Eligibility
Any team with at least one active member who is a degree-candidate student of the University of Pennsylvania (graduate or undergraduate) may enter. A degree-candidate student at the University of Pennsylvania must serve as the team leader. There is no limit as to the maximum or minimum number of people on each team. Individual students may enter. An individual may participate on more than one team and/or submit more than one proposal.
An existing business is only eligible if it has received less than $25,000 in funding and has earned less than $100,000 in gross revenue. All submitted materials must be the original work of the participating team.
Acceptable Business Plans
Conventional and non-conventional plans are eligible for the competition, including, but not limited to:
- New venture/new business
- Merger or acquisition, including leveraged buyouts, which will lead to a turnaround, roll-up, or some other significant change that adds value to the current business
- Joint venture, alliance or network-based business (e.g., create new entity from current enterprises)
- Licensing arrangements
- Search funds
Note that all businesses are judged based on the same criteria. A plan is not eligible if it has been used to receive funding in excess of $25,000 or has earned more than $100,000 in gross revenue. Thus, an early stage company that has established a board and has earned revenue less than $100,000, but has not received funding in excess of $25,000, is eligible to compete.
The Wharton Business Plan Competition Student Management Team reserves the right to reject any business plan for reasons including, but not limited to:
- Deemed to be in violation of the Wharton School Graduate Division Code of Ethics
- Violates any local, state or national law
- Appears to be pornographic in nature
- Does not present sufficient content or material appropriate to send to judges for evaluation and feedback
- A team is not eligible to submit a business plan that was previously awarded a prize in the Wharton Business Plan Competition.
Confidentiality
The Wharton Business Plan Competition honors the confidentiality of all participants' business concepts and plans. Business concepts, overviews and plans will not be copied for any purposes other than use in the WBPC. The judges also recognize the sensitivity of the materials being presented. Moreover, as an activity of the Wharton Business School, the WBPC is governed by the Wharton School Graduate Division Code of Ethics, which specifically prohibits:
Utilizing for commercial gain any material provided to Wharton specifically and restrictively for educational purposes without prior permission of the provider. As members of the WBPC, all participants, judges, and committee members should consider themselves bound by this code.
Teams may choose to include the following optional disclaimer on the cover sheet of their submissions, recognizing that it is not a legally binding agreement:
This business plan is confidential and is presented solely for the purpose of evaluation in the Wharton Business Plan Competition. This plan may not be reproduced or redistributed in whole or in part. By accepting a copy of this plan, the recipient agrees not to reproduce or disclose the contents of this plan to third parties without the prior written consent of its authors.
Many actual and prospective participants in the Wharton Business Plan Competition often ask that confidentiality agreements be secured from mentors, organizers and/or judges. While the organizers of the WBPC appreciate the concerns behind these requests, as a matter of convention and practicality, confidentiality agreements are not signed as part of the WBPC. Steven M. Sammut, Senior Fellow and Lecturer in Management, explains why .
If a team does not want certain firms or individuals to judge their business plan because the team has invested in potential competitors, please forward that request to the Directors of Judge Relations and they will consider it.
General questions or concerns regarding confidentiality should be addressed to the WEP Organizer of the Wharton BPC .
University Claims on Student-developed Technology
Students at the University of Pennsylvania who develop new technologies and/or new ventures while enrolled at the University can be assured that the University does not have a claim on the intellectual property of the student's technology or venture unless one of the following applies:
- The student has worked with compensation under the direct supervision of a faculty member or researcher whose costs are being borne at least in part by the University
- The student has worked under a research grant or other research sponsorship
- The student is commercializing a technology or discovery that was made by a faculty member or other University researcher
- The student has engaged services of a University department and has agreed otherwise as a condition of receiving such services
These provisions do not apply to individuals who are paid salaries by the University of Pennsylvania.
In general, except as noted above, tuition-paying students are encouraged to put their efforts into seeking the advice and facilitation of faculty members and other resources at the University with the assurance that such action in itself will not result in an intellectual property claim on their work by the University.
Judges and Mentors
The WBPC Student Management Team will publicize the names and associations of all judges and mentors who participate in each round of the WBPC at the Venture Finals. The WBPC Student Management Team will not, however, provide contact information for individual judges. The Student Management Team will not reveal the identity of judges that read any particular plan unless the judge specifically requests an opportunity to contact the students who submitted the plan.
No participant may under any circumstances attempt to contact a judge during or before the competition. Any such behavior will result in the disqualification of the participant and his/her team from the WBPC.
No judge will sit on more than one phase. Hence, if a judge reviews plans in Phase II, that judge will not review plans in Phase III or the Venture Finals. The WBPC believes that it is critical to ensure a fresh set of perspectives at each phase of the judging process. This policy is also essential in order to guard against any conflicts of interest that could emerge if judges had preexisting relationships with student participants.
Participants who have any questions regarding potential conflicts of interest for any judges at any stage of the WBPC should address them immediately to the Directors of Judge Relations.
