The Cozad New Venture Competition

The Technology Entrepreneur Center and the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership would like to present the 10th annual Cozad New Venture Competition.

General Information

The Cozad New Venture Competition (CNVC) is designed to encourage students, researchers, and community members to create new sustainable businesses in the Champaign-Urbana area. The competition encourages the development of the entrepreneurial spirit through teamwork and competition. Teams are invited to create a business plan around a topic of their choice. Assistance is available in the form of mentors, workshops, and courses to guide teams through the phases of business plan creation.

Three competitive divisions provide for a wide range of opportunities for different ventures:

Commercial Venture Division: Viable ventures with high commercial potential.

Social Venture Division: Profit or non-profit ventures, with an emphasis on creating and sustaining social value. This may include introducing new entrepreneurial concepts, programs or initiatives within existing organizations.

Green Venture Division: Viable ventures with a focus on innovative products or processes that address ecological or conservation concerns.

There is no limit to the number of teams that can enter the CNVC. Teams may not enter in more than one division. Students, however, can serve on multiple teams, in multiple divisions. The Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) will work with judges to determine three finalist teams for each of the three divisions, for a total of nine teams that will present their business plan at the finals event. Teams in the final round will compete for an estimated $60,000 in cash, plus valuable in-kind prizes. Finalists and winners will have the opportunity to meet with venture capitalists, early stage investors and successful entrepreneurs who will serve as judges for the finals round.

Rules and Submission Requirements

Official Rules and Submission Requirements

Ability to participate in the CNVC is determined by the criteria outlined below.  Please note the following key dates (all times in this document, unless otherwise noted, are Central Time):

General Information:
The V. Dale Cozad New Venture Competition (CNVC) is designed to encourage students, researchers, and community members to create new sustainable businesses in the Champaign-Urbana area.  The contest encourages the development of the entrepreneurial spirit through teamwork and competition.  Teams are invited to create a venture pitch around an idea of their choice. Assistance is available in the form of mentors, workshops, and courses to guide teams through the phases of venture creation.

Various prizes provide for a wide range of opportunities for different ventures.  Your venture idea may focus on a technology, consumer product, service, even a social venture.  Teams may have members from any College.  More information regarding specific prize categories is available in the Prizes section of this document.

There is no limit to the number of teams that can enter the CNVC. The Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC) and the Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership (Academy) will work with judges to determine a list of finalist teams that will present their venture pitches at the Finals Event.  Teams in the final round will compete for an estimated $40,000 in cash, plus valuable in-kind prizes.  Finalists and winners will have the opportunity to meet with venture capitalists, early stage investors and successful entrepreneurs who will serve as judges for the finals round.

Entry deadline:
Each team must indicate their intent to compete in the CNVC no later than Friday, January 22, 2010 , by 5:00 PM.  To enter, one individual from each team should complete the Online Intent to Compete form available through http://younoodle.com/groups/cozadcompetition from 11/17/09 through 1/22/10 by 5:00 PM.  Each team member must sign a Rules Acknowledgement and Waiver form (click here) and turn it in to the TEC (350 Coordinated Science Laboratory (CSL), 1308 W. Main St., U.) by Monday, February 8, 2010.  Failure to turn in necessary forms may result in ineligibility for the team.  (For complete eligibility requirements, please see the “Eligibility” section of this document.)

Each team should submit a One Page Business Plan (OPBP). The form is on the YouNoodle website, available from 1/23/10 to 2/5/10.  OPBPs must be submitted via this form – alternate forms will not be accepted.  OPBPs must be submitted by Monday, February 1, 2010. The OPBP round is not a qualification round – that is, no teams will be eliminated in this round.  The OPBP is meant to be a way for teams to receive feedback from TEC and Academy faculty and other experts.  Feedback will be provided to teams by 5:00 PM on Friday, February 5, 2010.

Participating teams must submit a five page summary of their venture and a pitch presentation to the Technology Entrepreneur Center by 5:00 PM onWednesday, February 17, 2010.   No late materials will be accepted.  Materials must be submitted via the guidelines outlined in the “Submission Materials Guidelines” section of this document.  Plans that do not adhere to these guidelines will not be accepted, and the corresponding teams will be disqualified.

Withdrawal Penalty:
Spaces for finalist teams are limited, and a last-minute cancellation could prevent another team from competing.  Teams that wish to withdraw from the competition after submitting final venture pitch materials should do so by alerting the TEC via email at tec@illinois.edu.  The deadline for withdrawal from the competition is Monday, March 1, 2010 by 5:00 PM.

All members of teams that withdraw or are otherwise disqualified after the withdrawal deadline for any reason, will not be allowed to enter or participate in the CNVC for one subsequent year.  Additionally, members of teams that are disqualified for reasons of ethical or legal concern will not be allowed to compete in future CNVCs at any time.

Cash Prizes and Awards

In total, an estimated $75,000 in cash and in-kind prizes will be awarded to the winning teams and finalists.  An illustrative list of potential prizes follows.  Prize information will be continually updated on the competition website.

[Grand Prize] Most Fundable Venture
Best Elevator Pitch
Best Green/Clean Tech Venture
Best Social/Non-Profit Venture
Best Consumer Product
Best Bootstrapped Venture

The actual prize monies and service/product prizes will be determined by the level of sponsorship raised at the time of the Finals Event. 

Cash Prize Conditions
The venture presentation and document should address how the money will be used in the business. If, in the opinion of the judges, the proposed ventures do not represent a favorable business opportunity, then the prize money or some portion of the prize money will not be awarded.  Judges are under no obligation to award all – or any – of the prize money.

Cash prizes will be awarded to the organization that is created (therefore a company or non-profit must be formed and leadership identified).  A business account with a recognized, preferably local, bank must be established.

An initial cash award of $1,000 will be deposited in the organization’s account upon approval by the panel of judges for each division.  Remaining cash awards will be disbursedto organizations, upon completion of benchmarks identified in advance.  Full cash award must be completed (allocated) within one year of winning the CNVC.

There may be individuals on teams who do not wish to join the venture that is formed.  The organization may pay these team members a portion of the prize money, not to exceed $250 per team member.  The total prize money that may be allocated for this purpose for any individual team is $750.  Teams are encouraged to set these amounts, in writing, before submitting the Intent to Compete form.

In addition, a cash prize of $500 will be awarded to the team that wins the elevator pitch competition at the Finals Event.  This prize will be combined with the team’s other prizes and will be disbursed, with the other cash prizes, to the organization for business purposes.

Description of In-Kind Prizes and Terms
In-kind products and services of approximately equal value, donated from IP attorneys, business incubators, accountants, and other service providers, will be awarded on an as needed basis.  The services can only be applied to the venture presented in the final rounds of the CNVC.

Assistance that the service providers will be providing is considered advice, and therefore those providers will assume no professional liability in the course of donating these services.

Teams must use the donated services within one year of winning the CNVC, subject to the availability of the service providers. 

Software and equipment prizes will be the property of the winning venture and should be used solely to further that venture’s mission.

A list of in-kind sponsors with descriptions of the applicable services will be available on the CNVC website before the Finals Event.

 

Schedule and Description of Events

CNVC Kickoff
The Technology Entrepreneur Center and Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership will host a CNVC Kickoff event that will include an overview of the Competition and a networking reception.  The Kickoff will be held on Wednesday, November 4, 2009 at 5:00 PM in Room 314A/B Illlini Union.

Speed Teaming
In accordance with the Kickoff event, TEC and the Academy will also host a Speed Teaming Event to help students to form or join a venture team. It will be held Monday, November 16, 2009 at 4:00PM at Biaggi’s Ristorante Italiano: 2235 S Neil St, Champaign 61820

What is Speed-Teaming?  

Useful definitions:
“Skill” students: those students that have a particular skill to offer a potential CNVC team, but without a specific product or company idea
“Idea” students: those students that have a company/product idea, but need to form a well-rounded team including students with skills in marketing, finance, writing, etc.

Please note that participants in CNVC do not have to have their own startup. If interested participants have skills that would be useful to a new venture, we will help to match you with one. Likewise, participants do not have to have a fully-formed venture team; we will connect you with other students that can help you!

CNVC would like to help “Idea” students and “Skill” students to meet and form teams that will then enter the competition.  Forms that will serve as a pitch sheet for “Idea” students and for a résumé of sorts for “Skill” students can be found on the CNVC website.  Interested students are asked to register, and to fill out a form in order to participate in the Speed-Teaming event by 5:00 PM on Wednesday, November 11, 2009.  Only 15 “Idea” students and 30 “Skill” students are expected to be able to participate in the Speed-Teaming event, so interested students are encouraged to register early.  Those students that register after the maximum number of participants is reached will be put on an alternate list and are still encouraged to attend the entire Speed Teaming event. .  The CNVC team will work with those students who do not participate directly after the Speed-Teaming event to place them with a team.

Each student with a company or product idea will have 90 seconds to present that idea to the audience at the Speed Teaming event.  After all of these presentations are complete, each of the “Idea” students will be assigned a table, and each of the “Skill” students will “interview” with them in teams of two.  The interview questions can be found on the CNVC website.  Students who are seeking team members are asked to use the questions on the sheet, in order to keep the interviews short and on-task.  Each interview session will last approximately 4 minutes, so that each “Skill” student can meet with each “Idea” student.

Once the interviews are complete, the Speed Teaming event reception will begin.  Students are encouraged to stay for the reception, to continue networking.  Dinner by Biaggi’s will be provided.

While this Speed-Teaming event will be provided in order to connect students who have not yet formed teams, there are multiple points of entry to the CNVC.  Any student/team may fill out an Intent to Competeform.  In addition, students associated with the following programs/activities are strongly encouraged to enter:

• Attendees of TEC’s IdeaBox event
• Idea to Product Competition
• Idea Storm (IEN)
• Entrepreneurship courses, particularly Introduction to Technology Entrepreneurship  and Venture-Funded Startups
• Other business and engineering courses
• Startup Senior Design courses

Workshops

The Technology Entrepreneur Center organizes a series of venture development workshops. These workshops will be held over a one-week period in the spring semester.  The workshops are required for all participants in the competition. Each team must send at least one representative to each workshop.  All finalist teams must attend the elevator pitch and oral presentation workshops.  Attendance will be tracked via sign-in sheets at each workshop.  Teams need to be sure to sign in at each workshop. 

Light refreshments will be provided at each workshop.


Workshop schedule

Workshop Title	Day/Date	Time	Location	Instructor
Putting the Plan Together	FRI, 2/11/2010	5-6 PM	Locations and instructors to be announced on Cozad Competition website.  Please see website for details: www.cozadcompetition.illinois.edu.
Oral Presentation Skills	MON, 3/1/2010	5:30-7 PM

               
There is also a “dress rehearsal” and tech-check for the finals event, wherein finalist teams will present their elevator pitches and presentation materials.  This is scheduled for Thursday, March 4, 2010 (time TBA).  All finalist teams should plan to attend this event.  We will make every effort to schedule the dress rehearsal for a time that works for all teams.

Finals Events
The semifinals round of the competition will be held exclusively at the Finals Event on  Friday, March 5, 2010,  10:00AM- 4:00 PM, location TBA (please see competition website for updates).  

SEMIFINALS ROUND: 3/5/10will consist of the following:

- Up to 15 teams to present
-10 minute prepared remarks, 5 minute Q & A
- Judges to provide feedback to all teams at day’s end
- Finalists for Saturday’s round announced
- Networking Reception

FINALS ROUND 3/6/10

- Finalist teams will move forward to Saturday’s finals round
- 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM, followed by lunch and awards ceremony
- 15 minute prepared remarks, 10 minute Q & A
- Winners announced at awards ceremony
-Individual team meetings with judges after the awards ceremony                                                                                                                                                                      
When a list of finalists is determined, they will receive information regarding presentation length.  THIS TIME LIMIT WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED.  Upon completion of the presentations, the judges will begin deliberations while the teams and audience exit to the reception.

All members of teach team presenting in the semifinals and  finals Event must be present (absent extreme emergency situations, such as a death in the family or serious illness).  Team members should wear business attire, and maintain a professional demeanor throughout the Finals Event.

About V. Dale Cozad

Born on a farm in Illinois, Dale Cozad earned a degree in Agricultural Economics from Southern Illinois University, and promptly embarked on a career in insurance. Although very successful, his growing interest in diversified financial services led him to found Cozad Asset Management in 1972. Today, the company is a registered investment advisor with over $350 million in assets under management.

Dale Cozad was also one of the entrepreneurs who founded Cozad Westchester Agricultural Asset Management, which to date has received $390 million in commitments from institutional agricultural investors.

In recognition of Dale’s great success, and of his long friendship with Peter Fox, Peter and his wife Kim have, through a generous endowment, established both the V. Dale Cozad Lecture Series in Entrepreneurship through the College of Commerce, and the Cozad New Venture Competition through the Technology Entrepreneur Center in the College of Engineering. These gifts, enhanced by family and friends of Dale Cozad, honor his memory, his hard work, dedication and entrepreneurial spirit.

Speaking of his father, Greg Cozad, now the president of Cozad Asset Management, recalls that “he was always an entrepreneur at heart, always looking for new financial services that would allow him to serve his clientele better. He was very competitive by nature and loved to encourage and assist young people in their career goals. The Lecture Series in Entrepreneurship and the Business Plan Competition are therefore fitting memorials to my dad, and an outstanding tribute to his legacy. They combine his business interest with his commitment to the University of Illinois."

Dale Cozad was a valued member of the Commerce Business Advisory Council from 1981 until his untimely death in 1993.

All undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to compete for the award regardless of college, department, or major.  Students must be enrolled full-time at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign during the academic year in which the award will be presented.

Interested students may apply by clicking here.

The competition entries are submitted on http://younoodle.com/groups/cozadcompetition. The applications/entry segments are:

Speed Teaming (optional)	Available 11/1/09-11/16/09
Intent to Compete (mandatory)	Available 11/17/09-1/22/10
One Page Business Plan/Written Elevator Pitch (Mandatory)	Available 1/23/10-2/9/10
Final Written Submission (invite only, Mandatory for invited teams)	Available 2/10/10-2/17/10

The following .pdf's are for reference purposes only for those who would like to prepare in advance. Please note that all entries must be submitted through http://younoodle.com/groups/cozadcompetition. Only materials submitted through this platform will be accepted.

To preview the rules and acknowledge waiver form, click HERE

To preview the Cozad One Page Business Plan, click HERE

To preview the Skill Registration Questions, click HERE

To preview the Idea Registration Questions, click HERE

To preview the Submission Materials Guidelines form, click HERE