Business Plan Competition

If you are interested in competing in our 12th annual Business Plan Competition, 2024-2025, participants can submit an Intent to Participate registration form, indicating your interest in participating in the competition. Students and alumni may enter as individuals or as teams. Deadline: Sunday, October 6, 2024

Participants are encouraged to attend three business plan workshops focused on developing a strategic plan, a marketing plan and a financial plan as participants work on their business plan.

A screening round is the initial review of plans by CCBC faculty in which the top 12 business plans are selected to advance to the final round.

The Center for Business Innovation will match the top 12 finalists with mentors who can help prepare the finalists for the final round of the competition.

The 12 finalists will make their business plan presentations to a panel of judges. The judges will choose the top six winning participants.

A total of $62,500 will be awarded to the top six finalists to help promote their business.

Here is how the seed money is awarded:

• First place winner receives up to $20,000.
• Second place receives up to $15,000.
• Third place winner receives up to $10,000.
• Fourth place winner receives up to $7,500.
• Two runners-up will receive up to $5,000 each.

Plus, the top six award winners get:

• Invitation to work with CBI’s incubation network in which a class of students help implement the business plan during the spring semester. The winners will receive support in the areas of marketing and sales, website development, technology, accounting, human resources and management and will gain access to investors and creditors.
• Scholarships to attend a 12-week course designed to help entrepreneurs launch and grow their businesses.
• Up to four one-hour coaching sessions with experts in the business community on such topics as accounting, legal, marketing, insurance, information technology and project management.

To be eligible to participate in the Business Plan Competition, you or your company must either reside in Maryland or plan to continue to do business from Maryland. In addition, one of the following conditions must be met:

• Current or former CCBC students with at least 15 credit hours successfully completed in any discipline within the last five years.
• An alumnus of CCBC who has graduated with a credit degree or credit certificate.
• A non-credit graduate of any program/certificate or apprenticeship program offered by CCBC. 
• A student in the final year of a non-credit apprenticeship program offered by CCBC.

Those who already have a business started may participate as long as they meet one of the criteria above and are:

• a registered business in good standing with the State of Maryland, or your business is exempt. You may be exempt if you are a sole proprietor or self-employed.
• have less than $75,000 in annual revenue,
• no more than two full-time employees, and
• haven’t been in business for more than three years. 

Check status of business»

You can participate individually or as a team. At least one team member must meet the eligibility requirements. The eligible team member must already be either an owner/co-owner of the business or will be an owner/co-owner once the business is launched. Previous winners of the competition are not eligible.

Types of businesses that are not eligible include franchisees, multi-level marketing and network marketing companies such as Amway, Herbalife, Tupperware, Nu Skin, Mary Kay and other similar companies. Businesses promoting adult products, gambling, pornography or other illicit products that run contrary to the values of CCBC and Maryland laws are also prohibited.

Screening Round

In the screening round, the participant’s executive summary (five to seven pages) is evaluated on a one to five point scale.

Judging Criteria 

• Overall impression of the executive summary
• Management team
• Market opportunity
• Competitive strategy
• Go to market strategy
• Traction
• Financials

Final Round

During the final round, participants’ business plans (12-15 pages) are evaluated on both the document and the presentation. Specifically, they will be evaluated by a panel of judges on how effectively they address the target market’s needs, viability of the business model, the quality of the presentation and ability to answer tough questions.

Who are the Judges?

We rely on entrepreneurs, business leaders from the community, professionals (attorneys, accountants, consultants, etc. who work with early-stage companies) and others to be our judges.

By submitting to this competition, participants are agreeing to the following Terms and Conditions:

Participants who are one of the winners of the competition will be invited to work with a class of students who will help launch and grow their business idea. The class begins in February and runs until the end of the spring semester. Winners who aren’t ready to participate in the upcoming course must participate in the next class.

All winners agree to participate in the Small Business Ownership program. Winners of the Business Plan Competition will have their course tuition waived. However, those who do not complete the Small Business Ownership program will be responsible for repaying the course tuition.

All winners understand that seed money will be spent within 12 months from completing the Small Business Ownership program. All winners understand that the seed money provided is to help grow their business and monies are not provided in a check given to spend as they wish.

Participants must draw down funds by submitting a funding proposal. CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation has the discretion to approve or deny funding usage. All winners can participate in four hours of coaching provided by CCBC Center for Business Innovation.

Eexamples of what funds may be spent on: Website services, marketing brochures, sales brochures, logo design, market research, direct mail campaigns, list services, signage, promotional cards, business cards, advertising campaigns, online campaigns, social medial campaigns, videos, copyediting, SEO campaigns, etc.

Examples of what funds may NOT be spent on: legal fees, utility fees (phone, electric, water, etc.), salaries, computers, computer hardware, software, municipal fees, vehicle expenses, travel, trade association fees, subscriptions, books, etc.

How do winners receive the seed money?

Participants understand in order to receive funds they must follow the following steps:

• Submit a funding proposal to Dennis Sullivan (dsullivan2@ccbcmd.edu) that includes the item(s)/service(s) you wish to purchase along with an explanation of how the purchase(s) will help you grow your business.

• Request will then be approved or denied. Suggestions or other options will be made if request is denied.

• Once a request is approved, participants may either make a purchase and be reimbursed or submit an invoice. All receipts must be submitted for reimbursement or after a purchase is made.

• Participants understand a check will be disbursed to them in the name of the business or the owner in the amount that was approved. Participants must complete a W9 form.

By registering for The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC) Center for Business Innovation’s Business Plan Competition, you grant CCBC Center for Business Innovation and their respective affiliates and assign, an irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide non-exclusive license to reproduce, distribute, display and create derivative works of your entry, including excerpts from business plans submitted and related presentation materials in connection with the promotion and administration of the competition, in any media now or hereafter known, including, but not limited to: CCBC’s websites, press releases, email messages, or newsletters. You agree that CCBC and their designees shall have the right and permission to use (unless prohibited by law) your name, voice, address (city and state of residence), photograph, biographical information and/or other likeness, for advertising, promotional or any other purpose in any and all media or format now known or hereafter devised throughout the world, in perpetuity, without limitation and without further compensation, consideration, permission or notification to participants or any third parties. You also give your express permission to be contacted by all parties involved by telephone, email and/or postal mail for any purpose connected with the Competition.

Liability

By registering to participate in the Competition, participants release The Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), The Center for Business Innovation (CBI), their subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, agents, the judges, the sponsors, coaches, mentors and all suppliers from any and all liability for any injuries, losses, or damages of any kind resulting from acceptance, possession, or use of any prize or participation in the competition, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. You are solely responsible for protecting your rights or the rights of third parties in any intellectual property disclosed. CCBC is not responsible for lost, late or illegible entries nor for electronic transmission errors resulting in omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operations or transmission, theft or destruction, or unauthorized access to or alterations of entry materials, or for technical, network, telephone equipment, electronic, computer, hardware or software malfunctions or limitations of any kind, or inaccurate transmissions of or failure to receive entry information on account of technical problems or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website or any combination thereof. If for any reason the Internet portion of the program is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of CBI which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this contest, CBI reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual who tampers with the entry process and to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the contest.

Decisions regarding the competition and the winners:

All decisions regarding the competition rules, procedures, and processes are at the sole discretion of the CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation. Changes and/or interpretations of these rules may be made by the CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation at any time, even though they may be (or may appear to be) in conflict with some previously published or announced information. The selection of the teams to compete and the decision of the winners are at the sole discretion of the judges and the CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation. Best efforts will be made to make decisions in accordance with this Official Rules document. The CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation has the final decision on which teams are invited to compete in the CCBC Business Plan Competition and reserves the right to include or exclude any participant(s) for any reason. The rules and prizes are subject to change at the discretion of the CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation at any time. The CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation staff has the right to interpret these rules according to their own judgement and reserves the right to reject a business plan that does not adhere to the college’s mission or values.

Non-confidentiality

Any data or information discussed or divulged by entrants should be considered information that could possibly enter the public realm, and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged or presented. Due to the nature of the competition, we are not able to ask judges, reviewers, staff or the audience to agree to or sign non-disclosure statements. However, the CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation, the organizer of the BPC, will make every effort to limit distribution of business plans presented at the competition. The CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation cannot guarantee that other individuals will not obtain access to electronic or hard copies of the business plan. Attendance by media personnel is expected.

Copyrights & Permissions

If a team uses copyrighted materials and/or images from a third-party in their submissions or presentations, they must obtain permission and authorization in advance from the owners to use this material. Information presented by the competing participants is the sole responsibility of the individual team members. Community College of Baltimore County, including CCBC’s Center for Business Innovation and any of its affiliates (collectively, “CCBC”), has not taken, and does not intend to take, any steps to verify the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, materials or statements presented. The competitors, and not CCBC, are responsible for ensuring compliance with all applicable federal, state and other securities laws, and it is solely the competitor’s responsibility to comply with any of such laws that are applicable. CCBC does not give investment advice, endorsement, analysis or recommendations with respect to any securities and is not a broker, venture fund or an investment advisor.