> Home
> About the Award
> The Process
> Participating Schools

> Alumni
> Media
> Contact Us

Have Waffle...Will Travel

Participant: Virginia Block, Queen’s University
Business name: Liège Waffle, Belgium’s Secret Pearl
Concept: a scrumptious fresh cooked waffle that is made quickly and with yummy all natural ingredients: yeast risen dough and sweetened by pearls of sugar that bust and caramelize when they hit a sizzling hot waffle iron. Targeting high-traffic metropolitan locations the waffles will be promoted as a tantalizing “snack to go” for the harried commuter in search of old fashioned goodness: nothing to waffle about. More Finalists >

Overview
Local Competition
National Competition
Judging
2008 Judges
Award Ceremony

>
>
>
>
>

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

Finalist judges for The Nicol Entrepreneurial Awards 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 Awards winner, all judges read the business plans of all finalists. Finalists make a 20-minute oral presentation of their plans, including demos if appropriate. The judges have about 10 minutes for questions and answers with each team. After all teams have presented, the judges select the runners-up and 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?
• Is the business defensible from competitors?
• What is the business model?
• What comparisons are there to past success stories that indicate this venture will succeed?
• 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?
• Has the team already gone out to the market to test its ideas?
• Who will be the first customer(s)?
• Is the team of sufficient breadth, balance and quality to make its ideas happen?
• Is the team focused on its target market?
• What is the expected time and amount of pay-off to investors?
• Is the plan clear and well-written?
• Does the team have the necessary communication skills to present a compelling story?
• What roles will the team members play in the venture?
• Are the team members dedicated to the venture and their roles in the group?
• Does the team have a clear plan for spending the investment money it receives?
• Why is this business going to be around, and a real world winner, in five years?
• Does the plan and the team promoting it have the Entrepreneurial spirit to succeed?