13th Start-Up@Singapore Business Plan Competition

The 12th Start-Up@Singapore business plan competition saw an outstanding number of 338 teams and a total number of around 1000 participants. 13th Start-Up@Singapore will serve to further widen our outreach and touch base with community driven business models like social entrepreneurship.

What is Start-Up@Singapore REALLY about?

In simple terms, Start-Up@Singapore is a nation-wide business plan competition. Most participants will either form a team by themselves or sign up for our team-matching service before entering the competition.

The first stage of Start-Up@Singapore will require each team to prepare and submit a document called an Executive Summary. This document, simplistically speaking, covers all the aspects related to your team’s business idea and its implementation. As with most other competitions, Start-Up@Singapore will invite experienced judges to evaluate all the Executive Summaries that we receive. If these judges collectively deem your Executive Summary to be promising, your team will proceed to the 2nd stage of the competition.

In this phase, your team will be required to broaden your Executive Summary into a full-fledged Business Plan and pitch it to a panel of experienced judges. Judges at this stage will not be the same as those who evaluated your Executive Summary. If your team wins, you get to take home a substantial cash prize to help turn your winning idea into a money-making reality.

But how do I make an Executive Summary?

Don’t fret. This is where Start-Up@Singapore differs from other such competitions. By also focusing on education, we distinguish ourselves as being much more than just a contest. In the months leading up to the Executive Summary submission deadline on 22nd January 2012, we’ll be organizing talks, seminars, workshops and networking sessions to help you with anything and everything you’ll need to write a good Executive Summary and a sound Business Plan.

For general information on how to write an Executive Summary click here.

For general information on how to write a Business Plan click here.

What if my idea is silly?

No idea is silly. Some of our best ideas are what some people might called “silly” at first but after realizing the true potential of the idea it is heralded as a success. Challenging the norm is the hallmark of an entrepreneur and here at Start-Up@Singapore we encourage entrepreneurs to think out of the box.

All the way till 22nd January 2012, quite a few of our events will focus on: a) exploring ideas in nascent industries; and b) evaluating whether these and other ideas are viable and realizable. In fact, many of our speakers and panelists are entrepreneurs themselves and they’ve already been through what you’re going through now. With a huge plethora of resources waiting to be utilised and industry experts to network with, take the first step of your entrepreneurial journey and come down to our events.

How does the judging work?

Our panel of judges includes highly experienced people from the start-up community, including successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, business angels, finance/legal professionals and educationists specialized in the study of entrepreneurship.

Judges will evaluate the entries based on the official judging criteria (view).

Confidentiality of Business Plans

Participants should understand that investors rarely sign confidentiality agreements. Nonetheless, teams can be assured that the judges and Start-Up@Singapore organising committee members will strictly uphold the integrity of the competition.

Teams are allowed to describe their business concept without fully disclosing their proprietary assets.

Protection of Intellectual Property

The Start-Up@Singapore Organising Committee have taken all reasonable measures to ensure that all Contestants retain their rights to their Business Plans and any Intellectual Property. The sponsors and judges of the Competition include non-NUS organisations who are interested in fostering entrepreneurship in Singapore. Some of these organisations are in the business of working with and investing in the ideas of entrepreneurs. However, sponsors will not have access to all the plans and shall make no claims to any of the property or rights.

In any case, the protection of these rights is the ultimate responsibility of each Contestant. Contestants are urged to mark as “CONFIDENTIAL” on any portion of their entries, which they deem to be confidential.

One pre-requisite of filing for a patent or registering a design is – novelty. An invention or design is new provided it has not been made known to the public in ANY way anywhere in the world. Otherwise the novelty of the invention/design may be lost.

Please also note that the information supplied by the Contestants via the online registration may be used by the Competition Organisers in publicity or press releases.

What if I do not win?

By taking that first step to participate in Start-Up@Singapore, you are already a winner. Start- Up@Singapore will be an annual event, so even if you don’t win a prize or get to the Semi-finals, we would encourage you to further refine your idea or work on another idea to take part in next year’s competition or even to start up your company if you are ready. The stages of the competition should be considered as a stepping-stone to realistic achievements in the business world. Through this competition and our catered activities, entrepreneurs will be able to further develop your business plans, bringing it one step closer to success.

Do check out website for the latest webcast of our events and resources that you may find useful in your journey as an entrepreneur.