech venture may directly utilize technologies that use resources efficiently, reduce pollution, or contribute to ecological health, or it may support such businesses. For example, both the manufacture of wind turbines as well as a business which provides financial services to the wind farm developers would meet the definition of cleantech ventures.
Cleantech ventures entered in the competition should offer innovative solutions and be venture grade, i.e.: generate revenue, have strong growth, take significant market share in a large and growing market sector, and be an attractive IPO or Merger & Acquisition exit candidate within 5-7 years.
Clean Energy Technology
For purposes of consideration for the NREL Investor Growth Forum invitation, clean energy technology is defined as renewable energy (e.g. wind, photovoltaics, solar thermal, biomass power, and biomass derived fuels, solar buildings), energy efficiency, and hybrid-renewable technologies as well as related technologies that facilitate distributed energy generation options. For example, related technologies include fuel cells that can utilize a range of fuels such as hydrogen and ethanol that can be derived from renewables.
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Non-Disclosure Agreement
Please download the agreement, print and complete and include with your application.
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Confidentiality and Intellectual Property
The authors of the business plan will retain all rights to the plan regarding its use at all times prior to and following the competition except as stated below. Due to the nature of the competition, we will not ask judges, reviewers, staff or the audience to agree to or sign non-disclosure statements for any participant.
All public sessions of the competition, including but not limited to oral presentations and question/answer sessions, are open to the public at large. Any and all of these public sessions may be broadcast to interested persons through media which may include radio, television and the Internet. Any data or information discussed or divulged in public sessions by entrants should be considered information that will likely enter the public realm, and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged or presented in these sessions.
The Deming Center for Entrepreneurship at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the organizer of the Cleantech Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition (“the Challenge”), may make photocopies, photographs, videotapes (DVDs) and/or audiotapes of the presentations including the business plan and other documents, charts or material prepared for use in presentation at the Challenge. Students retain all proprietary rights.
The University may use the materials in any book or other printed materials and any videotape or other medium that it may produce, provided that any profits earned from the sale of such items is used by The University solely to defray the costs of future Challenges. The University has non-exclusive world rights in all languages, and in all media, to use or to publish the materials in any book, other printed materials, videotapes or other medium, and to use the materials in future editions thereof and derivative products.
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