Business Plan Competition Start Cup

Start Cup Veneto is a business plan competition which gives awards to the best business technology-based ideas developed by students, researchers, employees and faculty members. It is organised by the University of Padua and entirely financed by the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Padova e Rovigo. From 2004 the competition is open to non-university people as well, and from 2006 two prizes of the first stage are reserved to projects belonging to the artistic and cultural field or with a relevant environmental or social impact. The total prize money is Euros 31,000.

The competition is patterned on the M.I.T. "50K Entrepreneurship Competition" model and takes part in the Global Startup Workshop, the annual worldwide congress of business plan competitions.

Start Cup aims at boosting research and technological innovation and at spreading business culture particularly in those sectors where business management techniques are less known. This way, it wants to emphasize the use of the spin-off company as a way of transferring research results and know-how to the market. The initiative is addressed to people with brilliant entrepreneurial ideas based on technology innovation and who aspire to start a business or have just started one.

Start Cup Veneto has two stages. In the first stage participants must form teams of at least 3 persons and submit simple business ideas based on scientific research, in any field and independently from their developing stage. The 10 best ideas are given a mentor, i.e. a consultant that helps the authors to write a complete business plan in the second stage. Business plans must include a market analysis, a description of the organization of the enterprise and provisional financial statements.

To enable the writing of the business plan, the University offers to all participants a free training course called "ABC of the business plan", held by university teachers, entrepreneurs, consultants and professionals.

All evaluations are made by a technical scientific Committee formed by university professors, entrepreneurs, consultant and venture capitalists.

At the end of Start Cup, every year the 5 best business plans compete for a final award at national level, called P.N.I. "Premio Nazionale per l'Innovazione" which is organized in collaboration with other Italian Universities. P.N.I.2011 will be organized in partnership with Workingcapital initiative of Telecom Italia with a total prize money of Euro 400,000.

For further details:
www.startcupveneto.it

Ufficio Terza Missione e Valorizzazione della ricerca (Third Mission and Research Valorization Office)

Settore Innovazione, trasferimento tecnologico e rapporti con le imprese  (Innovation, Technology Transfer and Business Relations Sector)

via Martiri della Libertà 8, 35137 Padova,
tel 049.8271846-1847-1848-1966
fax 049.8271937
email: trasferimento.tecnologia@unipd.it