Michigan Business Challenge - Format

Overview | Format | Awards | 2012 Winners | 2012 Intercollegiate Competitions

ZLI conducts seminars to help prepare student teams for each step and deliverable in the Michigan Business Challenge. After each seminar, the PowerPoint presentation and handouts are posted on Ctools in the "Zell Lurie Institute" joinable group. These materials will be found in the “Resources” area in the folder “Michigan Business Challenge.”

Round One
Deliverable
Eligible teams (see Overview page) who submit a complete and coherent executive summary and the Intent to Compete form as a .pdf to aperigo@umich.edu will compete in Round One. This is due by 8 a.m. on Monday, November 14.

Relevant Business Development Seminars
Michigan Business Challenge Information Session
Tuesday, November 1 at 5:30 p.m. in room R1210
Any student interested in competing in the 2012 Michigan Business Challenge should attend this information session. Details of the application process, the format of each round, and the deliverables required will be reviewed. We will also discuss intercollegiate business plan competitions.

Business Development Seminar – Executive Summary
Thursday, November 3 at 5:30 p.m. in room R1210
The Zell Lurie Institute will present a discussion about how to write an executive summary – the summary of a business plan – for all students interested in the topic. Students who would like to compete in the Michigan Business Challenge are encouraged to attend this seminar to learn how to compile their applications.

Business Development Seminar – The Pitch
Monday, November 21 at 5:30 p.m. in room R1230
The Zell Lurie Institute will present a discussion for all students to learn how to create the pitch for a start-up company when speaking to a panel of investors in the topic. Students who would like to compete in the Michigan Business Challenge are encouraged to attend this seminar to learn the expectations of their Round One presentations.

Competition and Format
Ross School of Business
Friday, December 2 beginning at 1:00 p.m.
During Round One, teams give a three-minute pitch to a panel of judges and followed by answering three minutes of questions. Sixteen to twenty teams are chosen to advance to Round Two; they will receive $200. All teams will be notified of the decisions by 5:00 p.m. on December 5 via email.

Round Two
Deliverable
The teams that advance to Round Two will submit a seven-page Market and Financial Assesment that describes the market need or pain, market size, and preliminary financial assumptions.

Teams that wish to compete for the Erb Award for Sustainability, Williamson Award, and/or the Undergraduate Award should submit these applications with the Market and Financial Overview.

All of these deliverables should be sent to aperigo@umich.edu before 8 a.m. on January 9.

Relevant Business Development Seminars
Business Development Seminar – Articulating Market Information
Monday, December 5 at 5:30 p.m. in room W2760 (NOTE NEW LOCATION)
The Zell Lurie Institute will present a discussion about how to prepare a market assessment for a company for all students interested in the topic. Students who are competing in Round Two of the Michigan Business Challenge are encouraged to attend this seminar to prepare for their deliverable.

Business Development Seminar – Financials
Wednesday, December 7 at 5:30 p.m. in room R1230 (NOTE NEW DATE)
The Zell Lurie Institute will present a discussion about how to prepare financial information for a company for all students interested in the topic. Students who are competing in Round Two of the Michigan Business Challenge are encouraged to attend this seminar to prepare for their deliverable.

Competition and Format
Ross School of Business
Friday, January 20 beginning at 1 p.m.
During Round Two, teams give a seven-minute presentation that describes their company's solution to a pressing market need or pain, an estimation of the market size, and support for the team's financial assumptions. Competitors then answer ten minutes of questions by the judges. Eight teams will advance to the Semi-finals and they will receive $300. All teams will be notified by 5 p.m. on January 23 via email.

Semi-finals and Finals
Deliverable
The eight teams that advance to the Semi-finals must submit a complete, bound hard copy 20-page business plan with full financial information to the Institute's main desk in R3200 and a single .pdf version should be sent to aperigo@umich.edu before 8 a.m. on February 6.

Relevant Business Development Seminars
Business Development Seminar – Exit Strategies
Wednesday, January 11 at 5:30 in Room E1530
The Zell Lurie Institute will present a discussion about how to propose exit strategies to investors for all students interested in the topic. Students who are competing in the Semi-finals of the Michigan Business Challenge are encouraged to attend this seminar to prepare for their deliverable.

Business Development Seminar - Business Plan
Monday, January 23 at 6:30 in Room R1220
The Zell Lurie Institute will present a discussion about how to assemble a complete business plan. Students who are competing in the Semi-finals of the Michigan Business Challenge are encouraged to attend this seminar to prepare for their deliverable.

Business Development Seminar - Presenting a Business Plan
Wednesday, February 1 at 5:30 in Room R2210
The Zell Lurie Institute will present a discussion about how to present a complete business plan to a panel of investors for all students interested in the topic. Students who are competing in the Semi-finals of the Michigan Business Challenge are encouraged to attend this seminar to prepare for their deliverable.

Competition and Format
Ross School of Business
Friday, February 17 at 9:00 a.m.
During the Semi-finals in the morning, teams present their entire business plans for 15 minutes and respond to judges' questions for another 15 minutes. After all eight teams present, the judges choose four teams advance to the Finals held in that afternoon. These four finalists discuss their businesses with the judges in a 25-minute interactive session. The winning teams for all of the awards and the Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 recipients of Dare to Dream grants will be announced during an evening reception in Blau Auditorium at the Ross School of Business. All teams, applicants, and guests are welcome to attend.