Swinburne Venture Cup Guidelines
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Conditions - Participants
1.1 The Swinburne Venture Cup is a business planning competition run in 3 categories for teams of Swinburne students at the TAFE, Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels.
1.2 The competition is open to all students currently enrolled in formal courses at Swinburne University of Technology. Current enrolment can be either part or full time, for at least one semester during the year of entry.
1.3 Teams may also include non-students as long as 2/3 of team members qualify under clause 1.2.
2. Teams
2.1 Participants must be in teams of 3 - 8 participants.
2.2 Formation of teams across disciplines is encouraged to provide a balance of input and experience. Where teams have members from different levels, (i.e. TAFE, Undergraduate and Postgraduate), it will be preferable that at least 2/3 of the team is from one level, which will be deemed to be the category of the team for the competition. Postgraduate Certificate courses delivered through TAFE are categorised as Postgraduate level.
2.3 Teams can have advisors/mentors, however it is expected that the bulk of creative input and plan preparation be by the team members. Mentors are not involved in the team's presentation to the judges, which represents a large proportion of the final decision. The authors will retain all rights to the plan regarding its use at all times prior to and following the competition.
3. Business Plan
3.1 The aim is to develop entrepreneurial business plans with an emphasis on innovation to separate the proposed enterprises from the pack.
3.2 The plan can be based on work from normal University coursework, or on totally new work. Where previously submitted coursework is used, this must have been prepared, as original work, in the current year. It is acceptable for such work to be revised in the course of the competition, with suitable input from all team members.
3.3 The plan must cover the whole business concept and implementation for a seed or start-up venture or for the expansion of a given enterprise.
3.4 Plans must be limited to 25 pages (typed) of text, including the executive summary and summary of financial data. Detailed spreadsheets and appropriate appendices can follow the text portion of the plan. In total, the plan should be no longer than 40 pages. Appendices should be included only when they support the findings, statements and observations of the plan. Because of the number of teams in the competition, judges may not be able to read all the material in the appendices. Therefore, the text portion of the plan (25 pages) must contain all pertinent information in a clear and concise manner.
3.5 Financial data should include a cash flow statement, income statement, and balance sheet. It should also include an explanation of the offering to investors indicating how much money is required, how it will be used, the expected ROI, and the proposed structure of the deal, i.e. stock, debentures, etc. Also, delineate the possible exit strategies.
3.6 Prepared plans for the Swinburne Venture Cup will only be counted for credit in official Swinburne University of Technology courses where suitable agreement is reached with the lecturer or convener of the course.
3.7 Plans that have won other significant competitions, (except those viewed as 'feeders' for the Swinburne Venture Cup), shall not be eligible for entry in the Swinburne Venture Cup competition. Team members (authors) of such plans, may be eligible to enter with a different business concept.
4 Competition Registration
4.1 Participating teams are required to register their intentions to take part in the Swinburne Venture Cup on the Registration Form provided. All segments of the form are to be completed as far as possible forming an initial screening process, and introduction to planning, for the participants and the organising bodies. Teams will be notified of the acceptance of their registration within 5 days of its submission, and where appropriate, feedback on the project proposals will be offered by email to their principle group nominee.
4.2 In the event that a registration is not accepted, reasons will be provided with a view to developing an acceptable project proposal.
4.3 Deadline for the registration of projects to Swinburne Knowledge can be found on the Calendar of Events page.
5. Submission of Plans
5.1 The author(s) will be asked to declare that any claims made in the plan, or statements made to the judges during the competition, are subject to internal and external verification. Any discrepancies identified may disqualify the plan from the competition.
5.2 All teams must be free to present their business plan to a panel of judges. A V equipment is available, however prior arrangements should be made.
5.3 ONE COPY of the business plan are to be submitted to:
Ms Sandra Caine, Executive Officer, Swinburne Knowledge (H88), Swinburne University of Technology, PO BOX 218, Hawthorn 3122. (Finalists will be requested to submit a further three copies).
6. Evaluation
6.1 Up to four finalists from each level will have the opportunity to present their plans to the judging panel(s) of the competition date.
6.2 Finalists will be selected by Swinburne Knowledge by evaluating the business plans using the same criteria as those applied to evaluate plans in the final presentations. These pre-selection decisions will be based upon merit and will be final. The evaluators are aware of the significant effort that goes into preparing a plan, and the selection of finalists is necessary to make the judging process manageable. Where practical, 'surgeries' will be organised to assist non-finalists in further developing their plans for practical application.
6.3 Evaluation will be based on the Swinburne Venture Cup Business Plan Evaluation criteria. It is expected that the winning team will be the one whose plan conveys the most promising combination of significant capital gains potential, attractive investment possibilities, and actual implementation; i.e: the more likely the plan is to become a going venture, the better.
6.4 In the event that in any single year there are no business plans of acceptable quality in the judgement of the judges, no prizes will be awarded.
6.5 Finalists may be asked to sign an audio video release form allowing Swinburne University of Technology to use the business plan presentation within the University for Staff, students and external marketing and publicity purposes.
6.6 The judge's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
Download Registration forms
Download Prize Declaration form
Download Venture Feedback form
Further details can be obtained from:
Mrs Rebecca Dodds - Executive Officer
Swinburne Knowledge
Telephone: 9214 5744 or rdodds@swin.edu.au