Judging Process & Criteria

The Competition committee will decide on the number of Judges based on the number of UNICA members that commit in submitting a team.

The Judges shall be experienced entrepreneurs, academics and investors appointed by the Competition Committee. The judges will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement when requested by the participating UNICA Member Universities. The judging process for selecting the Semi-finalists will resemble the jury work done by Conference Scientific Committees.

• Two judges shall be assigned for each Business Plan.
• The Business Plans will be assigned to the Judges so that each judge receives 4 Business Plans of which the Judge is the primary adjudicator and another 4 where the Judge is the second adjudicator.
• Judges must provide their scores and comments on each Business Plan. Scoring unaccompanied by comments shall not be accepted.
• The Judges can debate during meetings in personal and/or via Intern.
• The Competition Committee will go over the results presented by the Judges and select the Semi-finalists.
• Business Plans that pass the threshold are eligible to take part in the semi-finals.
• In Stage 2 review all Judges shall receive the business plans of the Semi-finalists and evaluate them. The participating teams with two highest scores shall receive the first and second prize respectively, and the third prize shall be awarded to the team with the third highest score.

When evaluating Business Plans the Jury will focus on many different issues, including the

following:

• Is the business opportunity as presented both attractive and achievable?
• Is the business opportunity defensible or can it be easily threatened by other market
  competitors?
• What is the business model?
• What is the amount of up-front capital investment required?
• Do the market and financial projections demonstrate the team's understanding of the business?
• How long will it take from its current stage of development to introduce the new business
  idea to market?
• Can this venture achieve a leadership position in its market?
• Has the team gone out to the market already to test its ideas?
• Who will be the first target customer (s)?
• Is the team focused on its target market?
• Does the team have the necessary communications skills to present a compelling presentation of their venture?
• What roles will the team members play in the venture?
• Does the team have a clear investment plan?
• Is the Business Plan clear and well-written?
• Are the team members committed to embarking on the new venture?