For students wanting to own the next Starbucks or become the next Bill Gates, the UT College of Business Administration Business Plan Competition may be an opportunity to shine.
According to Tom Graves, a lecturer and a judge for CBA Business Plan Competition, any undergraduate or undergraduate teams are eligible, as long as at least one memeber is a UT student. Four students per team is the maximum number, said Graves.
"The only restriction is that the business cannot be receiving revenue and that the participants have not received professional help in creating the plan," Graves said.
The deadline for phase I is April 4 and the competition will end April 24 when the top three entries are selected. Graves explained the main goal is to "encourage students with an entrepreneurial drive to move their ideas forward."
"Entrepreneurs are the fuel that runs a nation's economy," Graves said. Graves continued, explaining that companies such as Pilot Travel Centers, Garmin Navigation Devices or Dish Network are but a few examples of "UT educated entrepreneurs" and their impact on the nation.
Entrepreneurship is an important building block to the future of our national economy --Andrew Bouldin, senior in finance"Entrepreneurship is an important building block to the future of our national economy," said Andrew Bouldin, student representative for the competition. "With the caliber of students on UT's campus, I'm confident that the level of competition will be very high, and that many quality plans will be produced."
The Business Plan Competition Committee includes Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration Sarah Gardial, Interim Assistant to the Department Head of Management Kate Atchley Andrew Bouldin, a senior in finance and Graves.
The committee is in the final stages of choosing judges, according to Graves. Discussions with local entrepreneurs, businessmen, venture capitalists and faculty members still need to be completed.
"The intent is to put the students, with their plans, in front of individuals who have walked the walk and talked the talk... people who can appreciate the challenges the plans present and judge the probability for success," Graves explained.
Narrowing down the entries takes three phases, and the numbers are reduced in each phase. According to Graves, plans from competing students will be tested in three stages. Graves explained that in the first phase, written overviews of ideas are being looked over. Phase II judges take the top 20 overviews and invite the students responsible for them. The creators of the overviews give five-minute presentations explaining their models to a panel of three judges. Then in phase III, judges select the top six presentations and invite the students to come back for a full presentation of their ideas. Graves said that from the top six entries awards of $5,000, $3,000 and $2,000 are awarded.
Graves believes it is "entirely possible one of the entrants will go on to attain tremendous success and recognition." "Perhaps more importantly," Graves continued, "many of the entrants will pursue the dream, first described in the Business Plan Competition, and become successful business people who are the backbone of local economies across the nation."
"This valuable, out-of-the-classroom learning experience will provide participating undergraduate students a great opportunity to develop skills in persuasive presentation and listening to constructive feedback," said Sarah Gardial, associate dean of academic programs. "The business plan competition is another way that the college is using applied learning to enhance the educational level of our graduates. I'm excited to see the plans that will be developed."
In the future, Graves said the team hopes "the competition becomes an on-going catalyst for creating an entrepreneurial culture on the campus."
The competition will also take place next year. According to Graves, they will be "refining, improving and continuing to offer the competition well into the foreseeable future."
For more information about the competition and to apply, visit http://www.bus.utk.edu/competition/ or send an e-mail at UTKCompetition@gmail.com.
Comments
Anonymous commented, on April 30, 2008 at 10:13 a.m.:
Hello, I was one of the 6 (they said 7 including the already chosen winner) finalists of the UTK Business Plan Competition. While I did very much enjoy the atmosphere of the competition, the overwhelming reality of its context was revealed at the end. In this article, Andrew Bouldin is mentioned as the student representative of this contest. He is also the "winner" of the first UTK Business Plan Competition. It has been made known through mass email that Bouldin had nothing to do with the contest after Tom Graves took over. Meaning he had no connection to the judges and no advantage over the other student. This claim is contradictory to the atmosphere of the award ceremony in particular.
Anonymous commented, on April 30, 2008 at 10:14 a.m.:
Continued...
Some students had raised concerns of Bouldin's involvement prior to the final round of competition. For instance, the first email sent out to finalist congradulating them on advancing to the final round of the competition included six finalist that would be competing. Later that day, a revisement sign up email was sent claiming their were now seven finalist. Who was this additional finalist added at the last minute? You decide.
I went into the award ceremony with excitement and anticipation. My business plan was strong and would not only provide myself a job, but could also benifit communities by providing jobs to locals in the future. Othes in the award ceremony felt the same way and I was confident that we all had a fair chance.
One by one, each contestant was called up to stand next to the judge chairman for a picture with their plaque. No mention had been made so far as to when they would announce the winner. While handing out the plaques of would I notice that a few of the contestants had received an envelope snuggled end behing their plaques. I did assume that maybe they were checks with the prize money. But why would they gives this out in such a secret manor? And why did the contestant that received these envelopes not have any reaction (excitement, happiness, SURPRISE) at all?
As it would turn out, they were the prize. Actually, they almost forgot all together to mention who the winners were. All contestants were told ahead of time that no winners would be announced until the award ceremony. So why the secrecy? It is my opinion that the winners were announced among themselves early.
With all the controversy surrounding the competition with Bouldin's involvement and now they are trying to "secretly" give prizes to the winners. And I almost forgot, Andrew wins the competition!
I am not apart of the college of business. My studies have been in the Arts and Sciences. My field of studies has made me very leary of "business ethics" through studies of conflict theory and the like. The business plan that one was one for an e-commerce business.The business would have little overall affect on the community it is based, hire few employees with little room for business growth, and provide help to an economy already in decline. I do not understand the decision made by the judges. In my opinion, this competition panned out to be a publicity hound for the College of Bus. Administration and a way to make one of their own shine in the spotlight. Besides, the only successful businesses are created by business majors, right?
Aaron Glover commented, on May 1, 2008 at 7:42 p.m.:
I agree completely with the concerns raised by the above comments. It’s highly suspicious Andrew Bouldin won the competition after being heavily involved in its creation. There are multiple concerns which have yet to be sufficiently addressed by Tom Graves regarding this violation of common business ethics. It makes me very sad the College of Business Administration at The University of Tennessee would even sponsor a competition in which the first place winner was also involved in the creation of the competition!
Can anyone say: CONFLICT OF INTEREST?
-Aaron Glover