business

DARTMOUTH
ENERGY or MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY
BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

Competition FAQs

Do I have to be on-campus in spring?

If you are one of the two named student members from different schools, you must participate in the project, and one of you must be present for the final competition if selected, but provided your team can meet this requirement, and you are comfortable working remotely with your team, you should not let being off in spring hold you back from participating.

I am not a student, can I participate?

Teams can include non-students from inside or outside Dartmouth. The team must be led by a collaborative team of two co-leaders, each of whom must be students at a different school at Dartmouth, including Dartmouth College, Dartmouth Graduate Studies in the Arts and Sciences outside of engineering, Thayer School of Engineering, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth Medical School, and The Dartmouth Institute (TDI).

Can I participate if I am finishing during the academic year?

Yes, you may qualify as a student lead member provided you finish your program in fall, winter or spring of the 2010/11 academic year. You may participate on a team if you finished your program prior to these terms, but you may not serve as one of the two required student leads from different schools at Dartmouth.

I have a business idea but haven't developed the technology, can I participate?

Yes you can. If you have identified a market need and have a business idea and some sense of the technology need behind it, but need capable technical partners, we will be offering events and capabilities that will help you to find a partner to research, analyze, and possibly develop the technology.

I have a technology concept but haven't developed the business plan, can I participate?

Yes you can. If you have developed a technology but need to develop the market understanding and business plan, we will be offering events and capabilities that will help you to find a capable business planning partner.

Can I use my coursework for the competition?

Coursework is an ideal start for the competition. We anticipate that courses such as Thayer's ENGS 21 and ENGS 89/90, and Tuck's Entrepreneurship classes may be great places for seeding the technology or business plan portions of an entry.

How can I find a partner/partners?

We will be offering events and capabilities that will help you to find a partner to research, analyze, and possibly develop the technology.

Will my IP be protected?

Since the rules of the competition indicate that any submissions (written submission and oral presentations) represent a public disclosure and may be used for educational purposes, contestants should be aware of sensitive IP.

Is there a format for the competition entry?

There will be two submissions, a one page Executive Summary for the initial submission and judging round, and a Powerpoint presentation for those selected for the final live judging round. Both should cover the background and development of the technology, and the timeline, market, financials, and value proposition of the product or solution.

A template will not be provided for either submission, but organizers will try to provide tips and mentoring to help teams new to documenting and presenting technology business plans.

Who will be the judges?

The judging panel will be assembled by the sponsors (Gregg Fairbrothers and Jay Miller) and will be comprised of faculty members, technology experts, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists/angel investors.

How do I register my interest for the competition?

To receive competition updates, register your interest by filling out the short registration form.

Do you have samples of one page business plan entries similar to the one the competition requires?

Yes, please contact Sandy Rozyla (Sandra.K.Rozyla@Dartmouth.EDU) for access to some business plan samples. Give your name, affiliation (school/title) and let her know that you want to view the samples for ideas for your Dartmouth Tech business plan competition entry.