- The first submission (due by 4 p.m. March 2, 2009) is limited to three pages total, including a two-page Executive Summary (covering product, market, employment projections, a schedule of intended activity, etc.) and a one-page Financial Statement (including projected revenues and expenses, sources and uses of start-up capital, profit model description, explanation of how the prize money would be used, etc.).
- Submissions, both preliminary and final, must include the name of the company, owners and ownership structure, principal office or place of business, and estimated number of full-time-equivalent jobs created in five years.
- The current or proposed business must be located in BDCC's Windham region (Windham County plus the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, and Weston, Vermont).
- Contestants may select which category they wish to compete in. One category only per contestant. There will be up to six finalists in each category. Final decisions about category assignment are the responsibility of the Competition Administrator. The guidelines to assign entries to each category include: Existing Businesses -- entities that have been in business for more than six months with revenue. New Business --business ideas or very early stage enterprises of six months or less and minimal revenue.
- Final business plans (due by 4 p.m. April 20, 2009) may take whatever form the contestant chooses but must address all relevant business issues: market, product, pricing, competition, distribution, ownership, and management. The Business Plan must include financial projections for three years of cash flow, sources and uses of capital infusions, and a balance sheet representing anticipated values at the beginning and the end of a three year period.
- Final presentations will take place on April 30, 2009, at the Marlboro College Tech Center starting at 9 a.m.; order will be assigned by lot.
- Each contestant will be allowed 12 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions from the judges.
- Contestants may use PowerPoint or other displays, but all supporting electronic material must be brought on portable media to be run on provided PC's running MS Office.
- Every effort will be made to be fair in all judgments.
- Initial submission will be reviewed, graded and selected by panels of 4-5 judges for each category.
- Final submission will be judged by the complete panel.
- The judges' decisions are final.
- No exceptions will be made to the announced schedule. It is the responsibility of the entrant to understand and adhere to the rules.
- The contest administrator will be Jeffrey Lewis, Executive Director of BDCC. His decision will be final on all rules interpretations or request for exceptions.
