Eligibility and Rules

Eligibility

• The Competition is limited to for-profit businesses, whether existing or new, which are or will be physically located within BDCC's designated Windham region: towns within Windham County, plus the towns of Readsboro, Searsburg, Weston, and Winhall, Vermont.
• The Existing Business category is open to enterprises that have been in operation for more than six months and that have annual gross revenue that does not exceed $500,000.
• The New Business category is open to interested parties with a business idea or a "very early stage" business, defined as an enterprise in operation for less than six months and that has minimal revenue.
• Past finalists must sit out of the Competition for one year and may reapply in subsequent years. Finalists for the 2011 program are not eligible for the 2012 Business Plan Competition, but may enter the 2013 program. These restrictions do not apply to previous contestants who were not selected as finalists and, therefore, did not submit and present a final business plan.

Rules

1. Submissions, including the Business Prospectus and the Final Plan, must include the name of the company, names of owners, ownership structure, principal office or place of business, experience of the owner(s), and estimated number of full-time-equivalent (FTE) jobs created in five years.
2. Contestants may submit only one business plan and must select the Division and Category in which to compete. The two Divisions are BDCC General Business and Strolling of the Heifers Farm/Food. The two Categories within each Division are Existing Business and New Business. Final decisions about category assignment are the responsibility of the Competition Administrator. Guidelines used for assigning contestants to a Category include: Existing Business category--enterprises that have been in operation for more than six months with annual gross revenue that does not exceed $500,000; New Business category--individuals with a business idea or a "very early stage" business, defined as an enterprise in operation for less than six months and that has minimal gross revenue. Guidelines used for assigning contestants to a Division include: Strolling of the Heifers Farm/Food division encompasses farms and enterprises engaged in food processing, distribution, packaging or retailing (including restaurants); BDCC General Business division encompasses all other enterprises.
3. To enter the competition, all contestants must attend one of the Business Prospectus Workshops offered in March.
4. All contestants must submit a Business Prospectus to BDCC no later than 4 p.m. April 11, 2012. The Prospectus may not exceed three pages total, including a two-page Narrative that includes information in Rule #1 and describes product or service offered, market, method of promoting or selling product or service, a schedule of intended activity, as well as a one-page Financial Statement that includes projected revenues and expenses, sources and uses of start-up capital, profit model description, and explanation of how the prize money would be used.
5. All finalists must submit a Final Business Plan to BDCC no later than 4 p.m. May 22, 2012. The Final Plan may take whatever form the contestant chooses but must address all relevant business issues, including information in Rule #1 as well as product or service offered, market, method of promoting or selling product or service, a schedule of intended activity. The Final Plan must include financial projections for three years of cash flow, sources and uses of capital infusions, and a balance sheet representing anticipated values at the beginning and the end of a three year period.
6. Finalists must make a presentation of their Final Plan to panel of judges on May 30, 2012, at the Marlboro Graduate School starting at 9 a.m.; order will be assigned by lot.
7. Each Finalist will be allowed 12 minutes for presentation and 10 minutes for questions from the judges.
8. Finalists may use PowerPoint or other displays, but all supporting electronic material must be brought on portable media to be run on provided PC's running Microsoft Office.
9. BDCC and Strolling of the Heifers appoint judges to their respective Division. Judges will review all Business Prospectuses that are submitted by the deadline. They will select up to five finalists for each Category within each Division. Judges will review all Final Plan submissions that adhere to Competition rules and will observe presentations made by finalists. Judges may select up to five winners for each Category within each Division.
10. The judges' decisions are final. Every effort will be made to be fair in all judgments.
11. The contest administrator will be Jeffrey Lewis, Executive Director of BDCC. His decision will be final on all rules interpretations or request for exceptions.
12. Recognizing that some entrepreneurs wish to keep their plans confidential, the competition is run privately, with materials kept secure and confidential; judging sessions are not open to the public, and only the business names of finalists and winners will be disclosed.
13. No exceptions will be made to the announced schedule. It is the responsibility of the contestant to understand and adhere to the rules.