Business Plan Competition

Essex County College is pleased to announce the Allen J. Singleton Business Plan Competition. If you have a goal of becoming a successful entrepreneur, we invite you to compete in the 4th Annual Essex County College Business Plan Competition. The competition is open to students wishing to launch a new business venture, as well as those already in the business world. Students will have three opportunities to win prizes by coming up with the most compelling business ventures.

 

2016 – 2017 Winners:

FIRST PLACE: Victor Olaniyi, $1000 Prize

SECOND PLACE: Dazhai Brown, $750 Prize

THIRD PLACE: Peta-Gay Harper, $500 Prize

More Information on Our Past Winners »

To enter the 2018-2019 Business Plan Competition, please follow the instructions as outlined in Phase 1 below.

Phase 1 – Application Submission

Applications are available online this Fall 2018 Semester

The Business Plan Competition is open to all Essex County College Students. There are no fees for entering into the Competition. You may participate in the Competition as an individual student or as a team member of not more than three persons. Only one application is permitted per student or team. Follow the steps as outlined to submit your application on or before the deadline.

  1. Review the competition rules below.
  2. Complete the Application for Submission.
  3. Make sure you complete all required information, including your Business Concept of not more than 250 words or less than 200 words.

All Competition Applications will be reviewed by the Essex County College Business Plan Committee. All approved applicants will be notified directly. If your application is approved, you will receive an email stating that you are eligible to move on to Phase 2 of the competition. Note that the Committee is interested in applications that describe innovative business ideas, products or services, that have the potential for becoming a viable and growing enterprise. All applications will be equally considered for approval. Applications will not be returned to the originator.

Phase 2 – Workshop Preparation and Schedule

If your application is approved, you will receive an email notification stating you have been considered eligible to move onto Phase 2 of the competition. The top 10 (Phase 2) recipients will be offered the opportunity to attend (3) workshop options to assist them with preparation of the completion of the Business Plan.

Workshop Schedule

TBA

Phase 3 – Business Plan Final Submission

Submit your Final Business Plan, including all attachments in PDF format online on or before the deadline.

 
Official Rules
Spring 2016 Winners

Official Rules

How to Enter: Prior to submitting your application, please review eligibility requirements and submission guidelines. To enter, you must be an Essex County College student currently enrolled (Fall 2018). Complete the online Business Proposal Competition Application Form by clicking on: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ECC2018BusinessPlanCompetition

There are three steps to complete your application:

1. Student must fill in all required areas (Name, Address, etc.).

2. Student must submit their Business Idea or Business Plan Proposal.

3. The completed application must be submitted no later than November 19, 2018 by 11:55 pm EST.

Goal of the Business Plan:

• To encourage students to develop interest in innovation and entrepreneurship;

• To provide students with technical skills and academic support in the area of entrepreneurship; and

• To provide financial incentive to winners of the competition.

Eligibility Requirements: The competition is for Essex County College students currently enrolled in any academic program or certificate in the college.

Decisions Regarding the Competition and the Winners: All decisions regarding the competition rules, procedures, and processes are at the sole discretion of Essex County College. Changes and/or interpretations of these rules may be made by the Essex County College at any time, even though they may be (or may appear to be) in conflict with some previously published information. The selection of the individuals or teams to compete and the decision of the winners are at the sole discretion of the judges and Essex County College. Best efforts will be made to make decisions in accordance with this Official Rules document.

Changes to Competition Rules: While not anticipated, these rules and prizes are subject to change at the discretion of Essex County College at any time. Essex County College staff has the right to interpret these rules according to its own judgment.

Student Involvement: The competition is for students to create and manage ventures. Candidates can equally use their existing business as a case for this competition.

Students are expected to:

1. Be the driving force behind the new or existing venture,

2. Have played the primary role in developing the business plan, and

3. Have key management roles in the venture.

Training and Attendance: To compete, the student(s) must participate and complete the Entrepreneurship Training Sessions at set dates, times and venues.

Expectations: Candidates who compete in this competition are expected to: Produce a written Business Plan by February 17th, 2019 and be prepared to give an oral presentation to guests and audience of this competition at a scheduled date and venue. Candidates will be guided and mentored on how to meet these expectations throughout the process.

Non-confidentiality: All sessions of the competition, including but not limited to oral presentations and question/answer sessions, are open to the public at large. Any and all sessions may be broadcast to interested persons through media which may include radio, television and the Internet. Any data or information discussed or divulged in public sessions by entrants should be considered information that could possibly enter the public realm, and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged, or presented in these sessions.

Due to the nature of the competition, we are not able to ask judges, reviewers, staff, or the audience to agree to or sign non-disclosure statements. Essex County College cannot guarantee that other individuals will not obtain access to electronic or hard copies of the business plan. All presentations are open to the general public, and some presentations may be videotaped. Attendance by media personnel is expected.

Judges: The competition will be monitored and judged by a team of 5 to 7 independent judges. The judges will provide a common rubric which will be discussed with contestants at the initial workshops. All contestants will be judged based on the quality and innovativeness of their business plan using the rules set for the competition.

Copyrights & Permissions: If a team uses copyrighted materials and/or images from a third-party in their submissions or presentations, they must obtain permission and authorization in advance from the owners to use this material and provide proof of authorization from the copyright holder.

Marketing: Essex County College reserves the right to use any and all material (printed or otherwise) prepared for the 2019 Essex County College Business Plan Competition in publicizing and promoting the event and to publicize and promote the college in other ways.

Entry Fees: The Business Plan Competition does not require an entry fee.

Prizes: The top three winners will be provided with a cash awards as follows:

1st Prize: $1,000.00

2nd Prize: $750.00

3rd Prize: $500.00

Spring 2016 Winners

Anna & Terry won the Allen J. Singleton Business Plan Competition Spring 2016

From L-R: Dr. Allen J. Singleton (Benefactor); Anna Kyrylova & Tae Han Ahn (Winners); and Dr. Augustine A. Boakye (Chairperson of Business)

It did not come as a surprise to many instructors and students to see the spectacular performance and professionalism of Ganna Kyrylova (Anna) & Tae Han Ahn (Terry) that led to their Business Plan Competition victory on March 15, 2016. The two accounting major students distinguished themselves from the twenty-five college-wide competitors who entered the Allen J Singleton Business Plan Competition in November 2015. This process involved a tremendous amount of time, preparation, creativity and presentation skills. Anna & Terry winning the First Prize of the Competition received a monetary award of $1,500. Al-Donn Riddick & Crandal Chestnutt (Business Majors) won the Second Prize and received a monetary award of $1,000 while Shakka Bledman (Computer Science) & Wendell Cort (Engineering) won the Third Prize and went home with $500.

In her speech, the Keynote Speaker, Ms. Mary Baker, expressed her heartfelt appreciation to be invited to her Alma Mater, and encouraged the students to keep their individual passions strong as they pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

 

Dr. Allen J. Singleton, a former employee of Essex County College who donated $10,000 for the Business Plan Competition was pleased to see it all come to fruition. He urged the Business Division to keep providing quality education and promote creativity among the students.

Dr. Augustine A. Boakye, who championed the Business Plan Competition, summarized the goals and the stages of the Business Plan Competition to the audience. He thanked the President, Dr. Gale Gibson for her support and stressed the commitment of the Business Division in providing experiential learning opportunities to the students.

The event attracted more than 120 participants including faculty, staff and special guests from the community.

The Business Division is appreciative of Mr. Allen J. Singleton for his donation, and welcomes any private or corporate agency that will wish to sponsor this competition in the future. They would also like to thank the Administrators and the entire Essex County College Community for all of their support.

 

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