Social Enterprise Initiative

Business Plan Contest

Overview


Congratulations to the 2008 Business Plan Contest winners and runners-up! The winner of the Social Enterprise Track was Diagnostics For All (team members: Hayat Sindi, Harvard; Roozbeh Ghaffari, MIT; Carol Waghorne, Partners; Jon Puz, HBS; Gilbert Tang, HBS; Krishna Yeshwant, HBS) and the runner-up was Ghonsla (team members: Emmanuel Arnaud, HKS; Zehra Ali, MIT; Monica Hau Le, HSPH; Mubarik Imam).

The Social Enterprise Track of the HBS Business Plan Contest aims to educate HBS students in the process of creating and evaluating new ventures that have a central focus on the creation of social value. Its goal is to prepare students for opportunities in entrepreneurship sometime during their careers. Social Enterprise Contest entries may include nonprofit, for-profit, or hybrid model business plans.

The Contest's focus is primarily educational—that participants apply concepts toward and learn about the venture creation process through their team's efforts, advising from faculty members, and presentations to and feedback from judges. While plans are judged on their potential to become the basis of a viable new venture, judging criteria do not consider the likelihood of implementation. There is no obligation for winners to implement their plan.

Plans that aim to generate substantial economic value may want to consider entering the Traditional Track. Feel free to contact the Social Enterprise Initiative if you have questions about which track to enter.

Judging

Social Enterprise plans are judged by a mix of philanthropists, venture capitalists, and social entrepreneurs. The objective of the first round of judging will be to provide feedback to participants and reduce the pool of contestants to a group of finalists. There will be a different set of judges for the first and final rounds.

Judges are asked to evaluate the plans based upon their potential to become the basis of a viable new venture and will focus on the idea, its potential for social value creation, and the likelihood of achieving that success based upon the team's plan and experience. Judges will look at both the strength of the concept and areas related to execution of the plan, and will evaluate specifically:

  • Idea/Concept: The concept reflects an innovative approach. The team has a clear understanding of the issue it seeks to address, the economic and social drivers of the model, and the feasibility of the concept.
  • Social Value Creation: The business model is likely to make a substantial contribution toward the solution of the issue it seeks to address and can be sustained for a period of time consistent with achieving the desired social impact. (If growing the organization is not the preferred strategy, the program is transferable and replicable).
  • People: The team has (or can get) relevant skills, contacts, and experience. The team is persuasive in communicating the idea and its potential.
  • Context: The rules of the game (i.e., regulatory, tax, political) are favorable. Market need, size of opportunity, competitive landscape, and potential risks are identified and manageable.
  • Resources: The financing plan is sensible in terms of the capital required to launch and operate. Funding sources are identified and a plan for securing initial investment is articulated.
  • Performance Measurement: The plan takes a practicable approach to measuring organizational outcomes and provides a clear plan to deliver high performance.

Prizes

The winner of the Social Enterprise track receives $10,000 in cash as well as $10,000 in-kind services; the runner(s)-up receives $5,000 in cash and $5,000 in-kind services.

Prize money and expense reimbursement checks can only be written to Harvard Business School students, Reynolds Foundation Fellows, or fulltime Harvard graduate students currently enrolled in eligible courses.

Sacerdote Support Fellowship: Graduating Harvard Business School students may also be eligible for the Social Enterprise Business Plan Contest's Sacerdote Support Fellowship which was created to support HBS students, who are committed to the launch of their social enterprise idea, with a three month fellowship during the summer following the Business Plan Contest.