2009-2010‎ > ‎

Executive Summary Competition


Tell us your business idea, and earn a chance to win $25,000! 

See the list of 35 Semi-Finalists!

2 page write-ups of your business idea will be due at 5pm EST, February 10th, 2010. 35 semi-finalists (5 per track) will be selected by a panel of judges to receive $100 in cash, amongst other prizes, and advance to the next round where they will submit business plans and make investor pitches to a panel of judges.

The most important thing is to just write down your idea and submit it! If you want to go above and beyond, we suggest you refer to Guy Kawasaki's thoughts on Executive Summaries.  

Note: Participation in the Elevator Pitch Competition in November 2009 is not a prerequisite to participate in the Executive Summary competition.

How to submit your idea: Your submission for the Duke Startup Challenge is limited to 2 pages.  The document (word/pdf) should be at least 11 point font and have 1” margins. Submissions must happen through the YouNoodle platform by following these four steps:


2. Request to join the group Duke Startup Challenge 2009-2010. If you participated in the Duke Start-Up Challenge last year you may use your earlier user id, and do not need to register again.

3. Once your request is approved, you may submit your executive summary by clicking “Submit An Entry” on the right side of the Duke Startup Challenge 2009-2010 group webpage.  

4. Name your file "Your_Team_Name Executive Summary DSC 2010.pdf".  You can save as a PDF within Microsoft Office with their free add-on.

5. Submit an entry for each track you are in.  
  • Choose one functional track
    • Energy & Environment
    • Healthcare & Life Sciences
    • IT & Media
    • Social Enterprises
    • Products & Services
  • Choose up to two special interest tracks
    • Undergraduate-led
    • Women-led

5. That's it!

For detailed rules of the Executive Summary Competition please refer to ESC Rules.

If you have questions, email Shalav Gupta, Duke Start-Up Challenge Co-President at shalav.gupta@fuqua.duke.edu.

 
Additional Links
  • See "About the Competition" for more information about the tracks, events and dates.
  • Did you miss the Elevator Pitch Competition with Google Ventures?  Watch it here.
  • Want to learn more about Entrepreneurship activities at Duke University?  Go here.
  • Interested in connected with 1600 other people in Duke's entrepreneurial community? Join DukeGEN.