This week teams from 40 schools within 10 countries will compete for more than $150,000 to fund their businesses at the International Business Model Competition. Founded by Brigham Young University and co-hosted by Harvard University and Stanford University, the competition is an opportunity for attendees to get a look inside the entrepreneurial world and will be held May 1-3 at BYU and downtown Provo.
“In recent years there has been a paradigm shift in entrepreneurship, and this competition is an opportunity to be a part of that,” says Jeff Brown, director of the competition. “We’ll see the latest and greatest happenings and get feedback from leaders in the entrepreneurial world.”
The competition was started by BYU’s Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship and Technology to encourage student entrepreneurs to focus more on the learning and adapting process of building a business. The IBMC has grown to include a series of competitions held around the world, with 200 schools in 18 countries participating this year. Teams competing in the international competition include winners of this year’s IBMC-affiliated competitions.
“The business model competition teaches students the proper methodology of how to start a business with the best likelihood of succeeding,” says Scott Petersen, managing director of the Rollins Center. “Ideas are aplenty and people can make plans, but there is a series of validations that needs to happen for a business to line up with what customers are really thinking.”
Judges will evaluate teams on their methods for testing their business assumptions, as well as the teams’ ability to adjust their businesses based on feedback from potential customers. This year’s judges include Steve Blank, father of the customer development methodology; Alex Osterwalder, co-creator of the Business Model Canvas; and Nathan Furr, author of “Nail It Then Scale It.”
“Students from around the world will have the chance to create their businesses and learn from mistakes while gaining feedback from world-class judges,” says Ryan Davis, student director of the competition. “I’m looking forward to seeing all the international competitors this year.”
Petersen says the shift in focus from business plans to models has helped BYU students increase the number of successful businesses launched, with 25 successful businesses started last year. Recent successful businesses include Owlet Baby Monitors, Fiber Fix and XoomPark. Petersen and Brown hope students from around the world will benefit from participation in the competition and go on to form successful businesses of their own.
“Entrepreneurship is the heart and soul of any economy,” Brown says. “Any time we can help entrepreneurs be successful — wherever they are — it is going to have a positive effect.”
The final round of competition is open to the public and will be held Saturday, May 3 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m. at the Utah Valley Convention Center in Provo. For more information, visit www.businessmodelcompetition.com.
The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, public management, information systems, and entrepreneurship. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,000 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.
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Writer: Angela Marler