Rollins Venture Plan Competition Rules & Guidelines
The Rollins Venture Plan Competition provides members of the Central Florida community an opportunity to take an idea for a new product or business and develop a plan to introduce it to the marketplace. New ventures are defined as seed, start-ups, buyouts, the expansion of established enterprises, or site-specific franchises. Participating teams are encouraged to create and present a plan that clearly illustrates creativity and potential for success.
Key Dates:
Wednesday, January 18, 2017 – Application Goes Live
The submission form and instructions can be accessed at: https://app.reviewr.com/s1/site/Rollins-College-2017
Monday, February 6, 2017, 11:59 p.m. – Submission Deadline
All submission materials must be received by the deadline in order for teams to participate in the competition. No extensions will be given. A panel of qualified judges will evaluate the submissions and select the semi-finalists. Up to 16 teams will be selected to move on to the Semi-final Round.
Friday, February 24, 2017 – Semi-Finalists Announced
The semi-finalists will be announced to all participants by email by no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, February 24.
W-Th, March 1-2, 2017 – Semi-Finalists Dry Run
The semi-finalists will have an opportunity to present to Rollins entrepreneurship faculty and 1st round judges to receive feedback on their presentations in a consequence free environment in advance of the semi-finals.
Tuesday, March 7, 2017, 11:59 p.m. – Slide Decks Due
Semi-finalists are required to submit their slide decks that will be used in the semi-final round of the competition. Subsequent changes may be made by finalists after the semi-final round.
Wednesday, March 15, 2017, 12:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. – Semi-Final Round
Presentations of no more than 8 minutes will be made by the semi-finalist teams to a qualified panel of judges. Up to 5 minutes of questions by the judges will be asked to each team. The judges will determine the 4 teams that will move on to the Final Round of competition. Finalists will be notified following the deliberation of the judges, immediately following the semi-final presentations.
Thursday, March 30, 2016, 6:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. – Final Round
The 4 teams chosen for the finals will present again to a new panel of qualified judges. The judges will determine the winners of the competition. Winners will be notified following the deliberation of the judges, immediately after the final presentations.
Eligibility Requirements:
- The competition is open to ventures headquartered in Central Florida, including the following counties: Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Polk, Lake, Volusia, and Brevard.
- Revenues generated by the proposed venture must not have exceeded $100,000 over the life of the venture as of December 31, 2016.
- The proposed venture must not have raised more than $100,000 in debt or equity financing from any source other than founding team members as of December 31, 2016. Teams must clearly disclose the amounts and sources of all capital raised in their entries.
- Submissions and presentations must be the original work of the competition teams.
Judging:
The judges for the live, semi-final and final rounds of the competition will be comprised of experienced entrepreneurs and investors in the business community. While each judge has his/her own idea about what constitutes a great opportunity for a new venture, there are some criteria that all judges will take into account:
- Product or Service: description of product or service, features and benefits, pricing, current stage of development and intellectual property if any
- Market Opportunity: size of market opportunity, competitive analysis, needs identification and gaps identified in current product and service offerings in the market
- Go to Market Strategy: clearly outlined sales and marketing strategy
- Management Team: backgrounds of key individuals, ability to execute strategy, personnel gaps and organizational structure
- Financials: presented in summary form, easy to understand, consistent with plan, well researched and thought through
- Use of Capital: what would the use of funds be if $50,000 were given to the company today
Prizes:
Finalists will all receive cash prizes. Prize amounts will be announced prior to the competition.
Prize distribution in 2016 was as follows:
- 1st $25,000
- 2nd $15,000
- 3rd $7,500
- 4th $2,500
Through a partnership with venVelo, a Winter Park-based, early-stage venture capital firm, the winner of the Rollins Venture Plan Competition is automatically offered an additional $25,000 equity investment to go along with their $25,000 in prize money.
Prize Money Distribution:
Prior to the competition, participants must elect how they prefer all prize money won to be distributed, whether to a business entity associated with the competing venture concept or to the individual participants on the team. If to individuals, it must also be specified if the prize money is to be distributed evenly among the participants on the team or divided up in some other way by percentage of total prize money won. If the total prize money awarded to a team is in excess of $10,000, the prize money must be distributed to a business entity associated with the competing concept. If no such business entity exists, the team must form an entity associated with the competing concept in order to receive the prize money.
Please direct all questions to: Gabrielle Feulner gfeulner@rollins.edu
