Augustana College Business Plan Competition

The fifth annual Augustana College Business Plan Competition invites teams or individual students to present their ideas to a panel of business professionals. The Augustana College Business Plan Competition is funded by the Augustana Creative Enterprise Fund, which has been supported by a donor. All current students may submit written business plans, and the best five plans will be invited to compete.

The first-place award is $4,500; second place $3,000, third place $1,500; and $500 each to the remaining two teams.

Written business plan submissions are due to Dr. David Thornblad via email by noon March 8. Teams will be informed if they are invited to the competition by April 2.

Teams then will have two weeks to update their plans and submit them to Dr. Thornblad by midnight on April 18. These written plans then will be sent to the final panel of judges to review before the competition.

The final competition consists of presentations to judges and will take place from noon-4:30 p.m. May 1 on campus. The judges are CEOs, bankers, investors, entrepreneurs, and consultants, as well as other professionals. No Augustana faculty or staff members serve on the panel.

The panel will make its decisions based on the merit of the idea, the research the team has done on the idea’s feasibility, and the team’s persuasiveness.

 Presentations will take place in a conference room on campus. Each team will have 10 minutes to present their idea to the judges. This will be followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. A PowerPoint or Google Slides presentation is recommended to highlight and explain major parts of the business plan.

Presentations may be videotaped and or photographed for media, publicity, and teaching purposes. Teams should expect these videotapes and photographs to be shared on social media, websites, and other locations to promote the college and the event.

Important note: Students who submit a business plan to the competition must be available to present sometime between noon and 3 p.m. on May 1, and attend the awards ceremony afterward. The competition should be completed by 4:30 p.m. The top three teams will be asked to have their pictures taken with the judges after the awards ceremony.

Eligibility

• Business teams or individual students

Benefits

• The $10,000 will be awarded as follows:
  • First place: $4,500
  • Second place: $3,000
  • Third place: $1,500
  • Remaining two teams: $500 each

Application Process

• Click here to apply