Basic Info

Please reference the Table of Contents for quick links to the information you need.

Key Dates

• Application Now Closed

• Preliminary Judging: Feb 28th - March 7th

• 24 Finalists Announced: March 8th

• Travel to Boise and Pre-Competition Events: April 6th

• IEC Competition and Awards: April 7th

Main IEC Contacts

Venture College is here to help you with any questions.

IEC School Contacts

The following are official contacts regarding the IEC for their school

Preliminary Competition & Application

All teams must apply to compete as one of the 24 Finalist Teams in the Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge.

Please reference all other Rules, Eligibility Questions, and FAQ.

Registering & Applying for the Competition

The application process is simple and straightforward:

1. Create an account to register for the IEC

2. Complete the Entrepreneur Sign-up Form

3. Submit your Application for your Business Idea

Application Questions

After registering for the competition, you will need to submit an application for your business idea. The IEC Application has the following questions:

1. Business Name

2. Describe your business idea in 7 words or less.

3. Describe your business in greater detail, including the problem you’re solving.

4. Describe who your ideal customer is and why they would pay for your product, service, or solution.

5. What uniqueness or competitive advantage does your team/solution/service have over existing competition?

6. Please describe any progress or traction your business has experienced.

7. Have you generated revenue yet? If yes, please give details. If not, how will you generate revenue?

8. Tell us why you are the right team to execute on your idea.

9. If you have a 30-60 second video, please enter in the URL (suggested but not required)

Preliminary-Round Scoring Rubric

The purpose of the Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge is to motivate and reward teams that show progress in creating an actual business or venture. As a result, the rubric is changing to reflect the nature of the competition.

Teams will be scored on the following criteria:

1. How well do they understand and address the market and/or customer segment they are going after?

2. Do they have any uniqueness or competitive advantages that would make them more likely to succeed?

3. How much progress/traction have they demonstrated?

4. How likely is the team to launch their idea into the market within the next 3-6 months?

5. How was the overall quality of the application?

Application Tips and Best Practices

1. Apply Now - Update and Edit Later. - You can edit applications until the application deadline. We encourage you to submit ASAP so the Venture College team can give you feedback on your application before judges see it. Many teams will make several revisions.

2. Word Economy - Be precise with your words. Judges don’t want to read a book - they want to quickly understand your idea and it’s uniqueness. That said, please provide enough detail so they understand your idea and status.

3. Making Progress? Make it very clear! - If you are beyond the idea stage - make it very clear for the judges. The preliminary round favors students who have already launched or who are close to launching. While ideas can (and should) still apply, progress and traction will give you an edge in the IEC.

I am an IEC Finalist - Now What?

You will have about a month to formally prepare for the IEC competition. Venture College will be in close communication about logistics, guidance, and updates. The best teams will make the most use of their time by doing the following:

1. Grow your business and build traction: Above all, use this time to get as much traction and validation as possible. Past winners have hit the boosters to go all-in and make enormous business progress.

2. Pitch Practice: Use Venture College as a resource to schedule pitch practices, review the pitch template, etc. Pitch to friends, professors, anyone who will listen to your pitch.

3. Get Your Assets in Order: We will be asking for the following things -

   1. Your Official Business Name

   2. Business Logo

   3. Brief Description of the business

   4. More Detailed Student Info and pre-competition forms

   5. A quick 30 second video about your business (if you want to change the one from the application)

Finals Competition & Awards

On April 6th, all 24 finalist teams travel to Boise for evening pre-competition activities, dinner, and pitch-practice. The IEC in-person event will launch on the morning of April 7th.

Competition Overview

• Morning: Each team will pitch three times in front of live Judges

• Lunch: While students eat, judges will determine the Four Finalists

• Afternoon: Awards and prize money are announced at the Awards Ceremony

• Finals' Pitch-off: The top 4 scoring teams will pitch one more time for an additional prize.

Pitch Requirements

Please note the following about the Live Pitch Portion:

1. All teams will generally need to follow the IEC pitch deck template.

2. Teams competing in the Finals will give a 4 minute pitch using a pitch deck (Google Slides).

3. Judges will have a 4 minute Q&A session after each pitch.

4. Teams will pitch three times to different sets of judges.

IEC Pitch Deck Template

All teams are encouraged to use the following template for their pitch presentation. As outlined in the template, each pitch presentation should address the following:

1. Team Intro - Just needs your Business Name, Logo for a 10 second intro

2. The Problem - Sell judges there is a problem worth solving - and why current products or companies haven’t solved it

3. Your Service/Product - Explain what your product/service is or does

4. Solution/Benefits - If people use your product/service, will it solve the problem? Other perks?

5. Market Opportunity: The whole world might need your product - but who really really needs it now. You need to thread the needle and show this could be a big idea but you are laser focused on a beachhead to launch the idea.

6. Go-To-Market: On Slide 5 - you tell me a specific sub-segment who will love your business. Now you need to tell how you are going to market to them and launch the business through them.

7. Revenue Model: How you make money ($35 one-time or $35/ a month per user) and any relevant costs (especially if you are a product based-business).

8. Progress-To Date: Sell the judges this isn’t just an idea. You have progress and traction.

9. Next Steps: What are your next steps to grow the business. How could IEC funds help?

10. Team: Brief overview on why judges should believe you are the team that can execute on your next steps and actually grow the business.

11. Questions: - Simple slide to help you thank judges and open up for questions.

Finals Round Scoring Rubric

The purpose of the Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge is to motivate and reward teams that show progress in creating an actual business or venture. As a result, the rubric is changing to reflect the nature of the competition.

Teams will be scored on the following criteria:

1. How well do they understand and address the market and/or customer segment they are going after?

2. Do they have any uniqueness or competitive advantages that would make them more likely to succeed?

3. How much progress/traction have they demonstrated?

4. Is their business model, including costs, revenue, and go-to-market plan convincing and probable?

5. How likely is the team to launch their idea into the market within the next 3-6 months?

6. How was the overall quality of their pitch?

Pitch Deck Tips

Please note the following suggestions or tips:

1. The template is just a guide. You can change colors, change titles, etc. (▶️ See Video)

2. Some topics, like financials, are easier to explain over two slides. For example you could have one slide showing cost vs. revenue, followed up with a slide that shows projections. Or one slide could explain a general problem and a second slide explaining why existing solutions in the market are not solving the problem. (▶️ See Video)

3. Use minimal words on your slides (see examples).Replace words with icons or pictures. Some slides, like a problem slide, might not need any words at all - it’s just a visual aide to what you will be talking about. (▶️ See Slide by Slide Video Tips)

4. For more tips, see: https://www.boisestate.edu/iec/helpful-hints/#tips-from-past-judges-

Pitch Video Resources

Examples of 2-4 minute pitches:

1. 2019 College IEC Winner: Doorstep

2. 2020 College IEC Finalists

3. DoorDash Pitch when they were a baby startup

4. Enflux Presenting at YC Demo Day (Why did they start with weightlifting?)

5. YC W19 Pulse Active Stations Network Demo Day (There are 1 billion Indians, why is he starting in train stations?)

6. Ramp - Demo Day Pitch (He talked about his team slide for 15 seconds. Convinced?)