The Competition

2010-2011 Competition Timeline

The competition will be conducted in several phases with the following timeline:

Phase I

October 3     Informational Bulletin Insert at Redeemer Services
October 14       Info Session 1 (Redeemer Office)
October 17 Info Session 2 (Hunter College)
October 21       Info Session 3 (Webinar)
October 30 Workshop 1 "Developing a Gospel-Centered Venture"
November 10    Deadline for applications submission

Phase II

November 11 Evaluation of applications begins
November 29 Workshop 2 "4 M's-Mission, Market, Model, Management”

Phase III

December 9         Semi-Finalists notified to submit a full business plan
January 6      Workshop 3 "Start-Up Finance Fundamentals"
January 13    Workshop 4 "One on One Speed Coaching Sessions"
January 19        Deadline for business plan submissions

Phase IV

January 25        Evaluation of business plans begin
February 23    Notification of Not-For-Profit finalists
March 1           Notification of For-Profit finalists

Phase V

March 10 Not-For-Profit: final presentations before jury
March 16 For-Profit: final presentations before jury

Phase VI

April 8 Winners announced at 2011 Ei Forum

Detailed Information

Phase I: Launch the Competition to find new and promising Gospel-centered ventures.

Attend information sessions to learn more about the vision behind the competition. Submit your application, which consists of an Executive Summary, your resume, and the name and contact information of a member of Redeemer or a Redeemer Affiliate Church as your reference if you are not a member of Redeemer, online at the Ei website. The online application form will close on November 10th at 10PM. Executive summaries will be a MAXIMUM of 3 pages. Examples will be available online after all the information sessions have been completed.

Phase II: Application and Executive Summary Screening

A committee comprised of CFW staff and partners will screen the executive summaries, check references, and contact promising candidates via email or phone to accept them into the next round. These candidates will have an opportunity to attend the 4 Business Plan Competition Workshops. Attendance is not mandatory but strongly suggested. This Competition gives you ample opportunities to engage with pastors, staff, and your fellow members of the Redeemer community.

Phase III: Semi-Finals - Business Plan Submissions

Business Plans will be a MAXIMUM of 8 pages (including financials).

Phase IV: Panel Review

A group of finalists for both categories will be selected from this pool. The panels for all categories will have approximately seven days to review the plans before the final presentations.

Phase V: Finalist Presentations

Finalists will present their business plans to the judges in an open session. Each team will have between 5 to 7 minutes to present their business plan. Then the judges will also have up to 10 minutes to ask questions of each team. There will be a separate presentation for the for-profit and the not-for-profit categories. The judges will convene after the presentations. The winners will be selected based on meeting the business plan competition criteria.