Step 4: Submit a Business Plan

The Business Plan, including the cover page, table of contents, body and the appendix, must be no longer than 40 pages in total.  The narrative portion of the plan must be typed, 11 pt. Arial font, double-spaced, with one inch margins of text on 8 ½” x 11” paper.  Financial statements, charts and diagrams must be typed on 8 ½” x 11” paper, but are not required to be double spaced, have one inch margins or be in Arial font. The font size for financial statements, charts and diagrams should not be smaller than size 10 font. All required major components are included in the 40-page limit.

• It is highly recommended that teams use the resources available at www.economicfuel.org.
  
  

All teams submitting written business plans must also submit a completed Competitor Media Release Form electronically to theteam@economicfuel.org before 5:00pm on Monday, March 21, 2011.  Teams failing to submit an electronic Competitor Media Release Form by 5:00pm on th 21st will be disqualified. Blank Competitor Media Release forms are available on our website at www.economicfuel.org.

Businesses with 2 or more owners must submit seven hardcopies and one electronic copy of a legally binding partnership agreement as a document separate from their business plan. The partnership agreement is required for businesses with more than one owner, even if one or more owners is not a member of the Economic Fuel team. The partnership agreement is due at the same time as the business plan but must be turned in as a seperate document and is not included in the 40 page limit. The electronic copy of the partnership agreement may be submitted on the same CD as the business plan but must be a seperate file on the CD.

Teams who are interested in displaying a tradeshow/showcase exhibit at the Elevator Pitch Presentations must sign up to reserve table space before 5:00pm on Monday, March 21, 2011. You should only sign up to reserve a space if you know that you will have a display to set up.

Step 5: Present an Elevator Pitch

The student team leader will present the team’s Elevator Pitch. Two minutes maximum (time limits will be strictly enforced). No visual aids may be carried on stage. Presenting samples or gifts, including business cards, to the judges is not allowed. Teams will be chosen to present in alphabetical order.

Competitors who submit business plans are invited to display a tradeshow/showcase exhibit from 5:00pm - 8:00pm on Thursday, March 24th at the location of the elevator pitch presentations.  These exhibits are not mandatory and will not be judged.  This is an opportunity for teams to display information about their products and/or services for public viewing.   Exhibit Guidelines are available on our website at www.economicfuel.org.

Step 6: Present a Plan to the Panel of Judges