Henley Best Start-up Business and Best Innovation Awards Competition
Introduction
Sponsored by NatWest and Renal Services the Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship is launching a
Start-up Business Competition (‘Competition’) in autumn 2016.
The Competition is an annual event for businesses recently launched by students and graduates of
the University of Reading including the Henley Business School and in particular those businesses
occupying the Henley Start-up Business Incubator.
How does the Competition Work?
1. Who can take part?
The Competition is for students and graduates who have started a business since 1 Jan 2014 and
meet the eligibility criteria described more specifically below.
2. When does the competition start?
The Competition opens to receive entries on Monday, 2 October 2016 and closes submissions on
midnight, Friday 18th November 2016.
3. What is the judging process?
There will be two rounds of judging.
First round:
The first round of judging will involve a review all of the entries by a judging panel.
Entries will comprise of a short form business plan of no more than 2,000 words submitted on an
entry form as described below.
Each entry will be scored by the panel and a shortlist of 5 entries will be selected for the second
round based on how well the entries meet the judging criteria.
Second round:
The second round will involve the finalists pitching to the judging panel at an event on Wednesday 7
December 2016.
Each of the finalists will have 10 minutes to present and 5 minutes of questions.
All entrants will be invited to attend as an audience.
4. How are winners chosen?
The judges will choose the winner and runner up to receive the ‘Best Start-up’ Award and also the
‘Best Innovation’ Award on the basis of their presentations at a live event that concludes the
Competition.
5. When are the announcements made?
The results of the Competition will be announced by the sponsors at the end of the event
How does the judging process work?
Following closure of the entries all submitted entries will be collected and forwarded to the judges.
The entries will be marked by each judge who will use ten judging criteria given in this document.
Each judge will mark the entries independently and submit the scores to Jurek Sikorski at
[email protected] who will collate the scores and liaise with the other members of the
panel to select 5 finalists.
The start-up businesses that progress to the second round will be notified according to the timetable
set out below.
The structure and categories for 2016
The competition will have 2 categories:
1. ‘Best Start-up ’
The judges are looking for the best start-up that has made the most progress over the last twelve
months and in particular has built revenues and customer traction. Additionally the judges want to
see evidence that the business will become sustainable.
2. ‘Best Innovation’
The judges are looking for start-ups that have built innovative products or services that disrupt the
market. Entrants must be able to demonstrate that there has been a demand for the innovation and
that the innovation has proved successful.
Judging Panel
The judging panel comprises of four persons:
Angela Byrne, Regional Managing Director NatWest Bank
Stefano Ciampolini, Managing Director and Founder of Renal Services Ltd
Jurek Sikorski, BD Lead & Executive in Residence HCfE
Norbert Morawetz, Lecturer at HCfE and founder of Potential.ly
Judging Criteria
The criteria outlined below will be used during the first judging round to review the short form
business plan entries. These criteria will also be given to the judges during the finalist presentations
as an overall set of guidelines to consider when selecting the winning start-ups
Product/service
Market
Marketing
Competition
Sales
Pricing
Team
Financials
Risks
Personal Objectives
- The product demonstrates innovation and market disruption
- There is evidence of a large and growing market for the idea
- It is clear how the idea will be taken to market
- The competition is known and competitive advantages demonstrated
- The business makes sales with considerable scope to grow
- The pricing of the product provides an economically viable business
model
- Person/team has the capability to grow the business
- Financial projections testify to a viable idea
- Risks have been identified and actions to deal with these
- Person/team is/are strongly motivated to build a new venture
Prizes
The prizes being offered are financial and non-financial.
1. ‘Best Start-up’
The Winner of will receive:
- £2,500 prize money
- Mentoring and support package from NatWest (via NatWest Mentor Programme)
The Runner up will receive
- £1,000 prize money
- Mentoring and support package from NatWest (via NatWest Mentor Programme)
2. ‘Best Innovation’
The winner will receive:
- £2,500 prize money
- Mentoring from Renal Services Ltd
The prize monies shall be used by the winners and runners up on meeting the costs incurred in
carrying on the business and in particular the costs associated with using external professional
services. Such costs shall need to be provided accounted for (see Terms and Conditions – Payment
and use of prize money – below).
Publicity
The winners of the Competition will be invited by NatWest and Renal Services to take part in
publicity sessions that might include photo opportunities and interviews.
Competition Timeline
The competition will take place over the autumn term:
Date
01 September
03 October
18 November
25 November
30 November
07 December
07 December
Activity
Marketing of Competition commences
Competition opens to receive entries
Competition closes to entries
Judges mark and decide on shortlist of finalists
Finalists notified
Presentations to judging panel at open event
Judging panel decide and award cash prizes follow the presentations
Entry Form
Students and graduates will submit their entries on the form shown in the Appendix to this
document.
Announcement of Competition Winners and Runner-up
The awards will be announced after the presentations and decision of the judges at the event on 7
December 2016.
Terms and Conditions
Eligibility
- Entrants must be students or graduates of the University of Reading or Henley Business School
- Entrants can be individuals or teams
- Entrants must be permanent UK residents or in the case of non-EEA students or graduates hold an
appropriate visa and have been living in the UK for the duration of their University studies.
- All entrants must be at least 18 years old
- Entrants must own a majority share (>50%) of the start-up
- Students who set up businesses as a result of their course e.g. BA Entrepreneurship are eligible
- HCfE reserves the right to check the personal details provided by the entrants on entry to make
sure that you meet the awards eligibility criteria
Entries
- Each entrant can only submit one entry to the Competition
- Entries must be supported by a short form business plan in the structure of the entry form as
included in the Appendix to this document
- The short form business plan must be no more than 2,000 words and can include no more
than 2 appendices, which can’t exceed 4 A4 single-sided pages in total.
- A video (no longer than 3 minutes) can be included as a link to a video hosting site such as YouTube
- The founding team must have at least one person who is a student or graduate of the University of
Reading or Henley Business School
- Entries must be submitted electronically to [email protected]
- All short form business plans must be submitted in size 11 Calibri font
- Entrants must submit their contact details (name/title/email/telephone number) cover along with
their short form business plan
- The founding member of the start-up must be available for the presentation to the judges and for
the awards ceremony that follows
- Start-up businesses can bring in items, samples or prototypes to aid the finalist presentations. If
you’d like to bring in additional material for the presentations, then you must let us know in advance
- Entrants will be solely responsible for any costs incurred in the process of the Competition,
unless otherwise agreed with HCfE
Payment and use of prize money
- Prize money will be paid into a UK bank account held in the name of the winning entrant or in the
event of the team to the nominated lead
- Prize money shall be used by the winners and runner up strictly on meeting the costs incurred in
carrying on the business in particular meeting the costs of professional services as contracted.
Security of entry
- By submitting an entry to the Competition the entrant acknowledges that the content of the entry
will be used in accordance with the judging process and relevant press activities.
- Any entries received via email will be stored securely and deleted once these are no longer needed
for the purpose of the Competition
- HCfE may use the information provided by the entrant for general marketing purposes and in
particular, for the promotion of the Competition and display on its website
General
- HCfE reserves the right to withdraw any entry to the Competition that is found to be in breach of
any of the foregoing criteria
- The judges’ decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
- HCfE and the sponsors of the Competition do not accept responsibility for any intellectual property
rights infringements and the revelation of business ideas, processes or products attained during the
normal course of the competition
- All judges involved in the Competition will be asked to sign confidentiality agreements to make sure
HCfE does its best to protect the entrants to the competition
- No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for any reason, nor for entries
that are lost, mislaid or illegible
- By taking part in the Competition entrants agree to participate in marketing activities and consent
to the use of any marketing materials obtained during the Competition
- HCfE reserves the right to update or amend these terms and conditions without prior notice at any
time
Contact:
Jurek Sikorski
BD Lead & Executive in Residence
Henley Centre for Entrepreneurship
E: [email protected]
T: 0118 378 8188
Appendix
Henley Best Start-up and Best Innovation of the Year Competition
Entry Form
ENTRY FORM FOR COMPETITION
This application is for admission to Best Start-up and Best Innovation of the Year Competition managed by Henley
Centre for Entrepreneurship at Henley Business School
NAME OF ENTRANT:
BUSINESS NAME:
Email:
Tel no:
Section 1 - Description of Business
This section should provide a brief description of the business, it’s current status e.g. whether incorporated or trading
and business outlook. If you intend to submit a video please include a link to the hosting website here.
Section 2 – Products and/or services offered by the Business
This section should provide details of the product or service supplied by the business to its target market and how
these products or service are different and (better) satisfy the needs of the market. The section should include
description of the technology that enables the product or service fulfill such needs.
Section 3 – Industry and Target Market
This section should include a description of the industry i.e. suppliers and the major forces shaping the industry and
also the target market i.e. customers targeted by the business and include details of the size of market, growth and
main trends. The needs of the target customers should be included and clearly described
Section 4 – Competitive Advantages and Unique Proposition
This section should provide details of the advantages of the products/services compared with competition and
describe what is different (and better) about the products/services supplied/proposed to be supplied by the business
Section 5 – Business Model
This section should describe how the business operates and makes revenue and also include details of pricing
Section 6 – Strategy to grow Business
This section should provide details of the financial (and non-financial) goals and strategy to grow the business and
exploit the target market
Section 7 – Financial
This section should provide trading history and details of financing to date and how the business will be financed
going forward
Section 8 – Management
This section should list the founders, provide biographical information and identify their roles in the business; this
sector should also include the relevant skills, knowledge and experience of the founders in the target market. Any
advisers and network used by the business should be included
Section 9 – Contacts
This section should provide contact details (email and telephone) for the key personnel including the founders,
employees and any advisers
Appendices
Please list the appendices you intend to include to support your entry
The Entry Form will expand when completed electronically.
Please limit your entry to 2,000 words. A total of 4 appendices may be added along with a link to a
video
Please return the completed Entry Form to Jurek Sikorski at [email protected]