MBA Experience

Business Plan Contest: Eligibility

Team Requirements

The Contest is open to students in good standing enrolled in a fulltime graduate degree program at Harvard University. Each team must meet the two following qualifications:

1. Include at least one person who meets one of the following criteria:

  • HBS MBA student
  • Current Harvard University Reynolds Foundation Fellow
  • Full-time Harvard graduate student enrolled in one of the following courses during the academic year the Contest is held:
    • Commercializing Science: Field Course (at HBS)
    • Educational Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship in Comparative Perspective (at HGSE)
    • Entrepreneurship and Innovation in the Private and Social Sectors (at HBS, HKS)
    • Entrepreneurship in Education Reform (at HBS)
    • Innovation in Business, Energy, and Environment: Field Project (at HBS)
    • Introduction to Social Entrepreneurship (at HLS)
    • Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Learning (at HGSE)
    • Leading and Governing High Performing Nonprofit Organizations (at HBS)
    • New Frontiers in Philanthropy, Social Enterprise and Impact Investing (at HKS)
    • Social Entrepreneurship and Global Innovation (at FAS)
    • Social Innovation Lab: Field Course (at HBS)
    • Sparking Social Change (at HKS, GSE)
    • Harvard graduate students enrolled in other related Harvard graduate school courses may contact the Contest for a case-by-case review of the course to determine potential eligibility.

2. Be composed of a majority graduate students of Harvard University, and these members must have meaningful roles in the venture and the Contest presentation.

It is recommended that students participate on only one team. Any students interested in participating on more than one team should contact the Social Enterprise Initiative before entering the Contest.

NOTE: RC teams (i.e. any team with a first-year, RC, student) may not enter the Business Plan Contest with the same idea used for their Field III project.

Plan Requirements

The HBS Social Venture Business Plan Contest seeks business plans that meet the following criteria:

  • A project which has as a key component of its activities the creation of social value value in a significant and sustained manner.
  • The Contest is designed for projects that are in either the concept or pilot phase, meaning those that have not yet started regular operations and/or those that are testing initial concepts through basic pilot operations. Eligibility will be reviewed by the HBS Social Venture Business Plan Contest Review Committee based on the parameters outlined below and its decisions are final.
    • Revenues or donations since inception (either earned or contributed) are generally $25,000 or less
    • Operation begun no earlier than February 1 of the year prior to the Contest
    • Fulltime equivalent employee head count is no greater than 1.0
    • Project is a standalone effort and operates independently of existing organizations (including, but not limited to, resources, governance, management, staff, and infrastructure)
  • The project can be a nonprofit, for-profit or hybrid model.
  • The project can only be entered in one track of the HBS Business Plan Contest (e.g. Social Venture or Business Venture).

Living within the Community Standards and Student Honor Code

Multiple students in multiple courses working on the same project naturally raises issues related to ownership of the work product and attribution of efforts for grading. While the business plan entry itself is not graded as part of the Contest, students are nonetheless directed to be sensitive to the issues raised by such projects. Specifically, if the business plan (or research products that underpin it) will be submitted to more than one faculty member as part of an HBS paper or project for credit, students must complete the form for "Required Disclosure Of Multiple Papers/Presentations" to the various faculty members involved. (This form is available in Spangler Center.) Note that any student projects and business plan submissions that are found to be in violation of these requirements will be disqualified from the Contest, and students may be subject to further disciplinary action, under the Community Standards.