$25K Slaight Communications Business Plan Competition

 
Select a Chapter:
 Overview
What is this competition about?
The competition is about you, an aspiring Ryerson student who has a great idea for a new business, a burning desire to launch it, and a need for some seed capital to get it started. Thanks to a generous donation from Mr. Allan Slaight of Slaight Communications, Ryerson University is able to operate a competition where committed entrepreneurial students can be supported in the their desires to create new businesses in the community.

Why YOU should enter?
There are lots of reasons. It's a fun experience. It looks great on a resume. And if you are serious about starting a business, it's a great way to get expert feedback on your idea and your plan. You can make some great new contacts that can help you get started on your business idea and get you some media attention. You might even meet an investor who wants to put money into your business. And if your goal is to successfully implement your idea, there's the small matter of the $25,000 cash prize.

What do you need to provide?
You enter the competition by providing the requisite copies of a business plan, at the stated time and place. If you decide to enter the competition, you are implicitly agreeing to the following:

To have your plan read by the judges and SBM faculty members, and to have it retained for future comparison purposes.

To sign a waiver of liability in favour of the University and Slaight Communications. You must sign the waiver or you will not be permitted to present to the judges.

To present your business idea to the judges and an audience of the general public.

To meet with and provide information to representatives of the local media

To participate fully in the awards night ceremony, including being on stage to receive your prize, and having your photograph taken and used for promotional purposes by Ryerson University or Slaight Communications.

Who can I talk to if I have a question that is not answered here?
General inquires can be made to:

bpc@startmeupryerson.com
 How the competition works?
Create a business plan
You have a great idea, so why not turn it into something real? Create a business plan, using everything you've learned about business, and every source of help you can tap into. Submit your plan and make the shortlist. Enter into the competition (see details under > Submitting Your Business Plan), and wait to see if you make the shortlist.

Present your business plan
If you make the shortlist, you will be invited to make a live presentation to the judges of the competition along with an audience that may consist of entrepreneurs, investors, local media, and Ryerson faculty members.

Win $25,000!!!!!!

Based on the presentations, you will have a chance to win the $25,000 grand prize and be celebrated at the awards night ceremony. If you win, you will be able to reimburse your valid business expenses by drawing against your $25,000 prize amount.

 Submitting Your Business Plan
Regardless of field of study or expertise Ryerson University students can participate in the $25,000 Slaight Communications Business Plan Competition. Eligibility to apply to compete is as follows:

A team may apply to compete in the $25,000 Slaight Communications Business Plan Competition if the majority of the business owners are current students (full-time, part-time, con-ed) or those individuals who hold a diploma after February 12th, 2005 so long as they can provide a student identification number.

Submit your Business Plan for feedback from MBA's from the Ted Roger's School of Management
To receive MBA feedback on your business plan, submit your business plan according to the directions below under registering. To be eligible for MBA feedback, you must register your team by 6:00 PM on February 12th, 2010.

**Any MBA students that agree to provide feedback for their peers are not eligible to compete**

Submit your Business Plan for the $25,000 Slaight Communications Business Plan Competition
You must submit three (3) bound copies of your own business plan to Joanne Di Bratto, Student Achievement Coordinator, Ted Rogers School of Management, 55 Dundas St. W., in the Ryerson Business Building TRS 1-004 located on the seventh floor. The submission must be made by the proposed deadline of March 12th, 2010 starting from 9:00am EST until closing at 4:00pm EST.

Register Your Team
Please register to become an active participant in the Business Plan Competition.

To register please send an e-mail with the following items listed below to: bpc@startmeupryerson.com
   • Company Name
   • Names of Team Members with Accompanying Student Numbers
   • Company Biography
   • **Attached Team Photo (Optional)
   • **Attached Company Logo (If Applicable)

In addition, registering entails that your team fully understands the rules and details of the $25,000 Slaight Communications Business Plan Competition.

Note: If you submitted your plan for the first round of submissions, you do not need to resubmit your company information for registration, but you must resubmit the plans according to the guidelines for the final submission.
 Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to be a business student?
The competition is not limited to business students. We welcome entries from all faculties across Ryerson for current students.

Should I work on this as in individual or part of a group?
This is entirely up to you. However, most entries from previous years have been group efforts. There is no limit on group size.

I am about to graduate. Can I still enter?
Yes, provided you are a registered student in good academic standing at the time you submit your business plan.

I recently graduated from Ryerson. Can I enter?
Yes, you can enter providing that you either have a current Ryerson student involved in your team or you hire a Ryerson student to your company later on.

My business partners are not Ryerson students. Can we still enter?
Yes. However, the current Ryerson student(s) within the group must be the majority owners in the business, owning at least a 51% share in total.

What kinds of companies have won in the previous years?
Some recent winning ideas have included an information technology company, an aquaculture operation, and a trash removal business.

If an MBA student is giving feedback on my plan, can that student still enter?
No, all MBA students that are giving feedback on plans are not allowed to submit business plans.

 The Judging Process
Evaluating the entries
All the eligible entries are screened for general suitability before being passed to the judges. The judges will read and assess the business plans according to their judging criteria. They then prepare a shortlist of entries (usually a week after the submission deadline) that will be invited to present in front of the judges and an invited audience on the competition date scheduled (Times and day of event schedules are coming soon, please check the StartMeUp Ryerson homepage for details).

The Judges
Each year a new panel of judges is established. Typically the panel consists of three judges, who may consist of Ryerson faculty members, business people from the local community, professional investors, recent graduates, or past winners of the prize.

Each judge applies their own individual perspective. But overall, all judges are looking for three things: how attractive is the opportunity that you have spotted, how complete and effective is your plan to implement and exploit this opportunity, and how likely are you to be able to sustain the operation of this business into the future.

You should not make direct contact with the judges. Direct any inquiries to the management team at bpc@startmeupryerson.com who will pass them to the judges if necessary.

Making the Shortlist
Student Services will contact all those who make the short list, within one week of the submission deadline. If you do not hear from Student Services at this time, you unfortunately were eliminated from the competition.

You will be notified by Student Services if you make the shortlist. Then you will be invited to make a live presentation to the judges (usually on the afternoon of the fourth Thursday of May), where you will have the opportunity

to further explain your business idea, to answer their questions, and to hear their comments and suggestions.

About the Presentation
You will be assigned a timeslot for 20 minutes of presentation followed by 10 minutes of Q&A from the judges and from anyone in the audience. These time limits are very strictly enforced, so you should practice adhering to them. During your time on stage, you may present in any manner that you prefer. If you would like to use a PowerPoint presentation, you must provide a final electronic copy to the management team at bpc@startmeupryerson.com with the subject line: "BPC (Team Name) Powerpoint" at least 48 hours before the event so that it can be pre-loaded onto the computers.

Feedback from the Judges
Shortlisted entrants will have the opportunity to meet with the judges during their presentations, and during the public feedback sessions after the judges have deliberated. You can also meet with them during a reception after the competition to discuss further and in more detail. It is not uncommon for shortlisted entrants, who do not win the prize, to still meet with the judges and SBM faculty members after the competition is over, to get more feedback and suggestions for improving their business ideas.

The Verdict and What is to Follow
Student Services will notify you if the judges select you as the winner. You will be required to sign a release form that protects the University and our sponsor(s). And you will be required to agree to participate fully in the awards night ceremony. At the awards night, your achievement will be celebrated, and you will receive your prize from a representative of Slaight Communications.

Retrieving Documents After the Competition
Don't count on it. Plans may be retained by judges to serve as a benchmark for future years, or may be destroyed. In all cases they will be treated with confidentiality. But you should not expect to get your material back. So, use your judgement on whether you want to include any expensive media or physical products with your submission.

Confidentiality
Only the judges and Ryerson faculty members will have access to the material you submit as your business plan, and they will keep it confidential. It will not be shared with other students, or with third parties, unless authorized. If the media inquires about any submissions, we may tell them what kinds of businesses are proposed, and what kinds of students have entered. But if they want details about your business idea, we will direct them to you. If you are invited to present as a shortlisted entrant, you should be aware that the audience may also contain investors, entrepreneurs from the community, local media, students, and others who are interested in hearing about new business ideas and are not bound by any confidentiality requirements.

 The Grand Prize
If you win, the $25,000 prize money becomes available to you after the awards night ceremony. As you incur valid expenses in the launch or operation of your business, you can draw against these funds for reimbursement.

All entrants who make the shortlist and present to the judges (including the winner) will be eligible for up to another $15,000 of debt financing provided through the Canadian Youth Business Federation (CYBF) and another $15,000 of debt financing provided through the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC). Mentoring services and other valuable support are also provided by CYBF. Most shortlisted entrants find that the contacts made with the judges and the ongoing feedback and support they provide are very valuable in getting their businesses launched successfully.

 Your Business Plan
New Business?
You may submit a business plan for a company that does not exist yet. We strongly encourage the formation of new businesses as the prize money can only be used for the actual implementation of the business plan. Therefore the prize money can only be reimbursed against valid business expenses incurred through creating and launching the new business.

Existing Business?
If your company is already operating, you may still submit a business plan for the growth and expansion of the current business, provided that you meet all of the eligibility criteria (see "eligibility")

Both new and existing businesses will be judged on the same basis.

Re-using a Business Plan?
If you previously created a business plan for a course assignment, the competition is open to such submissions. However, you may want to check with the instructor of the course to see if there are any restrictions on reusing it. Be sure to take into consideration any feedback you got from our instruction in order to improve the plan for the competition.

Type of Business?
There are no restrictions in terms of the type of businesses (i.e. high-tech businesses) for which the business plan is created. We welcome all kinds of business ideas.

Attend Our Seminars!
SIFE Ryerson hosts a number of seminars to help you get ready for the competition and assist you in creating a great business plan. These include half-day seminars you may want to intend that occur from time to time. Beginning with choosing and evaluating the right business opportunity to writing a business plan document and presenting it to audiences. Find out more.

Ask your Professors
Your professors are there to help you, and they can be a great source of information and assistance in creating your business plan. Just as in the real business world, you can seek as much outside advance and help as you want. However, if the professor you approach has agreed to serve as a judge this year, then your request for help from them will be gently refused.

Ryerson University
Within Ryerson University there are number of courses that teach entrepreneurship and teach how to create business plans.

The Faculty of Business several courses where business plans are a major component.
The Faculty of Engineering also have business planning courses.
Online Business Plan Mentorship Program

The StartMeUp Program offers online business plan courses with one-on-one Mentorship. This is a great chance for anyone who does not know how to create a business plan to develop their plan with help and guidance.

Creating a good business plan is a subject where tons of material has been written and developed. The Internet, in particular, is brimming with websites about how to create business plans, and templates you might consider. Most banks and management consulting companies also have template kids for their small-business clients. But be forewarned, having a good template is not very helpful if you haven't thought clearly about what to put into it.