Rensselaer Business Plan Competition
Where Innovation Meets Motivation!

Welcome to the Rensselaer Business Plan Competition website. There are many competitions that student entrepreneurs can take part in; get the preparation you need by taking part in this on-campus competition. The goal for the Rensselaer Business Plan Competition is not only to provide teams with prizes of cash and in-kind services, but also to provide student entrepreneurs with the opportunity to improve their business plan through workshops, coaching and judging feedback sessions in preparation for the myriad of competition opportunities held annually each spring across the nation.   

2013 Winning Teams
2013 Program with Team Descriptions
View the pictures

2012 Winning Teams
2012 Program with Team Descriptions

Qualification Criteria

Teams

1. This competition is open to graduate and undergraduate students.
2. Each team must be made of at least half RPI students.
3. Students must be enrolled for the 2012-2013 academic year.
4. Students may not participate on more than 1 team each year of the competition.
5. RPI students must play an integral role in each team.
6. If the competition is split into graduate and undergraduate tracks, teams must enter in the division dictated by the highest education level of all the team members. This decision will be made after all submissions are received.

Business Plans

1. Plans can be for a product, service, process or technique.
2. The submission must be unique to the market.
3. Your submission does not have to be technology-driven.

Submissions

Intent to submit is a simple email sent to SCTE@rpi.edu that should include: team name, each member's name, area of study and grad status (UG or G), 1-2 sentence description of your innovation and the team's primary contact person.

The 2-page submission, should describe your business idea without revealing any proprietary information. We don't want to know what your secret sauce is. Part of this process is learning how to write and present your innovation in an intriguing manner without revealing your intellectual property.

Presentations

If chosen and notified, teams will be asked to present their business plan to a panel of judges for Round One. Each presentation is limited to 10 minutes. This time frame will be strictly enforced by a time keeper. Teams are allowed to use visual aids as they see fit. At the end of the 10 minutes, the judging panel will have 5 minutes to ask questions and provide feedback and coaching. Teams are encouraged to evaluate and/or incorporate the judges' feedback in preparation for final presentations. Final presentations will follow the same format as Round One.

Presentation guide available here.

Judging

Judges will consist of community members, faculty, staff and alumni with varying backgrounds in entrepreneurship and business. Day1 (qualifying round) judges will provide the teams with feedback for fine-tuning and clarifying their presentations. The top 8 teams in each track will move on to Day 2 (final round). These judges will evaluate presentations and determine the winners.

Prizes

Over $15,000 in cash and in-kind services are available this year. If awarded a monetary prize, the money will be distributed in increments based on achieved milestones.

Sponsors

Heslin, Rothenberg, Farley & Mesiti, P.C.

The law offices of Heslin, Rothenberg, Farley & Mesiti, P.C. have graciously donated in-kind services to the first place team(s). Heslin, Rothenberg, Farley & Mesiti, P.C. is the largest law firm in New York's Tech Valley, devoted exclusively to intellectual property law. The firm handles all aspects of acquiring and enforcing intellectual property rights, both domestic and
foreign, including licensing and litigation.

Entrepreneurs' Organization of Albany

The Entrepreneurs' Organization (EO) is a global business network of 8,000+ business owners in 122 chapters and 35 countries. EO enables small and large business owners to learn from each other, leading to greater business success and an enriched personal life. Our vision is to build the world's most influential entrepreneur community, which aligns with our mission of supporting entrepreneurial education and engaging entrepreneurs to learn and grow.

CornerStone Telephone

CornerStone Telephone is the single source of advanced communication and networking systems for businesses of all sizes. If you are a business owner or IT manager, we will empower you with functionality and control, so you can increase the productivity of your people. Whether you want to better manage growth or consolidate voice and data services, CornerStone has multiple configuration options that can be customized to meet your specific needs.

Rensselaer's Center for Automation Technologies and Systems

The Center for Automation Technologies and Systems (CATS) provides an effective interface to leverage a broad range of research resources in automation at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, with highly trained
technical staff to provide project management that matches industrial requirements and schedules. Our unique combination of leading research, excellence in theory and analysis, practical design and process implementation has paid off for numerous industrial partners.

Center for Future Energy Systems

Rensselaer's Center for Future Energy Systems is the Energy Center for Advanced Technology (Energy CAT) in New York State and is funded by NYSTAR (New York State Office of Science, Technology and Innovation) and industrial partners. CFES conducts fundamental and applied research to accelerate the development of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies.

Were you looking for the High School Student Business Plan Competition page? Click here.