Guidelines for Entry

These guidelines for entry must be read subject to the Terms and Conditions of Entry of the University of Adelaide Entrepreneurs' Challenge (echallenge). Any terms that are defined in the Terms and Conditions of Entry have the same meaning in these guidelines for entry.

The drop-off address for all documentation referred to in the guidelines for entry is: ECIC, University of Adelaide, Level 1, Engineering South Building, Adelaide SA 5005

The Challenge in brief

Teams who enter the echallenge will broadly follow this process:

• Enter via team registration form and submit a brief concept proposal following the template.
• The concept proposals are then judged and the teams are given the opportunity to further impress the judges by presenting at the Venture Showcase. Teams deemed suitable to participate in the semi-final round will be invited to participate in the remaining workshop program and mentoring scheme.
• Semi-finalists will submit a business plan following the echallenge template.
• Semi-finalists will make a verbal pitch explaining their business idea to a panel of judges.
• Five finalist teams will be selected to present their business plan to a new panel of judges, and to make an elevator pitch to the audience at the finals dinner.

Team registration

To enter the echallenge, teams must complete a team registration form to be received at the drop-off address by 12pm on Thursday 13th August. Before registering, teams should ensure that they have read and understand these guidelines for entry and also the terms and conditions of the competition. Each team registration form should have attached a brief resumé for each of the team members (up to half a page for each team member).

Concept proposal

Teams must submit three (3) hard copies of their concept proposal following the template to the drop-off address by 12pm Thursday 13th August. 

Your concept proposal must be typed using a minimum 12 point font, on A4 plain paper, with margins of at least 2cm and with a page number at the bottom of each page. It must not exceed two A4 pages. Your concept proposal should cover the numbered headings listed in the template, but the subheadings are not specifically required and are intended as a guide only.

Your concept proposal will be marked by a number of judges, and feedback will be made on each entry. Concept proposals will be judged primarily on the level of innovation displayed, and the commercial potential of the overall business idea. Teams will also be given the opportunity to make an impact and impress the judges at the Venture Showcase. Not to mention the opportunity to present their concepts to potential investors and high profile business executives.

Up to 30 teams will be selected to participate in the semi-final round and teams will be notified of their success in the concept proposal judging round by email by Friday 28st August.

The workshops and mentoring scheme

Teams who have succeeded in the concept proposal judging round will be invited to participate in a series of workshops to be held from July to September, designed to assist the team to produce a winning business plan. These workshops are extremely valuable from both a business planning and networking perspective. You should ensure that at least one member of your team is present for each workshop. Details of the workshops are available on the website.

These teams will also have an opportunity to be paired with a business mentor (if this option is nominated on the team registration form) for up to six weeks. The mentor will give up to two hours a week of his/her time, and meeting times and venues are to be arranged at the convenience of the team and the mentor.

Business plan

Teams who have succeeded in the concept proposal judging round must submit eleven (11) hard copies of their business plan following the template to the drop-off address by 12pm on Thursday October 15th 2009.

Your business plan must be typed in a minimum of 12 point font, on A4 plain paper, with margins of at least 2cm, and with a page number at the bottom of each page. Your business plan must not exceed 15 pages in length (excluding a cover page and contents page), with appendices of no more than 10 pages. Appendices are appropriate for detailed market analysis, financial information, resumes of team members, or to append reference material. Your business plan should cover the key headings listed in the template, but is not limited to those issues.

The business plan will be distributed to a panel of semi-finals judges for background reading prior to the oral pitch.

Oral pitch

As part of the semi-final round, teams will be required to present a twenty minute oral pitch to a judging panel on Thursday 29th of October. Any team who wishes to use a powerpoint presentation to assist in their presentation, should email a copy of the presentation to echallenge@adelaide.edu.au by 12pm on Monday 26th of October. This presentation will be pre-loaded to the laptop and data projector. The organising committee will use best endeavours to provide all facilities for presentations as requested by teams.

The 15 min oral pitch will be followed by a 10 minute Question and Answer session.

Judging criteria

The plan together with the pitch will be judged as follows:

Five-six teams will be selected to participate in the final round of the competition.

Finals

The finals process mirrors that of the semi-finals. For teams who progress through to the finals, there will be an opportunity to revise the oral pitch and powerpoint presentation, though the business plan will stand as submitted by 12pm Thursday 15th of October. The finals judges will use the same judging criteria as those applied in the semi-finals.

Revised powerpoint presentations should be emailed to echallenge@adelaide.edu.au by 12pm on Monday 16th of November.

The finals round oral pitches will be held on the afternoon of Wednesday 18th of November 2009.

Finalist teams are also required to prepare a three minute elevator pitch for presentation at the finals dinner on the evening the next day as well.

Changes to these guidelines for entry

The organising committee may change these guidelines for entry any time, without specific notice to you. The amended guidelines for entry will be effective immediately upon being posted on the website.

Queries about guidelines for entry

If you have any questions about these guidelines for entry, please contact the organising committee by emailing echallenge@adelaide.edu.au or by phone on 8303 7422.