2013 Annual High School Entrepreneurship Scholarship Competition

Purpose of the competition

To encourage creativity, innovation and the spirit of the entrepreneurial mindset while challenging the young minds of tomorrow to create and share ideas that will improve our global community.

Competition opportunities

Students must register to compete in Ohio Northern University’s Annual Entrepreneurship Scholarship Competition by April 2, 2013.

Scholarship awards*

• The Overall Winner will receive a $3,000 scholarship per year for 4 years at Ohio Northern University.
• Each category winner will receive a $1,500 scholarship per year for 4 years at Ohio Northern University.*

*Scholarship awards are contingent upon the student’s good academic standing and acceptance to Ohio Northern University. Senior participants must have already committed and qualified to attend Ohio Northern University to be eligible for the scholarship awards. Students must maintain a cumulative 3.0 GPA at ONU to continue to receive the scholarship.

Competition guidelines

Students must prepare a brief elevator pitch (oral presentation) accompanied by a poster to discuss their ideas. Please, no electronic media. An elevator pitch is a concise and well-thought-out presentation of a business idea or new product idea that your students deliver to a panel of Ohio Northern University faculty and alumni. The poster allows the judges to visualize the students’ ideas. This works much like a traditional science fair. Students should be prepared to answer questions from the panel of judges. Students must have a 3.0 GPA to participate in Ohio Northern University’s Annual Entrepreneurship Scholarship Competition.

Competition categories

The students’ ideas should impact the global community in one of these broad categories:

Ideas that improve society
Ideas for products, services or processes that make the world a better place. For example, ideas that:

• Reduce our dependence on natural resources
• Alleviate poverty
• Assist in the delivery of health care or disease prevention
• Provide educational materials to underserved or disenfranchised communities

Ideas that create new businesses or jobs
Ideas for products, services or processes that impact local businesses or communities. For example, ideas that:

• Provide more effective or efficient solutions to business problems
• Create new jobs for struggling cities, states or the U.S.
• Improve the economy for cities, states or the U.S.
• Encourage the entrepreneurial spirit or business growth in cities, states or the U.S.

Competition format

Each student will have five minutes to present their idea and five minutes to answer questions from the judges. It is recommended that each student follow this format:

So what? Tell people about your idea. Does it solve a problem? How does it fix the problem? Is it something that will change the world for the better? How? This is your problem statement.

Who cares? Who are you going to sell this to? Who will it impact (customer)? How much do you think you can charge for the product? Who else is already selling or providing the product (competition)? What makes yours better or different (unique selling point)? This is part of your concept.

Why you? What skills, traits or experience do you have that will make this successful? This also is part of your concept.

Each poster must include title, problem statement, concept and contact information. A handout with the following information also is required: student’s name, teacher or adviser’s name, school or organization name, and contact information for each.

Competition scoring guidelines

100 points per judge based on content and delivery.Scores will be averaged to determine the winners.

Content of presentation

• Greeting/Identity (5) – established an immediate connection with judges; clearly identified self and role in business.
• Concept (35) – Creatively, concisely and clearly communicated the idea.
• Follow-up (10) – Clearly and knowledgeably answered questions. Clearly communicated contact information.

Poster

• Concept (20) – Clearly communicated and supported your presentation.
• Presentation (15) – Appropriate use of graphics; no spelling or grammar errors; included all the content requirements.

Delivery

• Confidence/Energy (5) – Spontaneous, natural and engaged. On time, prepared, and logical flow to presentation.
• Body language/Non-verbal cues (5) – Appropriate dress and posture during presentation. Effective use of facial expressions, gestures and eye contact.
• Voice/Speech (5) – Used appropriate volume, pitch and tone. Clearly enunciated speech with appropriate level of vocabulary.

For more information contact: Alyssa Vorhees at 419-772-4211 or Tammy Schakett at 419-772-2079