Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ) and Cisco will jointly hold its second global business plan competition for students aimed at fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. Last year’s winner was Bihar-based Husk Power Systems, a decentralized rural electrification provider in India. Kerala-based SMS text messaging company, Innoz, was also one of last year’s finalists. Prior India winners from other DFJ business plan competitions include Delhi-based solar lighting company d.Light Design and Mumbai-based networking company Vegayan Systems.
The competition is designed to find new technology-oriented ideas from aspiring college and university student entrepreneurs around the world. Fourteen finalists will be announced on June 21, 2010. The winner, who will be announced on June 29, 2010, will receive a minimum of $250,000 seed money. The winner will also receive professional feedback and mentorship from both DFJ and Cisco.
DFJ India is searching for the top 5 teams to represent India. Teams must meet the following criteria:
Eligibility:
1. Team Composition
Teams may comprise of one or more people. At least one-third (1/3) of the presenting team members must be students. At least one student team member must deliver a substantive portion of the company presentation. Students may be undergraduate, masters or PhD candidates who are matriculated in a full time, part time or executive degree granting program during the June 2009-June 2010 period. If the team members have formed a corporation, the team does not need to include all of the employees and managers of the corporation.
2. Student Involvement
Student(s) must hold a key leadership role in the formation and operation of the business.
3. Funding Status
Teams that have already formed entities that have accepted a preferred equity investment from an institutional investor or have received more than US$1,000,000 in financing may not apply.
4. Faculty Involvement
Student teams are encouraged to seek faculty support. However, faculty support is not a requisite.
5. Judging
The judges will be representatives from DFJ and CISCO who will judge all teams on the same day.
6. Competition Criteria
The judges will consider management, addressable market size, competitive positioning, barriers, capital efficiency, financial projections, and achievements to date in selecting participants and winners.
Important Dates:
June 4, 2010: Deadline for India teams to apply to be in the top 5
June 7, 2010: Top 5 India teams notified
June 11, 2010 5:00 PM PST: Deadline for Finalists submission
June 21, 2010: Global Finalists Announced
June 29, 2010: Global Competition
To participate in this event, please email your executive summary and powerpoint presentation to Anurakt Jain at anurakt@dfj.com. If you have questions regarding the final event, please email Marta Bulaich at marta@dfj.com.
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