Nine entrepreneurial teams from top graduate schools in North America will compete for $20,000 and a chance to move on to the next level at the 15th annual IBK Capital Ivey Business Plan Competition. Running Jan. 25-26 at Ivey’s Spencer Leadership Centre, the competition provides young entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their talents to potential investors and hone their business plans.
A number of teams applied for this year’s event, including the competition’s first entry from India. Two teams, Eyes OnSite and HaloLane, are from Ivey. Also competing are teams from the University of Waterloo and University of Arkansas.
After two rounds of presentations to 17 judges with experience in entrepreneurial and venture capital projects, the winning team will receive $20,000 and a spot in the Global Venture Labs Investment Competition at the University of Texas at Austin in May 2013.
The event will also feature four guest speakers on Jan. 25: Albert Behr, president and CEO of Behr and Associates; Krista Jones, the Practice Lead of Education Innovation at MaRS Discovery District; Ted Manziaris, co-founder and president of Turtle Island Recycling; and Stewart Thornhill, associate professor and executive director of the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship. Manziaris, a Western alumnus, shared his story of entrepreneurial success in the 2012 book, That’ll Never Work.
Sponsoring the 2013 competition are IBK Capital Corp., Richard Ivey School of Business, Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship, CIBC, the Ivey MBA Association and SummerHill Venture Partners.