• Student competitor requirements: 

  • The competition is open to all full- and part-time undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in colleges and universities located in the state of Montana during the current academic year, i.e., from August/September 2009 through July/August 2010.  Students who graduated in the preceding academic year are not eligible to participate.  Students enrolled in colleges or universities outside the state of Montana are not eligible to compete.

  • The management team must consist of at least one undergraduate or graduate student.  Non-students may be members of the management team and participate in planning the venture; however, only students may present the plan in the competition on campus and answer questions from the judges. Non-student team members are welcome to travel to Missoula with the student team, but cannot participate in the presentations.

·        The competition is for student created, managed, and owned ventures. In other words, students must:

(1)   have played a major role in conceiving the venture,

(2)   have key management roles in the venture, and

(3)   Own significant equity in the venture.

In general, one student on the team should be the CEO, COO, CFO, or President of the venture, or the student team should occupy 50% or more of the functional area management positions that report directly to the CEO, COO, or President.  Members of the student team should also own 50% or more of the equity allocated to the management team and key advisors. Equity positions lower than that will raise questions with the judges regarding the extent to which the proposed business was their idea.  (One objective of this rule is to exclude ventures formed and managed by non-students who have given token equity to students for writing their business plan.)
 

• Nature of the New Business Ventures

  • Nature of Ventures:   The competition is for new, independent ventures in the seed, start-up, or early growth stages.  Generally excluded are the following: buy-outs, expansions of existing companies, real estate syndications, tax shelters, franchises, licensing agreements for distribution in a deferent geographical area, and spin-outs from existing corporations.  Licensing technologies from universities or research labs is not excluded and is encouraged, assuming they have not been commercialized previously.

  • Divisions: There will be two High Growth Potential Divisions and one Lifestyle Business Division.  See earlier section on divisions for descriptions of these divisions.

  • Outside Funding:  All ventures must be “for profit” entities seeking outside equity capital or debt financing.

  • Prior Activity:  Ventures may compete in the BPC only once. Ventures with revenues in prior academic years, i.e., before August 1, 2009, are excluded.  Ventures that have raised equity capital from sources other than the members of the student team or their friends and families before the current academic year i.e., before August 1, 2009 are excluded.  However, both student and other team members may have worked on an idea or new technology in previous academic years or in the case of the student team members even prior to entering undergraduate or graduate school, provided that their venture had no revenues and raised no outside equity capital.
     

• Source of New Ventures

  • University Sponsored:  the business plan must be prepared under faculty supervision in a regularly scheduled course or as an independent study.  The business plan itself must represent the original work of the students on the team.  All teams are strongly encouraged to send their faculty or other university advisors to accompany their team to Missoula, but this is not required.  However, each team MUST have the endorsement of a faculty advisor at their school and must provide contact information for their faculty advisor, regardless of whether or not the advisor will travel with the team to the University of Montana.  All faculty advisors will be contacted for verification.
     

• Attendance:  Team members should arrive at the University of Montana Campus in Missoula on Thursday, May 13, 2010, at 7:45 am.  Teams must attend the competition on Thursday night to receive their awards. 
   

• Other Forms:  Each team member will be required to submit an individual Form W-9 or W-8 ECI at registration.  If the venture has been incorporated and has received an EIN, one form may be filled out.  No prizes will be awarded without a completed W-8 ECI or W-9 on file with BPC.  We are required to have students fill out these forms due to the size of the prize money being distributed.  We appreciate your cooperation.