FEATURED EVENT
Applications Now Open for 2020 Venture Plan Competition
$50,000 is up for grabs in the 2020 Venture Plan Competition, Central Florida’s largest business plan competition for start-ups. Previous winners have gone on to achieve millions in revenue.
Applications are now live for the 2020 Venture Plan Competition.
Central Florida’s largest business plan competition sponsored by the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship at the Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins College is accepting applicants until Friday, February 7.
Competition finalists will vie for their share of $50,000, plus the option of the first-place winner receiving a $25,000 minimum equity investment from venVelo, a Winter Park-based, early-stage venture capital firm.
In 2019, the first-place winner received $25,000; second place $15,000; third place $7,500; and fourth place $2,500.
The Venture Plan Competition is open to all regionally headquartered start-ups. Starting with roughly 50 submitted proposals, the business teams battle for funding and mentorship in front of the region’s top entrepreneurs and venture capitalists through multiple rounds of pitches, judging and business plan revisions.
Ultimately, the final four teams will be chosen to present an 8-minute presentation to a panel of qualified judges at the Venture Plan Competition finals on Thursday, March 26.
Previous Venture Plan Competition winners include notable Central Florida businesses such as Fattmerchant, EASE Applications, FleetZoo, and flexENGAGE.
Together, previous Venture Plan Competition winners have generated over $53 million in revenue, raised over $36 million in investment capital and employ 368 people.
The 2019 Venture Plan Competition winner, AireHealth, went on to also win AOL founder Steve Case’s Rise of the Rest Competition in Orlando. They have also nearly achieved their SEED funding goals, exclusively from Florida-based investors.
“The process has no downside whatsoever,” said Dr. Pete McAlindon, executive director for the Center for Advanced Entrepreneurship. “No matter how far you get, you will get some round of judging, some round of feedback, and it’s a great way to meet all kinds of new people in the entrepreneurship community.”
In order for a startup to qualify, they must be located in Central Florida, have revenue that does not exceed $100,000 over the life of the venture, and must not have raised more than $100,000 in debt or equity financing from sources other than management team members.