INSTITUTE FOR INNOVATION AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP (I4IE)

All CWU students and student teams are encouraged to enter the Business Plan Competition (BPC).  Each student or student team must have a faculty, staff or community member as an official mentor for the BPC.

Download the criteria and information packet HERE.

For help writing the business plan abstract, click HERE.

A total of $10,000 for business start-up funding (e.g., seed money grants) is available for the 2013 BPC.  The 1st place winner will receive $5,000, the 2nd place winner will receive $3,000 and the 3rd place winner will receive $2,000.

Step 1:  Create and submit a 250 word written abstract of your business plan to the SOURCE website by noon, March 11, 2013.

Step 2: By March 20, authors submitting meritorious abstracts will be notified to submit a full written business plan by noon, April 11.

Step 3: By April 26, authors submitting a meritorious business plan will be notified that their business plan was accepted for an oral presentation at SOURCE on May 16.

Step 4: On Thursday, May 16, at SOURCE, selected authors will orally present their business plan and compete for seed money grants.  Oral presentations will be judged by the criteria and scoring guidelines.

Step 5: BPC awardees will be announced on May 22 at the SOURCE awards ceremony.

Additional Information:

• Previous winners of the BPC are not eligible to compete.
• At the time of abstract submission, you must indicate the name and contact information of your mentor.
• Awards will be distributed after the completion of set deliverables agrees upon by the student(s) and I4IE.
• The cash awards in the BPC are not wages from the University and there will be no withholdings for any required tax payments.  Students receiving awards will receive an IRS Form 1099 early in the following  calendar year for the payments indicating the amount of the payment.  A copy of the IRS Form 1099 is sent to the IRS.  Please plan for a tax liability accordingly.  If you receive financial aid, please be aware also that there may be implications for the need-based portion of your award in a subsequent year.

For more information, email Dr. Roy Savoian (I4IE contact) at savoianr@cwu.edu or Dr. Kara Gabriel (SOURCE contact) at gabrielk@cwu.edu

The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (I4IE) Business Plan competition is sponsored by the Herbert B. Jones Foundation and presented by the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at CWU and SOURCE.