The 9th Annual Business Plan Competition

BEST is pleased to announce the Ninth Business Plan Competition open to all University students. The winning business plan team will receive a $25,000 cash award, and second place receives $10,000. The competition is supported by the Sales Executive Foundation of New Jersey, which provides the cash prizes, and the winner will be chosen by a distinguished panel of entrepreneurs and Rutgers faculty. It is co-sponsored by the Rutgers School of Business and the Center for Urban Entrepreneurship and Economic Development.

The objective of the Rutgers Business School Business Plan Competition, according to Supply Chain Management department faculty and BEST's Executive Director Professor Richard Mammone, Ph.D., is to "encourage the development of businesses plans that have the potential to be funded and launched, and become an engine of growth and job creation in New Jersey." The competition is open to all Rutgers students and recent graduates, but each team must include at least one Rutgers Business School student playing a leadership role within the business.

Last Year, a book rental company on the order of Netflix Inc. earned the top prize. BookSwim Inc., of Aberdeen, took home $20,000 for winning the eighth annual Rutgers Business Plan Competition. Through the company's Web site, BookSwim.com, subscribers are sent anywhere from two to 11 books at a time by postal mail for monthly fees starting from $19.99 per month. The site was co-founded in 2006 by Shamoon Siddiqui, who last year graduated from Rutgers Business School with an MBA degree and Web designer George Burke.

Second prize went to a trio of Rutgers Business School MBA students and alumni for their plan to open KMF Classes LLC. The Metuchen-based company plans to license software from Imagine Tomorrow to teach computer, thinking and problem-solving skills to children ages 2 to 7 in places such as day care centers.

Last year's competition drew 34 entries, with the Sales Executive Foundation of New Jersey providing the cash prizes. Judges were John Wilson, president and chief executive officer of the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of New Jersey, and Richard Romano, retired corporate vice president of AT&T. Both men are with the Sales Executive Foundation of New Jersey.

"The program offers developing entrepreneurs the opportunity to gain one-on-one feedback from prominent business executives and to take part in business planning workshops and networking events, enabling them to further develop their entrepreneurial skills and to cultivate valuable connections and mentoring relationships with alumni and friends of Rutgers Business School." said Dr. Michael Cooper, Dean of the Rutgers Business School.
See our special Business Plan Competition section for additional information and important dates.

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