Entrepreneurship Award

Last update December 8th 2016. This page is taken directly from here

## Description

This [[Awards |award] celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit and recognizes a team which has developed a comprehensive business plan in order to define, manage and achieve the team’s objectives. This team displays entrepreneurial enthusiasm and the vital business skills to ensure a self-sustaining program. This award is sponsored by Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, & Byers.

## Events Where It's Awarded

* District Events
* Regional Competitions
* District Championship Events
* *FIRST* Championship Division

## Business Plan Submission

Submissions must be in English and will be accepted between the dates listed above.

A formal business plan must be completed and entered through the Youth Team Member Registration System .

In addition to submitting their business plans, teams may create more comprehensive plans in their own style. They may then provide hard copies of these plans to judges at events to supplement the information they provide in the online submission.

## Guidelines

A formal business plan is submitted through Youth Team Member Registration System

* The team has a clear concept or approach to building their team and functions as a complete unit.
* They assumed risks and were successful in managing that risk, dealing appropriately with adversity and unexpected events.
* They had a plan and executed it successfully.
* They understood the goals of the competition and the goals of *FIRST*.
* They demonstrated sustainability through, for example, succession and contingency planning.

## Business Plan Template

Teams must complete the following fields in English in order to be considered for this award.

* TEAM MISSION STATEMENT: Please briefly indicate what you believe to be the “driving engine” of your team. Your mission should be clear and concise. It should represent to any reader exactly what your business plan strives to accomplish. (1600 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
* TEAM ORIGIN: Please provide the date that your team formed, the location of your team, the current number of team members (highlighting any growth over past years) and describe the challenges the team had to overcome in order to participate in *FIRST*events. (1600 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
* ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE: Please detail how the team is structured to 1) Raise funds; 2) Ensure funds are properly spent; 3) Find and engage sponsors; 4) Recruit team members/ mentors for current & future seasons; 5) Ensure *FIRST*principles remain core to the team’s efforts. Uploading an image of your team organizational chart below, will also satisfy this requirement. (1600 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation. Graphic image allowed in addition to or as an alternative to text - upload 5” x 4” 100 dpi resolution images that end in .JPG or .GIF)
* RELATIONSHIPS: Please detail team efforts to specifically engage, inspire, educate and retain 1) Team members; 2) Mentors; 3) Sponsors/Community. (1600 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
* DEPLOYMENT OF RESOURCES: Please detail how the resources of your team (Financial or otherwise) have been deployed to 1) Engage the community to spread the message of *FIRST*; 2) Inspire others to get involved so that *FIRST*continues to grow; 3) Ensure all team members get the most out of their *FIRST*experience. (1600 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
* FUTURE PLANS: Please indicate specific plans the team has for the next 3 years in regards to sponsorship, team and community outreach (including helping *FIRST*grow) and detail how you expect to be able to accomplish these goals. (1600 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
* FINANCIAL STATEMENT: Please include information on team finances (include financial statement detailing income and expenditures). Uploading an image of your team financial plan below, will also satisfy this requirement. (1600 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation. Graphic image allowed in addition to or as an alternative to text - upload 5” x 4” 100 dpi resolution images that end in .JPG or .GIF)
* RISK ANALYSIS: Please describe the team’s risk mitigation plan. Present a SwOT (Strengths, weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis or narrative that describes the team plan to identify and respond to sustainability threats. (1600 characters allowed, including spaces and punctuation)
* PICTURES: Please upload Organizational Charts and Budgets. Picture 1: Please upload 5” x 4” 100 dpi resolution images that end in .JPG or .GIF Picture 2: Please upload 5” x 4” 100 dpi resolution images that end in .JPG or .GIF Picture 3: Please upload 5” x 4” 100 dpi resolution images that end in .JPG or .GIF Picture 4: Please upload 5” x 4” 100 dpi resolution images that end in .JPG or .GIF

Entrepreneurship Award submissions are posted on a private, password-protected site where only the judges and authorized *FIRST*staff can read the entries. By making a submission the Submitter irrevocably grants to *FIRST*and *FIRST*designees the right to use any or all of the submission in any and all media for the purpose of describing the submission, describing the Award, and/or otherwise promoting *FIRST*and *FIRST*programs.

## Eligibility

Teams are eligible to win the Entrepreneurship Award at any event in which they participate.