MCVC

Becky: Awards Section Liam: Calendar/ Deadline Max: Copy and paste two plans together Chris: try and make a meeting....jk

__**Mission Statement**__ The Merrimack College New Venture Business Plan Competition is a risk free program designed to enhance a Girard School’s student’s business analytical ability and skill set.

· School wide and open to the public · Sought after program · Largest mid-major venture business plan competition · 100k in annual prize money or like prizes · 50 teams
 * __ Company Goals __**

· School wide participation · Local recognition · 10k · 10 teams
 * __ Company Objectives __**

The Merrimack College New Venture Business Plan Competition (MCVC) philosophy is to provide a risk free environment that promotes out of the box thinking and application of business skills and classroom knowledge. MCVC is designed to provide the most realistic business environment to ensure the most educational experience to the participants. The competition combines the participation of Merrimack College students and local area business. Currently there exist two tiers of Business Plan competitions, Harvard and MIT make up the top tier while Grove City and Boston B-School Bean Pot make up the second tier. The top tier features prizes in the range of 50-200 thousand dollars and attract top talent from across the country. These competitions allow outside involvement by not limiting participation to students and encourage the winner to set up the company after the contest. The second tier offers prizes averaging 10 thousand dollars and limits their involvement to students and in some cases alumni. The concept behind the MCVC fulfills an untapped market among the Girard School students that participation and the success of the program are guaranteed. The competition allows us to involve the local community, alumni, and friends of Merrimack College. Initial contact with these groups has shown a strong interest in supporting the MCVC in both participation and donations. The competition committee is composed of 4 Girard School students that are highly motivated and dedicated to the betterment of Merrimack College. After pitching the idea to the Dean of the Girard School they immersed themselves in research and have become experts in the Business Plan Competition Industry. The Merrimack College New Venture Business Plan Competition will be a standalone entity inside of the Girard School. The MCVC will be run by a committee of 3-5 students that will be handpicked by current Chairs of the Committee. The committee will remain a small group to ensure efficient decision making. Roles in the committee are chair person, student liaison, business liaison, and operational director.
 * __ Business Philosophy __**

Eligibility: 1.  Any Merrimack College full time student (Undergrad or Grad) 2.  Minimum GPA of 2.0 3.  Each group must have one Girard School Student 4.  Cross disciplinary teams are encouraged 5.  Venture ideas must be original and the business plan must illustrate the differences between like products, services, or ideas 6.  Students may re-enter a non placing business plan from a previous year in the competition one additional time provided 50 percent of the original team will again participate and no additional members are added 7.  Students cannot participate on more than one team
 * __ Products and Services __**

Team and Venture Criteria: 1.  Each team must have one Girard School faculty sponsor in order to participate a.  The faculty member must have knowledge of the teams venture idea to serve as sponsor b.  The faculty member can advise but may not actively participate in the creation or presentation of the business plan c.  Faculty members are not eligible to share in any awards d.  Team size is capped at 5

After Calendar is finished  Appropriateness:  All business plans must reflect the Mission of both the Girard School and the MCVC. <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msoasciithemefont: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msofareastthemefont: minor-latin; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msohansithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 2.  If there is a question of appropriateness, the college will make the determination. <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; msoasciifontfamily: Calibri; msoasciithemefont: minor-latin; msobidifontfamily: Calibri; msobidithemefont: minor-latin; msofareastfontfamily: Calibri; msofareastthemefont: minor-latin; msohansifontfamily: Calibri; msohansithemefont: minor-latin; msolist: Ignore;"> 3.  Any team to be found cheating will face the same consequences found in the Girard School academic honesty policy. Also you will be featured in the wall of shame section of MCVC Web Site.  Format: ·  There is no right or wrong format <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Follow the advice for the workshops <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> You’re on your own. Every business plan is different. <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Content: <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The content of the Business plan will be unique to each groups idea <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> The workshops will help teams with tailoring their BP’s to their venture concepts <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Student succession plan: <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Always be run by a board of four chairpersons and overseen by a faculty advisor. <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Four chairpersons are chosen by the board, based on involvement in the Girard School, interviews, and teacher recommendations. <span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-bidi-font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol; msobidifontfamily: Symbol; msobidifontsize: 12.0pt; msofareastfontfamily: Symbol; msolist: Ignore;">· <span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> A removal of a board member requires a unanimous vote as well as a reasonable cause from the faculty advisor and the other board members. <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> A total of $10,000 will be awarded in cash prizes to the top three groups of the MCVC. Prizes will be distributed as followed: <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> First Place Team $6,000 <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Second Place Team $3,000 <span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Third Place Team $1,000
 * __<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Registration __**<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial; mso-fareast-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;">
 * __ Business Plan __**
 * __<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> Awards __**