14th Annual New Venture Competition
Overview
The African American MBA Association (AAMBAA) of The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania is once again hosting the New Venture Competition as part of the 36th Annual Whitney M. Young, Jr. Memorial Conference being held at the Park Hyatt Hotel in Philadelphia on February 20th, 2010. The primary purpose of the New Venture Competition is to provide entrepreneurs of African descent the opportunity to present their business plans to a distinguished panel of judges who will award prizes. Each team will present for 20 minutes (10 minute presentation and 10 minutes for Q&A). Guests in the audience will also be given the opportunity to ask questions of the judges.
In addition to awarding prizes, the competition is a unique event for the entrepreneurial community, connecting students, angel investors, venture capitalists, Wharton alumni, entrepreneurs, and others from the entrepreneurial business community. Please join us for this exciting event as three entrepreneurs compete for $17,500 in prizes. Judges will announce winners of the following prizes at the Closing Gala:
- Grand Prize: $10,000
- Second Prize: $5,000
- Third Prize: $2,500
New Venture Competition Judges
Paisley D. Demby
Chief Executive Officer, PBN Consulting, LLC
Paisley Demby is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of PBN Consulting, LLC, a privately held Consulting Practice specializing in optimizing the performance of organizations. Mr. Demby has over 14 years of finance and strategic management experience. Mr. Demby founded PBN in 1999 and the practice has grown to offer Venture Capital Advisory, Business Development, and Strategy Formulation services for start-ups to large for-profit and non-profit organizations nationwide. He is widely recognized for his work in the business development arena helping develop innovative businesses in the media, technology, consumer products, non-profit, entertainment, financial services, and life sciences industries.
Mr. Demby has lectured on subjects such as Organizational Business Development, Business Planning, Business Law, and Oral Presentation. He has facilitated workshops and panels on topics such as Capital Raising, Marketing, and Understanding Financial Statements. Mr. Demby also served on the Board of Advisors to IPORUSSIA, Inc., an International Advisory company providing consulting advice to Russian companies looking to complete IPOs in the US and London.
Mr. Demby serves as a judge for the Wharton Business Plan Competition, Brooklyn PowerUp! Business Plan Competition and the Queens StartUp! Business Plan Competition. He holds an MBA in Finance and Strategic Management from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and a BA in Engineering and Economics from Brown University.
Samuel J. Patterson
Chief Executive Officer, Veridyne, Inc.
Samuel J. Patterson is President and Chief Executive Officer of Veridyne, Inc. (formerly Shepard-Patterson). In 1986, Mr. Patterson co-founded Veridyne, Inc., an information management and technology consulting company. In 1995, Mr. Patterson became Chairman, CEO, and sole-owner of Shepard-Patterson and in 2001 changed the name to Veridyne, Inc. Today, Veridyne’s customers include Lockheed-Martin, Deloitte, Accenture, IBM, and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Commerce, the State of Pennsylvania, the State of New Jersey, the City of Philadelphia, and the School District of Philadelphia.
Mr. Patterson has received numerous awards including "Entrepreneur of the Year" from Ernst and Young and was named "Minority Small Business Person of the Year" by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2000, the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education presented Mr. and Mrs. Patterson with the coveted Ebberly Award for Community Service. In 2003, he established the Veridyne Private Foundation to assist in a variety of community outreach programs.
Mr. Patterson received a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Cheyney University. He also received an MBA in Marketing from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and is a graduate of Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School's Minority Business Executive Program.
Scorpio Rogers
Managing Principal, Entrepreneurial Consultants, LLC
Scorpio Rogers is the founder and Managing Principal of Entrepreneurial Consultants, LLC, a management-consulting firm for start-up and growing entrepreneurial business. In this capacity he provides consulting services in the areas of: strategy and business plan creation; business principles training; technology evaluation and implementation; tactical management; business valuation; and financing facilitation. He has partnered with and consulted for various entrepreneurial organizations including the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, the Harlem Venture Group, the Women's Venture Fund and the William Jefferson Clinton Small Business Initiative where he was recognized by former President Clinton for his service.
Mr. Rogers teaches Entrepreneurship, Marketing and other business courses at Westchester Community College and is a certified instructor for the National Federation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE). In addition, he was the founder and CEO of Fraternally Yours, Inc. a retail company that sold fraternal merchandise through multiple distribution channels.
Mr. Rogers has a BA in Computer Science and Technology from Dartmouth College and a MBA in Management with concentrations in Entrepreneurship and Strategy from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt and mentors youth in business as an active Life Member of the New York City chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and as a NFTE consultant. Additionally, he does volunteer work as a NYC Life Member of the National Black MBA Association, and he coaches little league baseball. He is married with a son and daughter.
Application Process »
Who Should Apply?
The competition is open to African-American entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs of African descent, and teams containing at least one African-American founder or person of African descent. Entrepreneurs are not required to have any affiliation with The Wharton School and/or the University of Pennsylvania, but all Stage III finalists are required to register for the Conference.
Developed businesses, those already generating revenue, are not eligible for this competition. Only new early-stage/start-up companies are eligible.
There is no limit to the as to the maximum or minimum number of people on each team.
How to Apply?
Phase I: Submission of Executive Summary
Due Date: December 18, 2009
To enter the New Venture Competition, an executive summary of your business plan must be submitted to the New Venture organizing team. The executive summary should provide the judges with a brief description of your concept/product, feasibility, target market, financial sustainability and management team.
Please observe the following guidelines before submitting the executive summary:
- Maximum length: You may submit a total of 2 pages, including appendices and exhibits. Plans exceeding 2 pages will not be considered.
- Recommended font type: 12 pt Arial double spaced
- Please submit the document in Adobe PDF format
- Executive summaries must be submitted electronically prior to the deadline stated to be considered valid
- Please download the following application and submit it along with your executive summary
Download (PDF Format - 94.9KB)
- Please submit all documents to: wmy@wharton.upenn.edu
Phase II: Selected teams invited to submit a complete business plan
Due Date: January 11, 2010
The top semi-finalist teams from Phase I will be notified by January 4th and are invited to submit a full business plan. The business plan is the key to launching a new venture. It is a critical tool for communicating to potential investors, strategic partners and key employees how you will implement your new venture and why you think it will succeed. It can serve as an operating tool that helps you manage your business with your specific goals in mind. It is also a vehicle for obtaining feedback and input from valued experts.
A business plan must include the following:
- Executive summary
- Company description
- Product/service identification
- Market, competition and competitive advantage
- Management team and organization
- Operations
- Financial structure and projections
- Documentation and discussion of intellectual property
Phase III: The top 3 applicants from Stage II will be invited to present at the WMY Conference on Saturday, February 20th, 2010
Stage III finalists will present their business plans at the New Venture Competition during the 36th annual Whitney M. Young, Jr. Memorial Conference, held on February 20th, 2010. Finalists will be provided with assistance to improve their presentations before the conference. Each finalist is guaranteed a prize and must be registered for the conference.
Entrepreneurs who are not selected for the final presentation are encouraged to attend the WMY Conference and use the opportunity to network with their peers and investment professionals in attendance.
Last Year's Winners
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Sponsored by the African American MBA Association of the Wharton School