Discovery Challenge Detailed Information

The Enterprise Gym Business Plan Competition

Registered members of the Enterprise Gym have the opportunity to compete in the Discovery Challenge. There is one business plan competition per semester running parallel to the practical training workshops and culminating in a Lion’s Den and an Awards Ceremony.

Teams

Members compete in teams of between 2 and 4 students. As of after training workout 2, “Getting Ideas”, each team needs to have identified a business idea which will form the focus of their business plan.

Business ideas may include “new to the world” products or services or conventional products and services that the team consider offer either business or social enterprise opportunity.

Rounds and Weighting

There are 5 rounds to the competition, which are based around the weekly training workshops.

Rounds 1 and 3 are judged at the end of training workshops 2 and 4 respectively and attendance is mandatory to be marked for this round. Rounds 2 and 4 are judged based on paper submissions made by each team.

The rounds are weighted as follows:

1 “Getting Ideas” (Training Workshop 2) 10%

2 “Your Marketing Plan” (Due week of Workshop 4) 10%

3 “Financial Planning” (Training Workshop 6) 10%

4 “Your Business Plan”* (Due prior to Lion’s Den) 55%

5 THE LIONS’ DEN ** 15%

The judging panel comprises appropriate Enterprise Gym Business Patrons and the Enterprise Gym Director.

Prize Money

1st £750

2nd £300

3rd £100

Price money will be distributed at the end of each semester and attendance at the award ceremony is mandatory in order to receive price money. Note that prize money is discretionary based on performance.

* Your Business Plan

The Business Plan weights 55% of the Discovery Challenge

In order to give participating students some guidance as to what’s important in their business plan, please note that the judges will be looking at the overall quality of the business plan but will be taking into consideration factors such as:

Completeness: the key components of the plan are evident and get some treatment

Consistency: the key components are consistent with one another

Thoroughness: the key components are appropriately treated in terms of depth and scope

Realism: the extent to which the plan is believable, i.e. feasible market share targets, sensible pricing, reasonable estimates of costs and the overall business viability etc

Presentation: the plan looks professional, no typographical errors, pages are numbered, contents page accurate, layout, etc

The judges will also consider the degree to which the plan demonstrates creativity, innovation and commercially significant benefits. Business plans that promote environmental sustainability will also be favoured by the judges.

If you have any questions regarding Business Plan or discovery challenge come and see us in our office hours.

** Lion’s Den

Your performance in the Den weights 15% of the Discovery Challenge

The Lion’s Den is the grand finale of the Discovery Challenge. Much like in BBC’s famous “Dragons’ Den”, teams must deliver a product pitch to a panel of 3 or 4 local business associates and bank representatives. With a weighted effect on the overall score; the pressure is truly on for this final event.

Elevator Pitch: At first it’s back to the basics. You have 30 seconds to get the Lion’s (and the audience’s) attention by showing that you have found a unique business opportunity.

You may bring a product prototype or hard copy visual aids to spice up your pitch. However the use of Power Point or the projector will not be permitted, and setting up any displays is at the discretion of the Management Team.

Presentation: You have a maximum of three minutes to expand on your elevator pitch. Topics that should be covered are: Branding&Marketing, Operations Planning, Financial Planning and what Personal Expertise you bring to your enterprise.

You may bring notes if it makes you feel more comfortable, but bear in mind it does look more professional if you know your figures of the top of your head.

Q & A: The Lions and the Enterprise Gym Management Team will then grill you in a 5 minutes Q&A session, so make sure you know your business inside out.

Remember that the judges will not have read your business plan at that point so your answers should be consistent with what you have written.

Criteria: The Lions will be looking for the quality of your elevator pitch, quality of your competitive advantage, suitability and reasons for your HR positions and your “X-Factor” in the Q&A.

Lions’ Den Cup: On the night, the Lions will present the “Lions’ Den Cup” to the team with the best pitch.