Frequently Asked Questions

This is a list of questions frequently asked about the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition. If you have a question about the Competition that is not covered here, please send email to 100k-web at mit dot edu.

• Am I eligible to participate in the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition?
• I am not an MIT student. How do I meet MIT students to form a team?
• What are the details of the Business Plan Competition?
• How big can my team be?
• What are the steps of the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition?
• Can I be on more than one team?
• How does judging work?
• Can I get a copy of the business plans?
• Who are the judges?
• How can I help organize the Competition?
• What do the judges look for in a plan?
• If we want to participate in the Business Plan Competition, do we have to resubmit our executive summary if we entered in December?
• Where can I find other resources to help me in writing a business plan?
• How can I sponsor the $100K?
• How will my intellectual property be protected?
• If I have IP, do I need a license from a Technology License Office?
• Cash Prize Awards
• How will BPC teams be matched with Mentors?
• Governing Board

Am I eligible to participate in the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition?

All full-time and part-time MIT students at all levels of education and from any department, registered with MIT for the current semester, are eligible to enter. People who do not meet this requirement may join or form teams, provided that at least one of the principal contestants on the team is a current full-time MIT student. Teams are encouraged to seek the involvement of MIT faculty, alumni, post-docs, researchers, and staff.  The MIT student or MIT faculty member must fill a critical role and is expected to receive an even stake of founders equity.  "Bolt-on" MIT students to existing companies historically don't make it through the initial judging screening.  Spin-off products from existing companies marketing products in new markets are encouraged with MIT students or faculty holding a majority of the leadership positions in a new company with a licensing agreement.   Always check the entry kit for the appropriate year's Competition for complete eligibility guidelines.  Teams with non-MIT students should explain in detail the MIT student's roles and equity stake. 

I am not an MIT student. How do I meet MIT students to form a team?

There are many ways to find MIT students with similar interests to form teams. You should attend the team-building events (listed in the calendar). You can also go to other MIT entrepreneurship-related events such as conferences and classes.

There are also a number of Facebook groups, one for each track: you can access them via the Find a Team page.

 

What are the details of the Business Plan Competition?

To compete in the Business Plan Competition (BPC) each team must submit a 1000 word executive summary with a 10 ppt pitch deck by February 28.  

Each judging panel track will select up to 5 teams to participate in the BPC Semi-finals on March 6th.  There will be 7 tracks: Aero/Astro, BioTech, Development, Energy, Mobile, Products&Services and Web/IT.

Upon being selected to the BPC Semi-finals, each team will be assigned one Venture mentor, one Law Firm with one Legal mentor and be given an $1,000 expense account at a Mentors Dinner on March 13th.

The team will have two months to build a superior business plan. Final plans are due on May 1st.

Round II judging will take place on May 8th, and each track will chose a winner to compete for the Grand Prize on May 14th. Some tracks will have individual category specific prizes. 

How big can my team be?

Teams can be of any size. We have found that the most successful teams typically have from three to five members.

What are the steps of the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition?

The Elevator Pitch Contest (EPC) is held in October to bring ideas together and to provide the first networking forum to build teams.  More details can be found at www.mit100k.org/epc  

The Executive Summary Contest (ESC) starts afterward. Teams submit short idea 1000 word summaries and the winning teams are announced at the awards ceremony in early December. More details can be found at www.mit100k.org/esc.

The Business Plan Contest (BPC) begins in February.  Teams submit 1000 word executive summaries with a 10 slide pitch deck in February and BPC teams are announced in early March.  BPC teams will submit full business plans in early May. Finalists are announced at the beginning of May and compete for the Grand Prize.  Winners are announced at the final awards ceremony in May.

Throughout the academic year, there are seminars, workshops, panel discussions, teambuilding events and classes to help teams produce better entries.

Can I be on more than one team?

You can be a member of as many teams as you want, but it may be seen by the judges as a lack of commitment to making any one of them a success. Most often your efforts are best spent making one entry as strong as possible.

How does judging work?

For picking $1K winners, $100K semifinalists and $100K finalists, there are three phases to each judging round. 1) Plans (or summaries) are broken into groups. Each group is read and rated by (typically) four judges individually, before the actual judging day. 2) On judging day, each group of four judges selects a subset of plans to advocate in the last phase. 3) All judges come together and select the winners or the plans that advance to the next stage in the Competition, as appropriate.

For picking the $100K winners, all judges read the business plans of all finalists, then the finalist teams make 15-minute oral presentations of their plans, including demos if appropriate. The judges have about 10 minutes of Q&A with each team. After all teams have presented, the judges select the runners-up and the winning teams.

Can I get a copy of the business plans?

The MIT $100K Entrepreneurship Competition does not provide copies of the plans.  We provide only a brief "public summary" of each entry on the $100K web site.  We encourage you to contact the teams directly to discuss receiving copies of the plans if you are a gold or platinum sponsor.

Who are the judges?

The judges are a panel of professionals who dedicate many hours during the year to reading plans and providing feedback. They can be segmented into three general categories: venture capitalists and angel investors; successful entrepreneurs; and professional services providers working in the venture community. Most have strong ties to MIT, but this is not a requirement.

How can I help organize the Competition?

The Competition organizing team is broken into a number of areas: judging; events; communications; sponsor relations; and alumni / mentor relations. Each of these areas has a student in charge. Send email to the communications team with the name of the group(s) you are interested in helping.

What do the judges look for in a plan?

A panel of judges from the MIT and Boston venture communities, including experienced entrepreneurs, social entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, non-profit founders, legal professionals, and patent experts reads the entries. The following are some of the general criteria considered by the Competition judges, both in the MIT $1K and the MIT $100K Venture Competition. These criteria may also be used by industry, private investors, and venture capitalists in evaluating the attractiveness of new venture opportunities:

• High growth potential
• Defensibility from competitors
• Up-front capital investment
• Short time-to-market
• Market leadership potential
• Stage of idea development
• Quality and breadth of team
• Why is this business going to be around in 5 years?

Judging for the MIT $100K Entrepreneurship for Development Competition will focus on the following criteria:

• Estimated social impact
• Quality and breadth of team
• Uniqueness of plan
• Sustainability (financial and operational)

The decisions of the Judging Panel of the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition on the semi-finalists, finalists, runners-up, winners and appropriate progress for installment payments, are final and binding on each participant.

If we want to participate in the Business Plan Competition, do we have to resubmit our executive summary if we entered in December?

Yes, The two contests are distinct. Entering the ESC allows teams another chance to get feedback on their ideas. You must resubmit if you want to enter the Business Plan Contest in the Spring.

Where can I find other resources to help me in writing a business plan?

Please see our resources page. Dewey Library has access to many additional market research and business planning resources.

How can I sponsor the $100K?

The $100K organizing team will be happy to discuss sponsorship opportunities with you. Donations to the $100K are donations to MIT, a non-profit educational institution, so they are fully tax-deductible for most donors. Contact sponsors team for more information.

How will my intellectual property be protected?

Before submitting your business plan the MIT Entrepreneurship Competition urges you to confirm with appropriate advisors or legal counsel that any intellectual property described in your plan is protected; i.e., by appropriate intellectual property filings, notices, (patent, copyright, etc) by the owning institution and/or individuals. The MIT Entrepreneurship Competition also recommends that you determine in advance whether your plan describes a technology, invention, copyrightable work or other intellectual property owned by MIT in accordance with MIT Policy (see: http://web.mit.edu/policies/13.0.html ). The MIT Technology Licensing Office is available to answer your questions.

 

If I have IP, do I need a license from a Technology License Office?

The judging panel will understand if you have not negotiated a license or from the University, Government agency or organization that owns the Intellectual Property.  We highly recommend your IP situation and plan is clearly discussed in your pitchdeck.  Teams with unclear IP situations have not done well in years past.  By time the finals presentations are conducted, teams are expected to have a license option for the IP. 

Cash Prize Awards

All prizes are cash awards and not investments.  There are no strings attached and you will receive your money immediately if it is under $50,000.  All teams have 45 days from after the announcement of the prize to pick up thier award.  Awards greater than $50,000 will be overseen by a governing committee.  Availability and use of the cash award will be managed through the governing committee and/or Board of Directors.

We highly caution teams from participating in contests that offer an investment award.  Unfortunately, some institutional investors have observed that  these awards become problematic for later-on investment.  Past winners from this competition have attracted a number of incredible investment offers including Convertible notes, Seed and Series A financing. 

How will BPC teams be matched with Mentors?

The Board of Directors will match teams selected to participate in the BPC with VC and Legal mentors that are part of the MIT Entrepreneurship Program.   

Governing Board