2022 Business Plan Competition – The  UTRGV Center for Innovation and Commercialization (CIC), a division of the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship will hold its annual Business Plan Competition this spring. This in-person competition is open to all current University of Texas Rio Grande Valley students, faculty, staff, alumni, as well as the RGV community at large.  Winners will be determined by a pool of experienced entrepreneurs and business professionals.

   Student CategoryPrizes:

• 1st Place Winner:  $5,000
• 2nd Place Winner:  $3,500
• 3rd Place Winner:  $1,500 

   General CategoryPrizes:

• 1st Place Winner:  $5,000
• 2nd Place Winner:  $3,500
• 3rd Place Winner:  $1,500 

Timeline:

• Friday, November 12, 2021:  Info Session #1 
  • Virtual Information Session at 11:00 am via Zoom.
• Wednesday, December 8, 2021: Info Session #2
  • Virtual Information Session at 1:00 pm via Zoom
• Wednesday, January 12, 2022: Info Session #3
  • Virtual Information Session at 1:00 pm via Zoom
• Monday, February 7, 2022: Application Deadline (EXTENDED)
  • All applications must be submitted by 5:00 pm CST.
• Monday, February 14, 2022: Notification of Semi-Finalists 
• Wednesday, February 16, 2022: Semi-Finalist Information Session and Mentor Meet & Greet 
  • 1:00 - 2:00 pm via Zoom 
• Thursday, February 17, 2022:  Intent to Submit Deadline
  • Due by 5:00 pm via Startup Tree. 
• Thursday, April 7, 2022:  Full Business Plan & Final Pitch Deck Submission Deadline 
  • By 5:00 pm via Startup Tree
• Thursday, April 28, 2022:  Business Plan Competition Finale (In-Person)
  • Up to 10 student and 10 general category participants will be invited to participate in the Rafael Munguia Business Plan Competition in-person finale.
  • Each participant will have 5 minutes to deliver an elevator pitch of their venture idea followed by 5 minutes of Q&A

CONTEST RULES

Team Eligibility Criteria:

UTRGV Student Category Criteria

Team must only consist of currently enrolled full-time UTRGV undergraduate, graduate or resident students, with a four-member team limit One UTRGV Student must be the spokesperson in the 60 sec Video Up to two UTRGV Students may deliver the pitch presentation  Team cannot include any UTRGV Faculty, Staff, Alumni or Community Members  All team members must reside in the Rio Grande Valley and must plan to open their business in the RGV 

General Category Criteria

Team may consist of only UTRGV Faculty, Staff, Alumni, member of the Rio Grande Valley Community, or UTRGV part -time student with a four-member team limit Team cannot be composed of any UTRGV full - time students  Only (1) individual must be the spokesperson in the (60 sec video) Up to two team members may deliver the pitch presentation  All team members must reside in the Rio Grande Valley and must plan to open their business in the RGV 

Requirements for the Business Idea:

Generally excluded are the following: buy-outs, expansions of existing companies, real estate syndications, tax shelters, franchises, licensing agreements for distribution in a different geographical area, and spin-outs from existing corporations. Licensing technologies from universities or research labs is allowed, assuming they have not been commercialized previously. Business ideas can be drawn from any business or industry sector. Business ideas may be for both for-profit and non-profit ventures. Business must be intended to be based in the Rio Grande Valley 

Other Requirements:

Each member of the team must register and consent to the rules and requirements listed here. If consent is not received from each member, the team may not proceed to the next stage of the competition.  Consent will be required prior to executive summary submission and prior to semi-finals. All author(s) of the Executive Summary and Pitch must agree that the work they are submitting is their original work. The author(s) will retain all rights to the Liveplan Pitch Page and Elevator Pitch Video regarding its use at all times prior to and following the Competition. By participating in the Competition, author(s) give the Competition organizers the right to post the Executive Summary and/or Pitch on a password protected website in order for reviewers/judges to access the items, post comments, and assign numerical scores to the submitted items. Non-confidentiality: Some aspects of the competition, including but not limited to oral presentations and question/answer sessions, are open to the public at large. Any and all of these sessions may 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 could possibly 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.  Due to the nature of the competition, we are not able to ask judges, reviewers, staff, or the audience to agree to or sign non-disclosure statements.  However, the UTRGV Center for Innovation & Commercialization will make every effort to limit distribution of any submitted and presented business materials during the competition.  We cannot guarantee that other individuals will not obtain access to electronic or hard copies of any submitted materials.  The Business Plan Virtual Finale will be open to the public and will be recorded.  Attendance by media personnel is expected and final presentations may be posted on the Center for Innovation & Commercialization website for public consumption.  Copyrights & Permissions: If a team uses copyrighted materials and/or images from a third-party in their presentation or business plan, they must obtain permission and authorization in advance from the owners to use this material.

LivePlan Pitch Page Template Guidelines 

Your team is required to complete the Liveplan Pitch Page and submit it via Startup Tree by 5:00PM CST on Monday, February 7, 2022.  The electronic copy should be named according to the following format: LPPT_TeamName.pdf.

Up to 10 teams in each of the two competing categories (Students and General) will be selected as finalists based on the quality of their completed Liveplan Pitch Page and the Elevator Pitch Video.  Teams will be notified of whether they are invited to advance in the BPC Competition by Monday, February 14, 2022.

Live Plan Pitch Page found HERE.

Reviewer/Judging Criteria

Reviewers and judges for the competition will be drawn from business leaders, alumni, faculty, and investment professionals in the RGV community.  

Judges will score the teams’ deliverables using their judgment with respect to each of the sections in the Liveplan Pitch Page Template.  The top seven teams in each competitive category receiving the highest collective scores on the Liveplan Pitch Page and Elevator Pitch Video will advance to the Business Plan Virtual Finale.

The decisions of the reviewers or judges in each round of the Business Plan Competition are final.  

Elevator Pitch Video Guidelines

• One person only on video.
• Limit of 60 seconds.
• No demos of your technology, just you talking.
• No power point/Google slides can be shown in place of the person pitching, but you can have a static slide in the background if you like.
• A laptop webcam, tablet or smartphone can be used to record your video. If you use your smartphone, please record horizontally.
• The preferred resolution is (1920 x 1080) at 30 fps (frames per second), but this is not required.
• Resolution and frame rate information can be found in your device’s manual/online.
• Set up your camera in a quiet space, so your audio can be heard.
• Make sure your recording device is stable and positioned at eye level. You can use a stack of books to raise your recording device to the appropriate height.
• Position yourself in the center of the screen and not too close to the camera. Proper framing should be from the waist up.
• Areas with plenty of natural light are ideal for filming, but please avoid recording in front of a window.
• Clear your background of any clutter.
• Please do not use props, slides, a podium, or any other materials.
• When you’re ready to record, press the button, look at the camera, wait three seconds, and begin speaking. Your elevator pitch can be 60 seconds.
• When you are finished with your presentation, stop recording immediately.
• Please note the location where you saved your file, as you’ll need to find it for submission.
• Please save your file as “YourStartupName_EVP.MP4” An *.MP4 is the most common video file type. It is preferred, but not required. Most modern file formats will suffice. If our video partner is unable to convert your file, we may contact you.
• We recommend uploading your elevator pitch video recording to one of the common video sharing applications like Vimeo, YouTube, One Drive, and Drop Box.
• Before submitting, play back your video to ensure the recording captured your full elevator pitch. Listen to ensure you were loud enough and the recording didn’t pick up background noise.
• Ensure access is granted for your video to be viewed by judges.
• Copy and paste the link for your elevator pitch video to the application.

Advisor Guidelines

Teams must provide all advisors with the competition’s advisor guidelines (i.e., the “dos and don’ts”).  Teams must also report the names of their advisors when submitting deliverables.

Do’s: Activities that are Encouraged:

Do respond to questions and concerns from teams. Do read and give constructive feedback on each aspect of the Liveplan Pitch Page and Elevator Pitch Video. Do suggest other resources or individuals with whom teams can consult. Do identify weaknesses in the business idea that may concern investors and suggest ways of dealing with these concerns. Do keep the Liveplan Pitch Page and Elevator Pitch Video confidential except if asked to distribute it by the team.

Don’ts: Activities that are Discouraged:

Don’t write or re-write any part of the Liveplan Pitch Page or Elevator Pitch Video. All work should be the work product of team members only. Don't substantially steer the development of the business idea or take leadership of the team. Don't, if advising more than one team, discuss information about or your advisory activities for one team with the other team. Don't discuss the team’s work with individuals involved in reviewing or judging the Competition. Don't distribute the Liveplan Pitch Page or Elevator Pitch Video to others without permission of the team or use the information or ideas in it for purposes other than acting as an advisor in the Competition.

Prizes are taxable income to the recipient and will be subject to all applicable federal tax withholding and reporting regulations in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service. By accepting this prize, you understand that if the recipient is:

1. A UTRGV employee, taxes will be collected on the next available payroll cycle.

2. A Nonresident Alien, taxes will be deducted upfront through Accounts Payable. 

3. A UTRGV student or Non-UTRGV community (U.S. Citizen/U.S. Permanent Resident), the prize value will be subject to 1099-MISC reporting guidelines.