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Business dreams, which seemed so far away for some Pepperdine students, could be one step closer to realization.
The winning team in the first-ever Pepperdine Business Plan Competition will be awarded seed money for a start-up venture, a cash jackpot that could potentially be worth between $10,000 and $20,000.
The event, organized by the Graziadio School of Business and Management, will be open to students from all of Pepperdine’s colleges and graduate facilities.
Teams, consisting of three or more people and at least one enrolled Pepperdine student, must present an original plan still in the formation stage.
The program aims to unite the campus, highlight student talents and skills and build the reputation of GSBM.
“Over the course of the next decade, the goal is to create dozens of businesses started and run by alumni who can hire Pepperdine graduates and remain connected to Pepperdine,” said Jason Nazar, co-founder of the competition and second-year Joint Degree and Master of Business Administration at GSBM.
There are two rounds in the Business Plan Competition. Teams must first register and submit an executive summary by Thursday, Nov. 11, detailing the business concept, market opportunity, competitive advantage and resources necessary. Finalized plans must be submitted by Jan. 14.
Three finalists will then be selected from the pool of plans for a final presentation on Feb. 22.
A judging panel of five CEOs will consider the viability and feasibility of the business models, soundness of the marketing plans, background of the contestants and potential for financial success.
Winners will be announced following the presentations and presented with their prize, the amount of which has not yet been finalized.
Other colleges, such as Stanford University and UCLA, host similar business competitions, but Pepperdine’s will be different because it draws on students from all different backgrounds, according to Nazar.
The program also is more focused on the final-round pitch.
“It’s very similar to how it’s done in the venture-capitalist world,” he said.
The competition has taken more than a year in planning since its conceptualization by Nazar and Robert Stoll, another Joint Degree and Master of Business Administration student.
In the full-time MBA program, Nazar said he noticed that his classmates all discussed their business ideas but some did not have the financial means to execute the plans.
“We thought there should be a forum to showcase all of these ideas,” he said. “Only with the help of Graziadio faculty and the University president have we been able to get it off the ground and make it a reality.”
Submitted 11-04-2004
MALIBU, CA
