BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION (BPC) 2010

RULES

Definitions

• Mind the Bridge (MtB) is a not-for-profit initiative to foster an Italian entrepreneurial eco-system creating an effective bridge between Italy and Silicon Valley.
  
• Mind the Bridge Business Plan Competition (BPC) is the main MtB competition and is open to companies already established or that are planning to incorporate within a year with a structured business plan based on high-knowledge concept.
• Mind the Bridge Venture Camp is an event to be held in Milan, Italy (on November 5th-6th, 2010) where a selected number of participating projects will be invited to present to a large audience that will include potential investors. A subset of the presenting start-ups will be invited to participate to the Mind the Bridge Gym.
• Mind the Bridge Gym is a mentoring program organized in Silicon Valley where the selected entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to show case their ideas to potential partners and investors. Each selected start-up will be associated to a Mind the Bridge Mentor who will follow the start-up during the period of stay. The Organizing Committee will facilitate a direct link between the startups and members of the Silicon Valley community potentially interested in the proposed business ideas.

• Training modules (called BootCamp and Coaching) are a set of courses provided by the mentorsin preparation of the Mtb Venture Camp and the MtB Gym. The courses help entrepreneurs to pitch their business ideas, to deal with a Venture Capital firm  and to prepare their financials and their legal and immigration paperworks.

• Mind the Bridge Mentors are passionate, successful entrepreneurs or managers who wish to share their knowledge and to mentor start-ups through their own experience. Key activities for a mentor will be to focus and develop the finalists business plans and to prepare them for a successful showcase during the MtB Gym in Silicon Valley.

Objectives

The objectives of the MtB Business Plan Competition are the following:

1. select, mentor and support the best innovative ideas coming from Italian entrepreneurs
2. create a direct link between new entrepreneurs and experienced entrepreneurs
3. use the network of renowned, successful entrepreneurs/managers to train young entrepreneurs, and help focus and professionalize high potential business ideas
4. provide new entrepreneurs with direct exposure to potential venture capital investors
5. create the conditions to foster a sustainable Italian entrepreneurial eco-system, spur more ideas, and subsequently reinvigorate the whole new-venture economy

Committees

• The Selection Committee is the core group that will evaluate the submitted business plans. Its members, appointed by the Board, have significant experiences as entrepreneurs, managers and investors. The Selection Committee has the following accountabilities:
• supervise and coordinate the selection process
• nominate a minimum of 2 referees to evaluate each Business Plan in the selection phase.
• eventually nominate external judges (industries’ experts) to help with the selection process

Admission Criteria

1. To be admitted in the competition it is necessary to present a business plan for a high knowledge based company
2. Participants should be companies already established or planning to incorporate before the end of the year. Priority will be given to already established companies
3. The competition is open to innovative companies with high growth potential and international approach

Application Rules

1. Participation in the Business Plan Competition is free
2. Each participant must submit his executive summary and business plan in the required format via email to BPC.SELECTION.2010@MindTheBridge.org before the final deadline
3. Each participant will receive a confirmation e-mail within 3 days. If any confirmation e-mail won’t be received, please contact INFORMATION@MindTheBridge.org
4. The whole documentation must be submitted in English in all its parts
5. By submitting the business plan, the participant declares that all the information provided is truthful and that he accepts any decision of the Selection Committee
6. The lack of information or any failure in complying with the required format (including the length of the documentation submitted) will cause the exclusion of the participant from the competition
7. If selected, the participant must attend  the MtB Venture Camp event and present his project

Deadline

The complete documentation must be received no later than 12 PM (Central European Summer Time) of:

July 31st, 2010

No business plan will be accepted later than the deadline.

Evaluation Process

The Selection Committee will evaluate each proposed project. The evaluation will be based on the following factors:

Business plan evaluation factors

1. Technical feasibility considering the proponent team skills
2. Stage of technical development already achieved
3. Product/service originality
4. Size of the target market
5. Fulfillment of a market need/requirement
6. Competition level in target market
7. Potential international appeal
8. Competitive advantage’s sustainability
9. Financial/economic growth potential
10. Entrepreneurial team quality and competences.
11. Business Plan quality and completeness

Selection Process

Submitted executive summaries and business plans are evaluated by a Selection Committee. Its members, appointed by the Board of the MTB Foundation, have significant experiences as entrepreneurs, managers and investors.

The selection process will be completed by the end of August.
We will communicate the profiles of the selected startups (MtB Business Plan Competition Semi-Finalists) on September 1st, 2010.
Semi-Finalists are admitted to the MtB Bootcamp and MtB Coaching. During these events we will select the ones eligible to present at Venture Camp.

The only individuals who will have access to your business plans will be the judges who are assigned to read your plan. These judges are largely professional venture capital investors or entrepreneurs, who regularly deal with confidential information in the course of their work. We have asked them to treat your work product with the same care and respect for confidentiality. We also ask them to remove themselves from judging your plan if they have a real conflict of interest.