I just realized a business plan competition I entered is on March 24th too, the competition is pretty weak and the top two prizes are $5k and $1.5k plus some legal and accounting work (about $2k-$4k worth), I'm thinking about having one of my friends present for me, but its not the same as the passion I have for it. (although I still think it has a decent shot of winning if he presents it) I already bought my plane ticket for Startup School....what would you do?
not me. IMO the connections and perspective of startup school would be more valuable than the presentation ('course I don't know exactly who you're presenting to so I could be wrong). Not to minimize the difficulty of pulling together money sometimes, but it seems that if your idea is worth much it shouldn't be a big deal drumming up 10k somewhere else.
I'm not dismissing the benefits of Startup School (I'm excited to be attending myself); however, if I constructed a business plan that I believed to be a winner, I would see it through to the end myself.
If it were me I'd fly out the morning of the day before, schmooze with the people who were around all day, and then skip the presentations and take a red eye back a few hours later in time for the contest. But then again I'm kind of crazy like that.
Why enter a business competition if your competitors are weak? What exactly will you learn from the experience?
Having your friend present for might be ethical, assuming your friend states that it isn't his business plan that he is presenting upfront to the judges. But as a judge, my first thought would be 'If this person's business plan is so wonderful, why can't he even give it the importance to present it himself?', regardless of the excuse. So it seems kind of scattered to try to do both things simultaneously in this fashion.
Okay, here's what I would do: put the business plan competition out of my head, and focus my energy on making the most of the startup school experience. Forget about the prize money - you'll have lots of opportunity to make money, but fewer opportunities to get the kind of experience / contacts startup school might bring.
Guys I missed the deadline for application. If anyone got approved but can't attend, please, I'd be very thankful to you for sharing your invite with me, I can even consider buying it! Thanks! Please drop me a few words to white@chief.la
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[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 137 ms ] threadAnd honestly, it's not like you're going to be bumping into people with their checkbooks open, or something, at startup school.
Having your friend present for might be ethical, assuming your friend states that it isn't his business plan that he is presenting upfront to the judges. But as a judge, my first thought would be 'If this person's business plan is so wonderful, why can't he even give it the importance to present it himself?', regardless of the excuse. So it seems kind of scattered to try to do both things simultaneously in this fashion.
Okay, here's what I would do: put the business plan competition out of my head, and focus my energy on making the most of the startup school experience. Forget about the prize money - you'll have lots of opportunity to make money, but fewer opportunities to get the kind of experience / contacts startup school might bring.
Good luck.