1. The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students enrolled at The University of Akron during the calendar year 2005-2006.

2. Each student may submit only one business plan to the competition.

3. Either an individual or a group may develop the business plan. Group size should not exceed 5 persons. The management team outlined in the plan may contain the names of individuals who are not associated with the university. However, all presenting group members must have a key role on the management team. Non-student members of the venture's management team may not participate in the final presentations.

4. The business plan must represent the original work of each contestant. The author(s) will retain all rights to the plan regarding its use at all times prior to and following the competition. 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 each team.

5. The competition is open to all businesses with a heavy emphasis on seed, start-ups, early stage, or turnaround ventures. Students may work with any business, but the business plan must be original. The plan must address every aspect of the business, its potential for significant capital appreciation and attractiveness to investors. Students will be presenting the plans to a network of leading entrepreneurs, investors, and other key business professionals. All work must be original! The business may license technology from another company for manufacturing and/or distribution purposes.

6. Plans are limited to 25 pages (typed and double-spaced) of text. This includes the executive summary and summary financial data. Detailed spreadsheets and appropriate appendices can follow the text portion of the plan, but will be limited to 15 pages. In total the plan should not exceed 40 pages.

7. Summary financial data should include a cash flow statement, income statement, balance sheet, and funds required/used. Include an explanation of the offering to investors indicating how much money you want, the expected ROI, and the proposed structure of the deal, i.e. stock, debentures, etc. Also, delineate the possible exit strategies.

8. Appendices should be included only when they support the findings, statements and observations in the plan. Because of the expected number of teams/plans entering the competition, reviewers and judges may not be able to read all of the material in the appendices. Therefore, the text portion of the plan (25 pages) must contain all pertinent information in a clear and concise manner.

9. For ease in handling, we request that all copies of business plans be professionally bound (i.e. spiral, tape, etc.). Please, no 3-ring binders.

10. The Official Business Plan Submittal Form must accompany all submissions. Please contact Dr. Todd Findkle for a copy of this form.

11. PLEASE NOTE OUR OFFICIAL MAILING ADDRESS - Submissions should be mailed to:
The University of Akron
Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies
Attn: Dr. Todd A. Finkle
College of Business Administration
259 S. Broadway Street
Akron, OH 44325-4801
330-972-8479
finklet@uakron.edu

12. For Open Competition (Independent Review): Eight (8) hard copies of the business plan, one electronic copy, and the Official Business Plan Submittal form are due to the Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies by February 18, 2005 . All plans will undergo an independent review after which semi-finalists will be chosen and notified. Reviewer's comments will be returned to finalists.

13. For semi-finalist presentations, each team will be given fifteen (15) minutes to present their business plan followed by a twenty (20) minute question & answer session between the presenting team and the judges. There will be approximately 10 minutes between each presenting team for set-up/preparation.

14. A team may not observe other presentations in their judging track or question & answer sessions until after they have presented their own plan.

15. By definition, all public sessions of the competition, including but not limited to oral presentations and question/answer sessions, are open to the public at large. Further, it is likely that any and all of these public sessions will 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. Neither The University of Akron, or the Fitzgerald Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies nor their designate organizations assume any duty to screen or otherwise control the identity of those attending, viewing or hearing all or part of these public sessions, and entrants agree that by entering the competition they have been made aware that such attendees, viewers and recipients may include members of the media and members of the financial community, students and faculty.

16. Student entrants agree to allow the College of Business Administration to videotape the oral presentations and the Q&A sessions. The College of Business Administration may market and distribute these videos. Entrants agree to allow the College of Business Administration to broadcast final presentations and Q&A sessions on television and/or the Internet.

Judges Evaluation Guidelines

Evaluation will take place in two parts. Judges will evaluate the written plans a few weeks prior to the competition. Judges will again evaluate plans based on the oral presentation by each team. The final decision is based on the judges' qualitative evaluation and consultations with each other during their deliberation session following the presentations. Judges will ultimately consider the entire business concept looking at overall feasibility, combined with significant capital gains potential, attractive investment possibilities and actual implementation.

The reviewers and judges will consist of prominent entrepreneurs, investors, professional service providers and academics experienced in the entrepreneurial process. There will be 8 judges.

Each team will have the opportunity to meet in private with their judging panel after presentations are made for a "feedback session". This session is informal and is not part of the actual judging process, as the decision and announcement of which teams will advance are made beforehand.