Meet and present your plan to a Who’s Who of influential entrepreneurs

Finalist judges for The Nicol Entrepreneurial Award consist of a panel of respected professionals who dedicate many hours during the year to reading plans and providing insightful feedback to teams. They can be segmented into three general categories:

• Venture capitalists and angel investors
• Successful entrepreneurs
• Professional services providers working in the venture community

In choosing The Nicol Entrepreneurial Award winner, all judges read the business plans of all finalists. Finalists make a 15-minute oral presentation of their plans, including demos if appropriate. The judges have 15 minutes for questions and answers with each team. After all teams have presented, the judges select the winning team.

What do judges look for in a plan?

The judges consider many different issues when evaluating executive summaries and business plans, including:

• Is the business opportunity as presented both highly attractive and clearly realistic?
• Does the plan and the team promoting it have the Entrepreneurial spirit to succeed?
• Does the team have the necessary communication skills to present a compelling story?
• Are the team members dedicated to the venture and their roles in the group?
• Is the team focused on its target market?
• Is the team of sufficient breadth, balance and quality to make its ideas happen?
• What roles will the team members play in the venture?
• Is the plan clear and well-written?
• Who will be the first customer(s)?
• Has the team already gone out to the market to test its ideas?
• Why is this business going to be around, and a real world winner, in five years?
• What comparisons are there to past success stories that indicate this venture will succeed?
• Is the business defensible from competitors?
• What is the business model?
• Does the team have a clear plan for spending the investment money it receives?
• What is the amount of up-front capital investment required?
• Do the market and financial projections demonstrate that the team understands its business?
• How long will it take from the current stage of development to bring this to market?
• Can this venture achieve a leadership position in its market?
• What is the expected time and amount of pay-off to investors?

Next page: National Competition Judges