John Eckert, the former president of the Canadian Venture Capitalist Association, surveyed the 100 or so students at the Medical Science Building’s MacLeod Auditorium last Wednesday. “How many of you want to own your own business?” he asked. All the hands shot up.
Eckert was among the speakers lined up for the opening ceremony of the adVenture Business Plan Competition, organized by Rotman Commerce Students in Free Enterprise. Speakers included two seasoned venture capitalists and the CEO of DreamCube Inc., a technology start-up company.
“What you [students] must realize is that whatever company, it was all started by one person, one dollar, one concept, and one good idea,” said Tina Kalogeropoulos, marketing manager for Pizza Pizza.
The business plan competition is open to undergraduate and grad students from any faculty. It will take place in March, after a four-month program that includes mentorship and workshops on law, accounting, strategy, and marketing.
“The idea is to bridge the gap [for students] between good ideas and business know-how,” said Jacob Lobaszewski, senior project manager for RCSIFE.
Workshops and events are open to all, but to enter the competition and the mentorship program, students must register for a fee of $10-15 per head (organizers have not yet decided on the amount).
On competition day, top teams will have the chance to pitch their finalized business plans to a panel of judges. Top prize is $2,000, with second and third-place finishers receiving $1,000 and $500 respectively.
Then again, there’s more than one way to come out ahead. As Lobaszewski put it, “It’s not about the prize money, but the people you meet.”
“At the end of all this, if we were able to inspire even just one student, then I would judge this competition to be a success,” he said.
The registration deadline for the adVenture Business Plan Competition is Jan. 8, 2010. For more information, go to rotmancommerce.utoronto.ca/rcsife
