How it Works

Three Rounds of the Hopkins Business Plan Competition:

1st Round - submission of the Executive Summaries
2nd Round - submission of the Written Business Plan
Final Round - presentations at the Finals

1st Round - Executive Summaries
The first round is the submission of the Entry Form and the Executive Summary (3 to 5 pages). Judges will then select the top eight teams per category to move onto the Finals.

     Required Forms: Submission Deadline: Sunday, March 4, 2012 at 11:59pm (ET)

1. Entry Form - please fill out the Entry Form and include all team members' contact information.
   
   
2. Executive Summary - please make your Executive Summaries no more than five pages. There is no standard format required. The summaries of the top eight teams in each category will be published in the competition manual to be distributed at the finals. Additionally, the summaries may be posted on the competition website.
   
   
3. Examples of the kind of information to be included in Executive Summaries:
   1. Company Profile, including the product/service offered
   2. Customer problem/need - describe how the product/service solves the customer problem, i.e. the value proposition
   3. Customer Profile - describe the characteristics of the target market segment in relation to the problem/need and value proposition
   4. Business Model - describe the process by which your company will generate revenues and profits
   5. Market Overview- describe the market (e.g. size of the market and the growth rate of the market)
   6. Competitive Landscape - describe the types of companies and products your company will face in your target market
   7. Competitive Advantage - describe why the products or services offered by the company are better than competing offerings
   8. Operations - provide the work plan of the business, including the current stage of development
   9. Financials- summarize the overall financial plan for at least three years, including sources and uses of startup capital
      
      
4. Please submit Entry Form and Executive Summaries directly to Business Plan Competition website. If you have any issues uploading your materials to the site, please contact the Competition Coordinator, Pam Arrington at parring2@jhu.edu or cle@jhu.edu.

2nd Round - Written Business Plans
The second round is the submission of the Written Business Plan (15 to 20 pages). Judges will provide written feedback following the Executive Summary Round.

     Required Submission: Submission Deadline: Friday, March 30, 2012 at 11:59pm (ET)

1. Written Business Plan - please submit a fifteen to twenty page business plan. There is no standard format required. For formatting ideas, please go to Resources. We will not publically display any business plans.
   
   
2. Please submit the full written business plan directly to Business Plan Competition website. If you encounter any problems please contact the Competition Coordinator, Pam Arrington at parring2@jhu.edu or cle@jhu.edu.

Final Round - Presentations Friday, April 27, 2012. Each team gives a refined seven minute Power Point presentation followed by eight minutes of questions from the judges. The judges decide the order of the winners and awards are presented at a formal dinner after the presentations.