The 2010 competition features two separate tracks: one for graduate student teams and another for undergraduate student teams. Other than team eligibility rules, the rules and format of the competition are the same for both tracks.

Graduate Track

• Teams with 2-5 participants
• Team members must be graduate students or alumni of a non-U.S. university
• Each team must have at least one full time or part-time graduate student
• Preference for business ideas in: Financial Services, Green, Not-for-profit, Bioscience, Fashion, and Media and Technology
• Business plans must have a NYC operational and/or marketing component

Undergraduate Track

• Teams with 2-5 participants
• Team members must be undergraduate students or alumni of a non-U.S. university
• Each team must have at least one full time or part-time undergraduate student
• Preference for business ideas in: Financial Services, Green, Not-for-profit, Bioscience, Fashion, and Media and Technology
• Business plans must have a NYC operational and/or marketing component

Rounds
The competition consists of three rounds for each track:

• Round I: Executive Summary (5 pages)
• Round II: Business Plan (10 pages, including appendix)
• Round III: In-person presentations (15 minutes / 15 PowerPoint slides)

All teams will receive feedback from the judges after each round regardless of whether they are selected to move on.

Judges
The judging panels, which will be comprised of actual City-based venture capitalists and angel investors, will make their decisions based on which business venture they would most likely fund.