Berkley Center Announces $50K Business Plan Competition Open to Alumni
This year, NYU Stern alumni will be invited to compete in the Maximum Exposure Business Plan Competition of the Berkley Center
for Entrepreneurial Studies. Since its inception in 1999, the competition, which had previously been open only
to students, provides seed money for winning contestants and seeks to stimulate venture creation. It was expanded
to include Stern alumni to simulate real-world business experience for students, to create an opportunity for alumni
to become further engaged with the School programmatically and to compete for needed resources through Stern initiatives.
MBA alumni-based teams will compete together with MBA student-based teams for cash prizes totaling $50,000. Both
MBA students and alumni are invited to participate in programs leading up to the competition, which culminates
in the competition finals and awards ceremony held on April 25, 2003.
The Berkley Center for Entrepreneurial Studies provides an umbrella for NYU Stern's entrepreneurship and innovation
program and is dedicated to conducting and supporting entrepreneurship research and education. The cash award is
made available through a generous grant from Ira Leon Rennert, MBA '56, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of
the Renco Group, Inc. and member of NYU Stern's Board of Overseers.
Several previous winners have successfully launched businesses following the Maximum
Exposure Business Plan Competition. Judges will include leading venture
investors and entrepreneurs.
If you are an alumnus/a who is interested in participating, please contact Loretta Poole, Assistant Director at
the Berkley Center, at bces@stern.nyu.edu with your full name, degree and class year. Please also indicate if you plan to attend the
competition's kickoff event on October 23.
Competition Timeline:
- October 23, 2002:
5:00 - 7:00 p.m. (formal program 5:30 - 6:00 p.m.)
The Commons, Shimkin Hall, 50 West 4th Street
Join us for cocktails and learn details of future events, meet a colleague with an idea who is seeking a complementary teammate and question Berkley Center staff about the competition.
- November 16, 2002:
9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
The Commons, Shimkin Hall, 50 West 4th Street
A highly recommended Reality Check Workshop will provide insight into the criteria the judges have used when voting on previous winners and will offer a framework for developing your business concept.
- December 21, 2002:
Deadline to register for the competition.
- January 29, 2003:
Executive Summaries are due. Competition finalists will be selected from among the submissions.
- March 30, 2003:
Entrepreneurial Boot Camp is a mandatory one-day retreat designed to prepare finalists for the competition by helping them further enhance the quality of their business plans and presentation skills.
- April 25, 2003:
Competition finals and awards ceremony.
