3 Tips to Win a New Venture/Business Plan Competition
Recently, the OrangeQC team entered the Cozad New Venture Competition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I was very, very skeptical considering the negative connotation with startups in these competitions (see Techcrunch article). We eventually decided to compete since we were 1. already a new venture, 2. already generating revenue, 3. were looking to expand and we weighted the expected return to be in our favor (didn't have to give up equity, not time consuming, networked with some great people, etc).
Here are some 3 tips that I feel helped OrangeQC win the competition:
1. Have a customer/user: So this might seem a bit backwards to talk with potential customers before you have a product. In reality, if you aren't talking to your potential customers on Day 0, then you have a very high chance of completely building the wrong thing that no one will pay for. Since OrangeQC was already a business focused on generating revenue, we were talking with potential customers before we even built the product. This ensures that 1. someone will actually pay for your product/service and 2. that you build it (almost) correct the first time. All too often, plans have the profitability as a big unknown. If you are talking with someone before you build your product you are lightyears ahead of everyone and more importantly have a better chance of building a business.
2. Have a product/prototype: Having something that can be shown in a presentation is critical. In our semi-finals round, we barely talked about our product that we built which makes the judges think we had just an idea. If you have a product, show a video demonstration, bring it in, or make it live so judges can see that you actually have more than just an idea. Many of the people competing have just an idea, several people have professional looking mockups, and very, very few people have actual products. If you don't have a product, start building it immediately.
3. Ensure your team can actually build the business: I've noticed that many of the teams were built with great co-founders. Be sure that everyone can contribute to building the venture and that you or a co-founder is not just 'the idea guy' (see 37signals post). If you're in Computer Science, be sure you can sell your product and talk to customers. If you're in Business, be sure you can build a product and not 'just be the boss'. Ideas are a dime a dozen in these competitions and the judges are in charge of making the most bang for the buck. They want to 'fund' companies that have a high chance of being successful and 99% of that comes from the team.
Overall, the competition was a lot of fun and would recommend it to any (already existing) student startup that wants an unbiased opinion on their business, wants to network with great student entrepreneurs and judges, or wants to use some of the winnings to build a better business. Now get back to talking with customers.
Disclaimer: This was a Midwest competition and not a Silicon Valley competition. Just as the location chances, I'm sure the game changes for these competitions. Luckily, if you follow these steps you could lose the competition and still have a successful business!
