Columbia Engineering Venture Competition

Calling all Columbia Entrepreneurs

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Round details

Judges

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*Uploading Instructions:

Create a profile. If you start at your company profile page, you should see a link next to the company name that

says "edit/manage your profile." Once you click that link, you'll land on a

page with a number of links on the left hand side. Click the

"Video/Documents" tab. Once you're there, you can upload your document (the

executive summary). Choose the Private setting if you don't want the public to see it.

We look forward to hearing your ideas, providing you with feedback, and getting the Columbia Entrepreneurship community together for an exciting event!

Summer Start-up Session:

Undergraduate SEAS competitors not selected for the second round will be automatically entered into the SEAS Undergraduate Track. The winner of this track will receive a slot in the SEAS Summer Start-up Session (S3) with free room and board and a small stipend. Read more about S3 here.

Eligibility Guidelines:

To be considered eligible to apply, the following criteria are mandatory:

Eligible teams must have at least one principle member currently enrolled in a Columbia University graduate or undergraduate program or must be a young alumnus (five years or less after graduation) of any Columbia University school.
Acceptable business plans include early-stage or new ventures, joint ventures, alliances or network-based businesses and licensing arrangements. Consultancies or traditional professional service business models are discouraged.

Dates and Deadlines

February 7, 11:59PM — Executive Summaries Due

March 10, 11:59PM — Second Round Business Plans Due

April 10, 9:00AM — Final round presentations on Morningside Campus

For more information, email ischultz at columbia.edu

This competition has 3 rounds

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Type: Judges

Start date: Sunday, January 13, 2013 09:00 AM PST

End date: Friday, February 08, 2013 02:59 PM PST

Enrollment is open until Friday, February 08, 2013 02:59 PM PST

Requirements:

Entries will require the following information

• A cover page with each team member’s name, email, school, and date of (anticipated) graduation.

• Business summary
• Customer Problem and Solution
• Target Market
• Competitors
• Competitive Advantage
• Financial/Funding Information
• Intellectual Property (if applicable)

Executive summaries should be no more than 2,000 words total.

If you have a website or other information online, you may provide links in your executive summary.

Rules:

An team of judges will check eligibility requirements to determine which teams move forward to the next round.

Type: Judges

Start date: Friday, February 08, 2013 02:59 PM PST

End date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 10:59 PM PST

Enrollment is open until Monday, February 18, 2013 10:59 PM PST

Judging criteria

Customer Problem/Solution

Did the team adequately describe the problem they are solving and the solution they are proposing?

Target Market

Did the team describe the target market (in numbers)?

Competitors

Are the competitors all listed?

Competitive Advantage

Did the team describe the advantage they have?

Financial/Funding information

Has the team demonstrated that they understand how much money they need to raise? Have they projected costs and revenue?

Business Summary

Did the team adequately describe the business and idea?

Requirements:

Entries will require the following information

• A cover page with each team member’s name, email, school, and date of (anticipated) graduation.

• Business summary
• Customer Problem and Solution
• Target Market
• Competitors
• Competitive Advantage
• Financial/Funding Information
• Intellectual Property (if applicable)

Rules:

To be considered eligible to apply, the following criteria are mandatory:

• Eligible teams must have at least one principle member currently enrolled in a Columbia University graduate or undergraduate program or must be a young alumnus (five years or less after active enrollment) of any Columbia University school.
•Acceptable business plans include early-stage or new ventures, joint ventures, alliances or network-based businesses and licensing arrangements. Consultancies or traditional professional service business models are strongly discouraged.

Type: Judges

Start date: Wednesday, February 27, 2013 10:59 PM PST

End date: Sunday, March 31, 2013 10:59 PM PDT

Judging criteria

Team

Does the team have the credentials required? Have they assembled an advisory board or are they working with industry leaders?

Pitch/summary

Did the team present a clear, succinct, and compelling reason for their startup?

Market Opportunity

Has the team articulated a clear competitive advantage?

Financials

Has the team presented a reasonable accounting of the amount of investment the venture requires? Have they projected costs and revenues accurately?

Requirements:

The participants in this round must provide a business plan.

Rules:

Only contestants from chosen from the previous round and voted on by judges can enter this round.

Andrew Akers

Scott Barnett

Bambi Francisco Roizen

CEO and Founder, Vator

Vator was a side project of mine that was a mere concept while I was a columnist/correspondent at Dow Jones MarketWatch. It was originally started to help me vet the many startups pitching me while I was a journalist. It was designed to ensure that those I couldn't cover would have a platform for others to find them. I left in April 2007 and launched Vatortv in June 2007.

At Dow Jones, I covered Internet trends and investments across the public and private sectors. I was a morning business anchor for KPIX (the local CBS affiliate in San Francisco), and reported on MarketWatch's business magazine show on CBS. I made frequent appearances as an expert on technology on CNBC, Fox Business News, and CBS. I was named one of the top 10 most influential journalists on the Web, by Adweek. In the 'mid-90s, I worked as producer at CNN's financial news network, where I created, launched and produced business shows, including one on IPOs and new ideas.

I am married to Ezra Roizen. We have four boys.

Principal, ESA

CEO, Lingospot, Inc.