Frequently Asked Questions
- Who is eligible to enter the Contest?
- I am from another program (e.g., Kennedy School, Law School, MIT) but would like to take part. What should I do?
- How will I get contest information during the rest of the year?
- How can I find teammates?
- What is the faculty advisor's role?
- What other assistance is available?
- How can I protect the confidentiality of intellectual property?
- How is the prize money split?
- How can I identify a faculty advisor who might be interested in advising my team's plan?
- Who are the judges? What are their backgrounds?
- What if I don't have an idea for a business plan but want to be part of organizing the event?
Who is eligible to enter the Contest?
Business Venture Track: All teams entered are eligible as long as they have at least one Harvard Business School student.
Social Venture Track: All teams entered are eligible as long as they have at least one person who is: a) an HBS student, b) a Harvard University Reynolds Foundation Fellow, or c) a full-time Harvard graduate student currently enrolled in the Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory or the Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector course at KSG. Visit the Social Venture Track website for complete SV Track eligibility details.
I am from another program (e.g., Kennedy School, Law School, MIT) but would like to take part. What should I do?
Degree candidate students outside of HBS would need to find an HBS team organized by at least one HBS student to join. This can be done by posting your interest in joining a team on the Team Building message board or attending the Team Building Mixer or other Contest event. Within the Social Venture Track only, Harvard University Reynolds Foundation Fellows and Harvard graduate student currently enrolled in the Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory or the Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector course at the Kennedy School are also eligible to enter. Visit the SV Track website for complete SV Track eligibility details.
How will I get Contest information during the rest of the year?
Contestants should check the Business Plan Contest Web site. In addition, HBS students should check their myHBS page and the HBS Event Calendar for occasional event announcements. Direct questions may be addressed to the Contest organizers.
How can I find teammates?
For current HBS MBA students, the HBS Entrepreneur's Network at StudentBusinesses.com can help you find other HBS teams and teammates. On this website, if you have an idea but are looking to add to your team, you can register and post your business profile so that individuals can search and find you. You can also search individual profiles to find people who are looking to join a team. For those who do not have an idea but want to join a team, you can register your individual profile so that people with business ideas can find you. You can also use the Network to look for teams that you may want to join.
Both HBS students and non-students can find teams and/or team members at the annual Team Building Mixer. At the Mixer, you can network with prospective teammates and look for teams to join.
Non-HBS students and entrepreneurs can also post their business idea on our Find a Team page.
What is the faculty advisor's role?
Each team is required to have a faculty advisor. The faculty advisor will be active throughout the business plan development process and can help with ongoing review/plan development. Note that the Faculty Advisor may or may not be the same person as the faculty member who is giving academic credit for the work, if you are developing your business plan for credit as a field study.
What other assistance is available?
In addition to the faculty advisor, we run a speaker series in conjunction with the Contest. This includes a series of practical "how to" seminars related to aspects of the business plan, networking opportunities to speak with other entrepreneurs and a forum in which to test early business plan concepts and receive feedback. See the Contest Calendar for the full schedule. Selected plans from previous Contest years are available in the Rock Center Student Resource Center (Rock 107) and in Baker Library.
How can I protect the confidentiality of intellectual property?
The HBS Honor Code applies to all participants of the HBS Business Plan Contest. If you feel that significant confidentiality issues will arise in the course of preparing your plan, you should have a thorough understanding worked out with your team members in advance. The Rock Center has created a document that may be used as the basis for a discussion and documenting of these issues. Additionally, if you are writing a Non-Disclosure Agreement, see this template for a sample NDA.
While every effort will be made to preserve the confidentiality of each submission, it is suggested that highly sensitive material be excluded from the entry if a team is concerned about the confidentiality of such material. Note, however, that finalist teams will be making brief presentations to an open audience. Of course, technical drawings and formulae need not be shown at this presentation, or even included in the business plan. All reasonable measures to ensure the protection of intellectual property introduced and associated with the Contest will been taken. Harvard University, Harvard Business School, and the organizers of the HBS Business Plan Contest cannot take further responsibility to protect the intellectual property or other rights of the contestants. Protection of such rights is ultimately the responsibility of each Contestant. Contestants are urged to mark as "CONFIDENTIAL" any portion of their entries which they consider to be confidential.
How is the prize money split?
First, the winning team will receive $25,000 in cash (taxable) and $25,000 in discounts on in-kind services*. The three runners-up will receive $10,000 in cash (taxable) and $10,000 in discounts on in-kind services. The winner of the Social Venture Track will receive $25,000 in cash and a similar amount of in-kind services. For the Business Venture Track, under the terms of prize funding, prize money checks can only be written to Harvard Business School students. For the SV Track, prize money checks can only be written to HBS students, Harvard University Reynolds Foundation Fellows or Harvard graduate student currently enrolled in the Social Entrepreneurship Collaboratory course at the Kennedy School.
Note that these awards are taxable, and that we must have your Social Security number before a check is cut. Each team winning a prize will have sole responsibility for deciding how to allocate or otherwise use its prize proceeds. The organizers of the Contest will not become involved, either voluntarily or by request, in a team's decision concerning the allocation or use of prize proceeds.
*Note that the in-kind services must be used by June 30 of the calendar year following the Contest.
How can I identify a faculty advisor who might be interested in advising my team's plan?
The following options are available:
- Students can look up faculty members' backgrounds and areas of academic interests on the HBS faculty pages and approach the appropriate professors with their idea.
- Students can contact Mike Roberts, Joe Lassiter, Bill Sahlman, or Michael Chu. All are faculty advisors to the Business Plan Competition.
Who are the judges? What are their backgrounds?
Contest judges will be drawn from a variety of backgrounds, including venture capitalists, lawyers, accountants, HBS alumni, entrepreneurs, HBS faculty and other professional or specialists deemed necessary to understand the commercial viability of a business idea (e.g., product design specialists).
What if I don't have an idea for a business plan but want to be part of organizing the event?
Direct inquiries to the organizing team. Students are encouraged to take part in this worthwhile event. Students can help on an as-available basis and need not worry about long-term time commitments.