The purpose of the Alabama Launchpad Business Plan Competition is to promote and reward marketable high-growth, technology-based ventures that have the potential to attract future funding. The competition is for new, independent ventures in the seed, start-up or early growth stages, or for the expansion of an existing business into a new high-growth market. It should be noted that a different panel of judges will be used in each phase.

Those interested in participating in the 2008-2009 competition can begin registering on September 2, 2008 at the following link: Registration

Please consult the Alabama Launchpad calendar and requirements & eligibility for more details. Teams may still register after the Phase I deadline and enter directly into Phase II of the competition. Registration will close on November 14th, the same day that Phase II plans are due. Also, check out our FAQ page.

The Alabama Launchpad Business Plan Competition occurs over four phases:

Phase I
During Phase I, participants will be asked to submit a brief business concept of no more than two pages. Phase I submissions should provide a general overview of the product or service, identify a target market, provide an overview of the competition, and provide preliminary financial information. Phase I is non-competitive and optional. Each submission will be reviewed by a panel of experts in entrepreneurship and technology start-ups. Each submission will be reviewed by at least two reviewers, and each team will be provided feedback from the panel. See detailed instructions from the 2007-2008 competition.

Phase II
Phase II is expected to be an "extended executive summary" limited to four pages in length. The Phase II submission is an expanded version of the Phase I submission and should provide a more detailed explanation of the business concept. Teams will be graded on specific criteria by a different panel of judges from the previous phase. Scores will be aggregated and the top 20 teams will advance to the next phase. See Phase II instructions from the 2007-2008 competition.

Phase III
Phase III of the competition is the development of a full Business Plan, however submissions are limited to ten pages. As in the previous phase, plans will be graded by a third group of judges, and aggregate scores will determine who advances to the finale. 2008 Phase III Instructions

Phase IV
Phase IV will consist of the top eight teams from Phase III. Each Team will be required to submit a revised Business Plan (based on feedback from Phase III) for review by a panel of judges prior to the Alabama Launchpad Finale. The format for this revised written plan will be the same as for Phase III. Oral presentations will be made before a panel of judges and a larger audience of interested parties. Presentations will be limited to 12 minutes, followed by 10 minutes of Q&A. The remaining 12 semi-finalists will have the opportunity to participate in a poster session at the final competition venue.

Prizes:

First Place: $100,000 cash plus applicable services

Second Place: $50,000 cash plus applicable services

Third Place: $25,000 plus applicable services

Confidentiality:

The Alabama Launchpad Business Plan Competition considers all submitted concepts, executive summaries and full business plans as confidential and treats all team matters accordingly. However, we cannot guarantee complete confidentiality for proprietary matters. Therefore, we strongly encourage any team with concerns regarding intellectual property, copyright or patent confidentiality to either contact their University’s intellectual property office (for University-developed discoveries) or competent legal counsel (for non-University-related discoveries).

Alabama Launchpad is not responsible for any proprietary information and/or intellectual property included in a submitted concept, executive summary or full business plan. Ultimately, protection of sensitive materials is the sole responsibility of the team participating in the competition.