Below are answers to some of the questions we have received. Feel free to submit your own questions via email at IdeaStateU@ky.gov. The Competition Committee will attempt to answer all appropriate questions and post the questions and answers here to ensure that everyone has the same information.

Question: Why do the competition rules (1) require students to show evidence that they were a major cause in their proposed venture's creation, and (2) exclude proposed ventures formed and managed by non-students who give zero or token equity to students for writing their business plan?
Answer: It is important to differentiate between “product / technology” and “venture.” The Idea State U competition is held for student-created, student-managed, and student-owned business ventures (proposed businesses). These ventures may be based on (1) an idea that is not readily patentable, or (2) a product / technology created and owned by the students themselves that can possibly be patented or trademarked, or (3) a patented or trademarked product / technology that the team licenses from a non-student inventor. Thus, in the state competition, there can be student-developed ventures designed to market products / technologies developed by non-students.

The competition rules recognize that not all entrepreneurs are inventors and that not all inventors are entrepreneurs. In the real world of commercialization and business formation, it is the rare person who can do it all and do it well. This is why there is not a requirement for intellectual property (IP) being student-created – but IP of any type can certainly help sway the judges who feel that the IP will help ensure the long-term success of a venture.

It is important to note that a product / technology does not even necessarily have to exist prior to the competition; a proposed product / technology need only be deemed feasible by the judges for it to be considered. Several quality entries in prior competitions have been based on wholly conceptual devices or untested applications of existing technology, which the judges accepted as being feasible and potentially patentable for purposes of evaluating the overall entries. Thinking “outside the box” is one of the capabilities that the state competition seeks to encourage.

Question: Why for business PLAN entries must the students (1) have key management roles in the proposed venture and (2) own significant equity in the proposed venture?
Answer:The management and equity requirements are derived from UT Austin’s Moot Corp competition rules. The Idea State U policy is to model its rules for business PLANS on those of Moot Corp (with permission). There are two primary reasons for doing so: (1) Moot Corp is the most respected business plan competition and its rules have been time tested since 1984 and adopted by over 40 top business plan competitions around the world, and (2) this helps ensure that Kentucky’s business plan teams could potentially go on to compete in the Moot Corp or other top competitions by being in compliance with their rules.

Regarding management and equity requirements, it’s true that anyone can title themselves anything for purposes of the competition, and certainly most ventures do not yet have any equity prior to the state competition, but the management and equity allocation rules do require the students to (A) plan how the venture would be managed once established, (B) consider equity allocation prior to forming a business so that the students understand that it must be a student-owned venture, and (C) help demonstrate to the judges that a sufficient range of expertise (CEO, COO, CFO, etc.) is in place to actually run their business if formed.

NOTE: An exception is made for business CONCEPT entries, which do not have to demonstrate student-management or student-ownership; however this would be necessary if the proposed concept venture was entered in a future state competition as a PLAN.

Question: How and when are the written entries to be submitted?
Answer: A complete emailed electronic version (10 MB or smaller attachment) of the entire final entry is due at the Cabinet by 4:00p.m. Eastern Time on the date specified on this website’s "Deadlines" page. A separate email (without any attachment) must also be sent by that time notifying the Cabinet when the entry was emailed. NOTE: The competition organizers cannot and will not accept entries consisting of multiple emailed files (such as an entry consisting of a separate Word document and Excel document) that need to be combined into a single entry. It is recommended that the entries be sent as a single Adobe PDF file (or single Word file or single scanned image document). NOTE: Hard copies are NOT required to be sent to the Cabinet for the competition.

Question: Can an entry submitted in a past Idea State U competition be re-submitted? Answer: An entry submitted in a past Idea State U competition may be re-submitted in a higher track in subsequent year(s) as long as the team and entry qualify for the higher track. For example, an undergraduate concept may be further developed and re-submitted as an undergraduate plan, and an undergraduate plan may be re-submitted as a graduate plan. Once an entry is submitted in a track, it may not be resubmitted in that same track at any future Idea State U competition. (Also, a plan cannot be resubmitted as a concept at any level.).

Question: Can you please provide more details about some of the Judging Criteria?
Answer:While we cannot advise individual student teams on specific points of writing their business plans or concepts, we can direct all teams to helpful online resources, such as the sample business plans at http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html. Teams working on Business CONCEPTS should be aware that the information provided in the sample business plans may be more detailed than is required or allowed for in their business concept by the Idea State U competition. It also recommended that students and faculty advisors consult the Judging Criteria posted on this website.

QUESTION: May international students, either as a team by themselves or as members of a team having U.S. citizens, participate in the Idea State U Business Concept/Business Plan Competition?
ANSWER: Non-U.S. citizens may participate in the statewide competition under the condition that any team that includes a non-U.S. citizen also includes at least one U.S. citizen student (preferably a Kentucky resident). This requirement will: (1) avoid the potential question of why state tax dollars were awarded to a team comprised only of non-citizens, and (2) help facilitate student relationships that could develop entrepreneurial ventures having reason to be based in Kentucky and having reason and expertise to operate internationally sooner rather than later.

QUESTION: Will private colleges be allowed to participate in the state competition?
ANSWER: Due to the use of public funding for the prizes and awards, private schools are not eligible to compete in the state-sponsored competition. It may be that for future competitions, if private sponsorships are sought and obtained, private colleges could then be included.

QUESTION: Given that some of the universities do not have established business plan competitions and are starting from scratch, what expectations are there for those universities in terms of developing their own new competitions?
ANSWER: The state competition is intended for team(s) from each university that are determined to be the best from that university. No expectation exists that all universities will have the time, personnel and/or resources to develop and hold an elaborate, formal competition prior to selecting their representative teams for the state competition. As long as each team officially representing a university meets the requirements stated in the rules, the selection process by the university may be as formal or informal as desired.

QUESTION: Must a university send a team to compete in each of the four tracks in the competition?
ANSWER: No, a university may participate with only one team or may have up to four teams. However, each university may only send one team per track (e.g., the undergraduate-level business concept track).

QUESTION: Would a student be eligible to participate if he/she graduated in December of the preceding year?
ANSWER: Yes, since the “school year” is defined as including the Summer and Fall semesters of the preceding year through the Spring semester of year of the competition.

QUESTION: Will business CONCEPT entries lose points if they include some financials?
ANSWER: A business concept entry would not lose points for including “some” financials, but the Competition Committee would reserve the right to move a concept competition entry “up” into the business plan competition category if it substantially exceeded the requirements for a business concept. The intent is to protect the integrity of the concept competition by preventing a team with a more fully developed entry from deciding at some point that their chances are better at winning as a concept than as a plan. A final decision, if necessary, would be made by the Competition Committee on a case-by-case basis.