Award Partner

Deloitte & Touche U.S.A. LLP  is the major partner of the Fisher Buisness Plan Competition which provides a forum for faculty, students and community entrepreneurs to win approximately $130,000 in cash and services to use as start-up funds to transform an idea into a thriving business.

Register Your Competition Team Online

The Spirit of the Competition

The Fisher Business Plan Competition purports to stimulate and nourish the entrepreneurial spirit in any full-time or part-time Ohio State University student. In particular, this competition seeks to:

• encourage entrepreneurially-oriented graduate and undergraduate students to develop and grow new ventures based on their own ideas and technologies.
• provide the students with educational workshops to develop their ideas and pitch their ventures to investors. These programs provide constructive feedback for increasing the probability of successfully launching their ventures.
• provide the best business plans with substantial resources to assist the winning student teams with launching their ventures.

To provide a relatively level “playing field” for student teams, the directors of the Fisher Business Plan Competition and the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Fisher College of Business have developed the following set of rules that all participating teams are expected to satisfy. At the same time, the directors recognize that no set of rules, no matter how thorough or carefully developed, can ever cover all circumstances. Accordingly, all teams are expected to abide by the specific rules enumerated below as well as the overall spirit of the competition. The directors reserve the right to disqualify any team that violates the rules, regulations, or the spirit of the competition.

Round 1: Conceptual Business Case Round

After registering for the competition, teams begin the competition by submitting Conceptual Business Cases that clearly explain the business ideas and market opportunities for their given products or services. Judges evaluate the cases and select the top business ideas based on specific investment criteria to advance to the second round.

Round 2: Business Plan Round

During this round, the teams test viability, perform market analyses, prepare financial projections, identify customers, and write complete business plans for their ideas. After teams submit their business plans, judges review the plans and select the finalist based on the overall quality of the opportunity, management team strength, market dynamic, and other investment criteria.

Round 3: The Final Event & Awards Banquet

The finalists present their business plans to a panel of expert judges (entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, private investors, faculty, and leading consultants) during the final event. Judges select the first, second, and third-place winner. The Award Banquet follows on the evening of the competition and the Center for Entrepreneurship announces the winners at that time. The first-place winner will orally present the winning business model to the attendees of the Calfee, Halter & Griswold Awards Banquet. View a slideshow from the 2009 Calfee, Halter & Griswold Awards Banquet.