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Team Eligibility Rules
Student
Involvement
Team
Composition
Student
Enrollment
Nature of
Ventures
Prior Activity
Plan
Development Guidelines
Student
Involvement
The
Challenge
is for
student
created,
managed,
and
owned
ventures.
In other
words,
students
must (1)
have
played a
major
role in
conceiving
the
venture,
(2) have
key
management
roles in
the
venture,
and (3)
own
significant
equity
in the
venture.
In
general,
a member
of the
student
team
should
be CEO,
COO, or
President
of the
venture,
or
members
of the
student
team
should
occupy
50% or
more of
the
functional
area
management
positions
that
report
directly
to the
CEO,
COO, or
President.
One
objective
of this
rule is
to
exclude
ventures
formed
and
managed
by
non-students
who have
given
token
equity
to
students
for
writing
their
business
plan.
The
business
plan
must be
developed
during
the
student's
tenure
at the
university.
Students
working
with
outside
entrepreneurs
must
create
an
original
business
plan.
Students
must
have an
ownership
stake in
the
business
or the
promise
of
equity
or
employment.
An
equity
position
of less
than 50%
of the
equity
allocated
to the
management
team and
key
advisors,
and/or
less
than 20%
of the
total
equity
of the
venture
will be
suspect
and
require
the
students
to show
evidence
that
they
were a
major
cause in
the
venture
creation.
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Team
Composition
Eligible
students
(note
the
Student
Enrollment
requirement)
can form
a team
with
non-student
business
community
members
or
alumni;
as well
as
students
from
across
UMKC.
At
least
one
student
must be
a member
of the
venture’s
start-up
management
team.
Non-students
may be
members
of the
venture’s
management
team and
may
participate
in
planning
the
venture.
However,
only
students
may
participate
in the
Challenge.
In other
words,
only
students
may
participate
in the
Venture
EXPO,
make
presentations
and
answer
questions
from
judges.
The maximum
number
of
students
on a
Challenge
team is
five
(5),
although
there is
no
restriction
on the
total
size of
the
venture’s
founding
team.
All
graduate
students
and
undergraduate
students
are
eligible
to
participate
in the
Challenge.
This
includes
executive
MBAs.
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Student
Enrollment
The
Challenge
is for
students
enrolled
in the
current
academic
year.
Students
who
graduated
in the
preceding
academic
year are
not
eligible
to
participate.
Student
teams
entering
the
Challenge
must be
full-time
or
part-time
students
enrolled
in
degree
seeking
programs
at UMKC
and are
in
good
standing.
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Nature of Ventures
The
Challenge
is for
new,
independent
ventures
in the
seed,
start-up,
or early
growth
stages.
Generally
excluded
are the
following:
buy-outs,
expansions
of
an
existing
chain,
real
estate
syndications,
tax
shelters,
franchises,
licensing
agreements
for
distribution
in a
different
geographical
area,
and
spin-outs
from
existing
corporations.
Licensing
technologies
from
universities
or
research
labs is
not
excluded
and is
encouraged
assuming
they
have not
been
commercialized
previously.
It is
highly
preferred
that ventures be
seeking
outside
equity
capital.
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Prior Activity
Ventures may compete only
once in the Challenge. Ventures with revenues in
prior academic years are excluded.
Ventures that have raised equity capital
from sources other than the members of
the student team before the current
academic year are excluded. However,
both student and other team members may
have worked on an idea or new technology
in previous academic years or in the
case of the student team members even
prior to entering graduate school,
provided that their venture had no
revenues and raised no outside equity
capital and/or did not undertake any
other formal startup activities prior to
the current academic year.
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Plan Development Guidelines
For the Class
Track the business plan must be
prepared under faculty supervision.
Ideally, the business plan will be
prepared for credit in a regularly
scheduled course or as an independent
study. The business plan must represent
the original work of members of the
team. All schools with
participating teams are strongly
encouraged to send faculty or other
university advisors to the team to most,
if not all, all of the Challenges in
which their teams compete.
Campus Track
participants who
are selected to submit a full business
plan must attend the two planned
Workshops.
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