Competition Rounds

The Screening Round is the first round of the competition. Teams submit a two-three page summary of their business plan, which is then read, reviewed, and scored by Screening Round Judges.

The 12 top-scoring teams (or the number of qualified teams as determined by the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Director) will progress to the second round, the Semi-Finals (Elevator Fast Pitch and Trade Show).

You can find the Business Plan Template and Screening Round Judging Rubric on the Entering the Competition page under Round 1: Screening Round Resources.

Judges and scoring

Each business plan is reviewed online by 12-15 individual judges who will score each plan according to the Screen Round Judge Scoring Rubric below. 

The Judges comment on each of the scoring sections and provide a score of 1-5 (note: scoring sections are weighted). All teams will receive the judges' comments, but not their scores.

Judges are all volunteers with a business degree or relevant work experience.

Business Plan Summaries are judged on various aspects of the plans, with some scoring sections weighted more heavily than others:

• Business Plan Overall (20%)
• Market Opportunity & Customers (20%)
• Products and/or Services (10%)
• Competitive Strategy (10%)
• Sales & Marketing Strategy (10%)
• Business Model, Financial Projections, Funding (20%)
• Management Team (5%)
• Sustainability/Triple Bottom Line (5%)

The Semi-Finals Round is held in person on the Seattle University (SU) campus. It includes two separately judged (but equally weighted) scoring sections: the Elevator Fast Pitch and the Trade Show. 

You can find the Pitch Outline Guide, Elevator Pitch Judging Rubric and Tradeshow Judging Form on the Entering the Competition page under Round 2: Elevator Pitch and Trade Show Resources.

Executive Summary Sheet

Each team will create a one-page Executive Summary sheet that will be provided to the Pitch Judges, Trade Show Judges, Audience Choice Judges, and event attendees. The executive summary sheet is due three days before the Trade Show.

Part A: Elevator Fast Pitch

The Elevator Pitch Round consists of a two-minute pitch of the team’s business plan, presented by the active SU student or SU alum team member, in front of a panel of judges. 

Part B: Trade Show

The Trade Show is a giant fair where teams have a "booth" space to set up a display and present their business idea. You may have a total of four members of your team, including the student/alumni member, working your booth. Teams are scored by two constituents:

• Trade Show Judges. Trade Show judges are pre-selected judges chosen by the Entrepreneurship Center who visit the booths and select a minimum of three teams they feel have the best business idea and presentation. Tradeshow Judge Scoring Rubric (mentioned below)
• Audience Choice Judges. Audience Choice judges consist of fellow students, friends, and other members of the community who visit the displays and then vote on their favorite business ideas and presentations. They may vote for one to five business ideas and presentations. Audience Choice Judges will receive 'funny money' slips at the event to distribute to their favorite team(s).

The Final Presentation Round is where the final teams present their complete business plan to a panel of judges. Normally, four teams will proceed to the Final Presentation round. Exceptions to this number may be made based on the quality of business plans submitted).

The final presentations focus on the complete business plan where teams present their plans to a group of judges and field questions. Presentations are open to investors, Seattle University faculty, staff, alumni, students, and Seattle University friends.

Teams must submit a full (10-15 page) business plan by 11:59 p.m. on the Monday before the Finals event to be reviewed and scored by the Final Judges. Teams must also prepare a PowerPoint deck for a maximum 10-minute presentation followed by five minutes of questions and answers.

The finalist teams will receive special coaching sessions prior to their final presentations. If teams choose to revise their final plan before the final coaching session, the business plan will be due back three days prior to the coaching session to give the coaches time to review it.

Following the presentations, the judges will meet to make final award decisions. Winners will be announced at the Awards Reception where each team will be presented their award certificate.