Wolverine Venture Battle Competitor Information

Round One

Intent to Compete

To register, teams are required to complete the online form by clicking on the button below.

Information Required:

What is the name of your venture?
Is it social or commercial?
Team Member Information
Idea description (1-2 paragraphs)
90 second video pitching your venture. This should be a brief overview of the concept to give us an idea of what you are doing! Upload the 90 second video to YouTube and provide the link when registering.
Commercial Enterprises Only: First Draft of the Business Model Canvas – this is a collection of your initial guesses. You’ll be validating these in the next round. Here’s a PPT template. Please print it to PDF before you upload it. Guidance on how to complete the Business Model Canvas can be found here.
Social Enterprises Only: First Draft of the Mission Model Canvas – this is a collection of your initial guesses. You’ll be validating these in the next round. Here’s a PPT template. Please print it to PDF before you upload it. Guidance on how to complete the Mission Model Canvas can be found here.

Eligibility

Teams must be comprised of primarily GCC undergraduate students. Teams may contain members who are not GCC undergraduate students, but the majority of team members must be GCC undergraduate students. Only GCC undergraduate students will be permitted to present during the final round of the WVB.
Teams who have participated in the final round of the WVB in the past may enter again with a new idea. Ideas pitched in the final round of previous venture battles are not eligible to participate again. Don’t worry, we have special opportunities in mind for teams that fit this description!
Teams may be comprised of any number of students. You can enter solo but we highly encourage you to find a team member to work with!
At least one member of your team must be able to present during the final round to be eligible for prizes. See below for finals dates.

The deadline to register for the 2024 Wolverine Venture Battle has passed.

Round Two

Proof of Concept

Once you indicate your intent to compete, it’s time to get to work! For the next few weeks, your team will go about making as much progress as possible toward strengthening your case that your idea is a good (and viable) one. If you’re serious about being a contender, you’ll want to follow these proven Pro Tips.

Your Proof of Concept Round Submission consists of the following parts. When you’re ready to submit, access the submission form by clicking on the button below.

PART 1 – Video Submission: In a video that is no longer than ten minutes, tell the WVB Review Panel a compelling story that makes them believe that your idea is a BIG idea. Summarize each of the nine blocks on the Business Model Canvas as it pertains to your idea to support your cause.

The video is also where you want to highlight what you’ve done to strengthen your belief that this is a viable venture. If your team did a ton of interviews, tell the WVB Review Panel about the insights that you have discovered. If you made a prototype, show it off! Explain the changes in thinking that your team has experienced from the initial Canvas and how you’ve pivoted. Finally, make the video interesting!

Videos are to be uploaded to YouTube and the link to view the video will be submitted below. (You may categorize the video as “Unlisted” if you do not want the public to have access while still allowing the WVB Review Panel to view it.)

For inspiration, take a look at some past Proof of Concept videos students have made below. Please note that these videos reflect the previous format of the WVB Round 2, which included a supplemental powerpoint. You may want to include additional details from your Business Model Canvas above what some of these examples provided, and you have been given three extra minutes over what previous competitors were allowed to do so!

Santa’s App

Phalanx Fitness

Scan Shop Ship

Graphrite

Embark Health

Māhlon Acoustics

Decipher

Civitas

Bridge

Songbird

PART 2 – Submission Statement: This Submission Statement signed by all team members must be uploaded as well.

PART 3 – Category: Should the reviewers use the SOCIAL or the COMMERCIAL judging rubric?

PART 4 – Team Members + T-Shirt Size (please list)

The Round 2 deadline has passed.

The WVB Review Panel will choose the TOP SCORING TEAMS to compete in the Final Battle based on this judging rubric for commercial ideas and this judging rubric for social ideas.

Feedback will be provided to the finalist teams in order to guide them as to how they should proceed to strengthen their business models.

Round three

Final Battle Round Investor Packet Preparation

Now is the time to put your foot on the proverbial gas! The top teams are expected to continue to make as much progress as possible with their ventures as they prepare for the Final Battle Round.

Investor Packet Submission

The Finalists are required to submit an Investor Packet by 5PM on Friday, April 19. This packet should include:

An Executive Summary in this one page format used by the Angel Capital Association with one exception – the Financial Summary at the bottom is only required to show a THREE year estimation: 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Income Statement for 2024, 2025, and 2026 to support the numbers shown in the Executive Summary. Wolverine Venture Battle finalist teams are required to watch the Venture U seminar recordings on startup projections by Brian Slawin and Professor Ken Smith. Those recordings are available here. Finalists will be emailed the password for this page. To help in preparing financial projections, Brian Slawin is willing to meet with teams to review their projections.
Access to LivePlan will be provided for all finalist teams to prepare documentation for Investors. This will help with the preparation of the Financials and any other details that you’d like to present. You are encouraged to prepare a nice supplemental package for the Investors to show that you have thought through all of the details with regard to your venture. Teams are permitted to submit any supplemental materials that they like.

Submit Investor Packet

Upload Investor Packet by Friday, April 19 @ 5PM.

Round Three: Final Battle Round Pitch Presentations

The Final Battle will consist of a 8-minute pitch presentations to the Investors followed by 6 minutes of Q&A.

The final pitches will be given on Friday, May 3rd. These pitches will take place in Sticht Lecture Hall beginning at 1:00 PM EST. This round will be livestreamed.

Some resources that may assist you as your prepare your presentations include:

You will be required to submit your pitch deck in advance of the final presentations in PowerPoint format.

Dress Code

Unlike a formal business plan competition, you are not required to wear business attire. Feel free to dress as appropriate for your business idea. Of course, if you need to wear your power suit, feel free to do so!

Judging

Once all teams have presented, the Investors will go to the deliberation room to decide which teams that they would like to “invest” in. Just as in real life, each Investor will have a set dollar amount to spend and can give any amount to any and all teams. This means that, theoretically, all finalist teams could end up with cash….or one team can take it all!