Judges needed at ‘New Venture Competition’

Since mid-October, teams of UW-River Falls students, coached by a faculty or staff member, have been developing ideas and plans for new businesses as part of the first-ever “New Venture Competition.”

UWRF is now seeking entrepreneurs to provide feedback on these business ideas and to help select which teams will win the New Venture Competition and ultimately move on the Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament (WBIT).

The student teams have until Dec. 15 to submit a two-page business plan using the categories included in the increasingly popular Business Model Canvas. Judges will select finalists based on how well the team addresses the nine areas of the Business Model Canvas, as well as the originality of the business idea. Finalists will then be asked to present their business ideas in an exhibit hall where a second set of judges will rate the teams on how well they adapted their idea to feedback from judges and potential customers.

Entrepreneurs judging the initial two-page plans will be asked to provide their scores and feedback by Jan. 7, 2015. Those interested in judging the exhibit hall presentations will need to be available between 2-5 p.m. on March 4, 2015.

The “New Venture Competition” is sponsored by the WiSys Technology Foundation, the University of Wisconsin-Extension, and Fiberstar.

Entrepreneurs interested in serving as judges should contact Danielle Campeau, UWRF Center for Innovation and Business Development director, at 715-425-0643 or email danielle.campeau@uwrf.edu.

More information on the New Venture Competition, including the Business Model Canvas and Lean Startup model, is available at http://www.uwrf.edu/CIBD.