1. Eligibility
The competition is open to all registered part and full-time London Metropolitan University students at both Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels and those who have graduated in the last three years. Students are not permitted to submit the same idea on more than one occasion (this is based on the product/service offering and the Business Plan committee decision is final).
You may enter individually, or as a team of up to four people. Each individual must fulfil the criteria stated above.
2. Deadlines
Failure to submit your concept or final plan by the agreed deadline will result in elimination from the competition. You can find all deadlines on the Schedule page. Dates are subject to change at discretion of the University.
3. Submission Requirements
3.1 Business Concept Submission
A soft copy must be emailed to studententerprise@londonmet.ac.uk
The business concept must be no more than 1,000 words. A ‘business concept template’ is provided in the resources sections that outlines what is expected for phase I submissions.
The following items should be addressed:
- Proposed Product or Service
- Target Audience
- Compettive Landscape
- Plan for Execution
3.2 Business Plan Submission
The six finalists will be asked to submit a full business plan. Five hard copies of the business plan must be submitted to the Accelerator, 35 Kingsland Road, London, E2 8AA
The structure of the business plan is not defined but the following sections are mandatory:
- Executive Summary (one page max)
- Product/Service Description
- Market Research
- Operations Plan
- Marketing Plan
- Finance Plan
4. Presentations
The duration of the presentations at the final will be 12 minutes with an additional five minutes allocated for questions from the judges.
5. Assessment Criteria
Business plans are judged on the following criteria:
- Definition
- Originality and Competitiveness
- Market Opportunity
- Management
- Resourcing
- Risks and Rewards
- Business Plan Presentation
- Would I invest?
The additional category of ‘Presentation Quality’ is added for the final round and constitutes 30% of the score.
In the event of a tie the judges may use their discretion to select their preferred plan at any stage.
6. Judges
Level One – Initial judging will be carried out by the Accelerator Business Incubator staff
Final presentations – The final presentations will be judged by a panel of experienced entrepreneurs
