2024 UTRGV Business Plan Competition – The UTRGV Center for Innovation & Commercialization, a division of the Robert C. Vackar College of Business and Entrepreneurship, will hold its annual Business Plan Competition this spring. All full-time UTRGV students are welcome to apply. Winners will be determined by a pool of judges comprised of experienced entrepreneurs and business professionals. 

Prizes:

• 1st Place Winner: $10,000
• 2nd Place Winner: $5,000
• 3rd Place Winner: $3,000

   Timeline:

First Round of Application Due (Submit Liveplan Pitch Page): Wednesday, February 7 @ 11:59 PM via Startup Tree

First Round of Reviewing: Thursday, February 8 - Thursday, February 15

First Round of Semi-Finalist Info Session: Friday, February 16

Intent to Submit Form Deadline:  Friday, February 16 by 5:00 PM 

Application Deadline for Second Round: Friday, March 15 at noon via Startup Tree (Full Business Plan Due) 

Second Round of Reviewing (Evaluation of Full Business Plans): Friday, March 15- Friday, April 5

Finalists Announced: Monday, April 8 

Finalist Information Session & Mentor Meet and Greet - Wednesday, April 10

Finalist Pitch Deck Workshop - Friday, April 12

Final Pitch Deck Submission - Friday, April 19

Competition Finale - Friday, April 26 at noon at the UTRGV CIC 

CONTEST RULES

Team Eligibility Criteria:

Team must only consist of currently enrolled full-time UTRGV undergraduate, graduate, or resident students, with a four-member team limit. Only one UTRGV student may be the spokesperson in the 60-second 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.

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 spinouts from existing corporations. Licensing technologies from universities or research labs are allowed, assuming they have not been commercialized previously. Business ideas can be drawn from any business or industry sector. Business ideas may be for either for-profit or non-profit ventures. The Rio Grande Valley must be where the business is intended to be based.

Other Requirements:

Each member of the team must register and consent to the rules and requirements listed on this page. 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 confirm 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 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 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 Competition Finale will be open to the public and will be recorded. Attendance by media personnel is expected and excerpts of final presentations may be posted on the Center for Innovation & Commercialization website and social media 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 StartupTree by Friday, February 7, 2024 by 11:59 pm.  The electronic copy should be named according to the following format: LPPT_TeamName.pdf.

Up to 10 teams will be selected as semi-finalists based on the quality of their completed LivePlan Pitch Page and the Elevator Pitch Video. Teams will be notified of whether or not they are invited to advance in the competition by Thursday, February 15, 2024

Please note that the Center for Innovation & Commercialization reserves the right to cancel or postpone the competition due to low application numbers, applicants backing out, or other potential issues, and will move forward as the organizing team sees fit.

Live Plan Pitch Page found HERE.

Reviewer/Judging Criteria

The pool of reviewers and judges for the competition will be comprised of local business leaders, university faculty, and investment professionals from the RGV community. 

Judges will score the teams’ deliverables using their best judgment with respect to each of the sections in the LivePlan Pitch Page Template. The top ten teams receiving the highest collective scores on the LivePlan Pitch Page and Elevator Pitch Video will advance to the second round of the competition and will be invited to submit their full business plans for review. 

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

Elevator Pitch Video Guidelines

• Only one person is allowed in the elevator pitch video.
• The video should be no longer than 60 seconds.
• The video should not consist of any demos of your technology or product; it should just be the representative talking.
• No PowerPoint/Google slides can be shown in place of the representative 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 (professional video equipment not required). If you use your smartphone, please record horizontally.
• Set up your camera in a quiet space, so your audio can be heard easily.
• 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. Ideal framing should be from about the waist up.
• Areas with plenty of natural light are ideal for filming, but please avoid recording in front of a window. Your light source should be in front of you (the subject) and behind the camera.
• 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 up to 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, or Drop Box.
• Before submitting, play back your video to ensure the recording captured your full elevator pitch. Listen to ensure that you were loud enough and that 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 into your application.

Advisor Guidelines

Teams must provide all advisors with the competition’s advisor guidelines (i.e., the “do’s 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 which 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 by the team to distribute it.

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 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. Don’t use the information or ideas in the pitch page or video for any purpose 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:

A UTRGV employee, taxes will be collected on the next available payroll cycle. A Nonresident Alien, taxes will be deducted upfront through Accounts Payable. 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.