Please include this sheet as the cover for your proposal.
CENTER FOR INNOVATION, CREATIVITY AND
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
NEW VENTURE SEED GRANTS
SPRING 2015 APPLICATION
FOR PROFIT VENTURES
Date:
New Venture Name:
New Venture Summary Description: Short 2-3 sentence description
Team Members: List all team members and their emails.
Amount requested:
NEW VENTURE SEED GRANTS
FOR PROFIT VENTURES
SPRING 2015
Your proposal should include all of the following sections. The sub-points will guide your thinking and help you understand
what the Grant Committee will be looking for in each section.
Note that in some sections the information required is different if you have a for-profit venture from if you have a not-for-profit
venture. Please be sure to follow the directions closely according to the type of venture you have. Four workshops will be held
prior to the submission deadline to help you complete each of the four sections. Past experience has proven that the proposal will
benefit from your attendance at these workshops.
Please submit your proposal using these headings. Your proposal should be no longer than 6 pages (excluding cover page),
single-spaced with 1-inch margins, using 10-point Times New Roman font. Please include the name of your proposal and page
number in the footer. Please be sure to include the cover page with your submitted proposal.
When complete, please upload the form in MSWord as an attachment to the online application you are submitting
at http://fs8.formsite.com/wakeform/form3/index.html.
Section 1: The Concept
The Need


What is the pain point? How big a problem is it?
What are people doing today to solve the pain or work around the issue?
The Solution




What is your idea for a solution?
Why is it better at solving the problem than what people are currently doing?
What makes this the right time to introduce your product/service?
What is the potential for broad impact and/or lasting value?
The Target




Who will buy your product or service?
What market research have you done to confirm interest in your product/service?
Is the person buying the product/service the same as the person using it? If not, who has the greatest influence in the purchase decision?
Why would your target customer want your product/service? (Real benefit to them)
The Competitive Advantage


Who else has a similar product/service that could be used instead?
What is your advantage? Why is your idea likely to be more successful?
Section 2: The Model
The Channel
 Where/How will your target be able to have access to your product or service?
 How much interaction will you need with them to complete the sale?
The Price
 How much would the customer be willing to pay for your product/service?
 What are you planning to charge?
The Promotion Pan

How are you planning to promote your product/service to your target(s)?
The Fulfillment
For Products
 What materials do you need and how will you source them?
 What assembly/manufacture is required and where will you do that?
 How will you get your products to your customers (delivery, retail space, website, etc)?
 How many people will you need and for how many hours of work to do all of the above?
For Services




What expertise or capabilities do you need? Do you have that yourself, or will you need to hire?
Do you have enough time yourself to meet the demand, or will you need to hire others to help?
Do you need any tools or facilities to deliver your service (equipment, space, website, etc)?
How many people will you need and for how many hours of work to do all of the above?
Section 3: The Financials
The Forecast



How many customers do you think you will realistically be able to get/serve in your first year?
What do you estimate will be your total annual sales? (Not-for-Profit ventures estimate annual cost of serving that population)
Is the demand for this type of product/service growing, flat or declining?
The Financial Statement
Profit & Loss Statement
Note:
 Businesses already in operation must provide actual data for the most recent year as well as a projection for the grant year.
 Not-For-Profit businesses that have an operating model that relies on selling goods or services to raise money for a cause should supply a
Profit and Loss Statement.
Sales (estimate your total annual sales)
Less: Cost of Goods Sold (ingredients & other directly variable costs associated with making/doing what you sell – on an annual
basis)
Equals: Gross Profit
Less: Operating Expenses (itemize recurring expenses like web fees, marketing, office supplies, salaries, etc. – on an annual basis.
Exclude cost of equipment or other one-time purchases that you may need to get started)
Equals: Net Profit (or Loss)
The Up Front Costs

What one time costs will you incur at the beginning to get set up to produce and deliver your product/service? Include in this section estimates
for equipment, web-site development, incorporation fees, etc.
The Sustainability


How will you ensure that the venture has enough revenues to continue to operate beyond the initial start-up?
How long do you estimate it will be before the venture is self-sustaining?
Section 4: The Request
The request for funds



How much money are you asking for in this proposal?
How will you spend it? Be specific. Consider:
o
Equipment (list items). Justify any equipment that is necessary.
o
Supplies (list major categories).
o
Personnel
o
Marketing and promotion costs
o
Other (necessary travel, computer charges, audiovisual costs, research etc.)
Do you anticipate that your venture will be self-sustaining within one year without needing further investment? If not, when will do you
anticipate it will become self-sustaining?
Your investment



How much of your own money are you (and partners, if any) planning on investing in this venture during the grant year?
How much time per week do you estimate you will spend working on the venture?
How much time and money have you already sunk into developing/operating this venture?
Measuring success



How will you measure your progress towards your goal?
What are the factors or conditions critical to the success of the venture, without which the venture will not succeed?
What are the showstoppers that could de-rail your venture?
Is there anything else not covered above that you would like to tell the Grant Committee about your venture?