DRADD

NYC NEXT IDEA 2010-2011:

GLOBAL BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

GRADUATE TRACK
RULES & REQUIREMENTS

April 20, 2010

I. ABOUT:
The NYC Next Idea 2010: Global Business Concept Competition (the “Competition”)
is a business concept competition that showcases the best international talent from
business and engineering schools around the world while developing innovative
business ventures that can launch and operate in New York City (“NYC”).
Administered by New York City Economic Development Corporation (“NYCEDC”) the
Competition seeks to raise the visibility of NYC as an international platform for
innovation and entrepreneurship. With participating universities from around the
world, including, Asia, Latin America and Europe and an exciting opportunity to visit
NYC and network with investors, the Competition offers participants a challenging
task of developing a business venture in one of the most vibrant and diverse cities in
the world.

The Competition features two separate tracks, one for graduate student teams and
one for undergraduate student teams. The inaugural Competition was launched in
2009 with only a graduate track.

This document details guidelines for the graduate track; with the exception of Team
Composition and Eligibility, both tracks are subject to the same Rules &
Requirements and Additional Terms (detailed in an Appendix to this document). All
definitions in this document are applicable to the Additional Terms.

II. RULES:

(a) Team Composition and Eligibility:

Team Composition: The Competition is open to alumni of, and all current full- and
part-time graduate students in a Master of Business Administration or Master of
Science or Master of Arts program, or its equivalent, including executive MBAs and
all current full- and part-time PhD students of the Participating University, as defined
in Section IV below. An individual cannot be a part of more than one team. All
teams must consist of at least one current full-time or part-time student at the time
of team registration. Any alumni on the team must have graduated within the past
(5) years.

Students or alumni of universities based in the United States not currently enrolled in
a Participating University and employees of employees of The City of New York or
NYCEDC, and the Judges or any of its respective affiliates, subsidiaries, and their
immediate family (spouse, parents and step-parents, siblings and step-siblings, and
children and step-children) and household members (people who share the same
residence at least three (3) months out of the year) of each such employee are not
eligible.

Team Size: The participating team (the “Participating Team”) should include at least
two members and not exceed five members (each individually, the “Team Member”).
All Team Members in the Participating Team will be from the same Participating
University.

Business Criteria: The Competition entries must meet the following minimum
requirements:
(1) The entry must be focused on a clear business concept. The preference is for
business concepts in the following industry sectors though other industries will
also be considered:

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 a. Financial Services
b. Media and Technology
c. Green / clean-tech
d. Fashion
e. Bioscience
f. Nonprofit – academics or arts
(2) The business concept must have a connection to NYC either with respect to
operations, marketing or any other business function and must be able to launch
and operate in NYC.
(3) The Competition is for new, independent ventures in the seed, start-up, or early
growth stages and business concepts that include the expansion of an existing
venture into NYC. Licensing technologies from universities or research labs is
encouraged.

Student Involvement: The Competition is for ventures created, managed, and owned
by the Team Members where such Team Members have played a major role in
conceiving the venture.

Faculty Involvement: Participating Teams are highly encouraged to seek faculty

support; however, faculty support is not a requirement.

(b) Judging Process:

Round I: The submission for this round is an Executive Summary for the business
concept. All submissions made during this round will be evaluated. There is no
restriction on the number of submissions per Participating University. Please see
Section II(d) below, Submission Requirements, for additional details.

Round II: From Round I Executive Summary submissions, it is anticipated that ten
(10) Participating Teams from each track will be short listed for Round II. The
Participating Teams that qualify for Round II (the “Qualifying Teams”) are required to
submit a full business plan. Please see Section II(d) below, Submission
Requirements, for additional details.

Round III: From Round II, it is anticipated that three (3) Qualifying Teams from each
track will be selected to move to the final round of in-person presentations of the
business concept (the “Finalist Teams”) to be held in New York City in April 2011.
Please see Section II(d) below, Submission Requirements, for additional details.

Please note that Participating Teams eliminated in either Rounds I or II cannot re-
enter the Competition.

(c) Judging Criteria:

The purpose of the Competition is to simulate a real-world scenario of entrepreneurs
seeking start-up funds from early-stage investors and venture capital firms. The
judging panels will be comprised of actual NYC-based venture capitalists and angel
investors and will make their decisions based on which business venture they would
most likely fund. The judges (the “Judges”) will take into account amongst other
factors, the feasibility, financial viability, investment potential and competitive
advantage of the business concept; management capability; connection to NYC and
understanding of the NYC business and regulatory environment; and the quality of
the written plan and oral presentation while making their evaluations during each

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round. At each round, the submissions and presentations will be evaluated for the
following – Is the business idea clear and compelling? Is it innovative, effective and
feasible? All Participating Teams will be provided feedback on their respective
submissions after the announcement of semi-finalists and finalists. Odds of winning
depend on the number of eligible submissions received and the quality of submitted
submissions.

(d) Submission Requirements:

Registering a Participating Team
In order to secure status as a Participating Team, teams must register for the
Competition by emailing bizplan@nycedc.com.

In your email, please include:

ƒ University name
ƒ Indication of graduate status
ƒ Team name, if applicable
ƒ Names of all team members
ƒ Contact information for the primary point of contact on the team
ƒ How you heard about NYC Next Idea

Round I Submission – Executive Summary Guidelines:

Executive summaries must be limited to 5 pages of text (typed, double-spaced,
Times New Roman font, font size 12, and 1” margins on all sides) plus a cover page.

Please include in your cover page the names and contact information of each Team
Member in the Participating Team, the Participating Team’s school affiliation,
proposed company name and industry sector, if applicable, as listed in Section
II(a)(1) above. Please also include curriculum vitas for all Team Members. The
cover page and curriculum vitas are NOT included in the 5 page limit.

The Executive Summary should include information on:

ƒ Company summary (The problem or need your proposed company solves)
ƒ Customer/market analysis (market size and potential market share)
ƒ Product or service description
ƒ Intellectual property status, if applicable (e.g., patents, licenses, etc.)
ƒ Competitive differentiation
ƒ Management team and/or advisors, including relevant experience
ƒ Summary of implementation timetable
ƒ Expected investment and use of funds

Submitting Your Application

ƒ All applications must be in English
ƒ All applications must be emailed to bizplan@nycedc.com.
ƒ Applications must be submitted as .pdf attachments.
ƒ Please enter “NYC Next Idea 2010 – <University Name><Team/Business
Name><Round #>” in the subject line of your email.

Late, incomplete, unreadable, and submissions that do not conform to the

submission requirements outlined above may be disqualified. Submissions must be
original, be the work of the respective Team Members, and not violate the rights of
other parties.

Round II Submission – Written Business Plan Guidelines:

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Written business plans must be limited to 20 pages of text (typed, double-spaced,
Times New Roman font, font size 12, and 1” margins on all sides), including an
executive summary and summary financial data. Detailed spreadsheets and
appropriate appendices should follow the text portion of the plan but will be limited
to 10 pages. Plans with fewer than 10 pages of appendices may not use the
remaining pages to increase the size of their business plan beyond 20 pages. In
total, the maximum number of pages able to be submitted by a Participating Team is
30 pages.

Contents of the Written Business Plan (your business plan should include max 20
pages):
ƒ Cover page including the names and contact information of each Team Member in
the Qualifying Team, the Qualifying Team’s school affiliation, proposed company
name and industry sector, if applicable, as listed in Section II(a)(1) above
ƒ Executive summary
ƒ Product or service description (incl. current status of development – beta,
prototype, etc.)
ƒ Customer/market analysis (market size and potential market share)
ƒ Sales and marketing plan (how you will go-to-market)
ƒ Intellectual property status (e.g., patents, licenses, etc.)
ƒ Competitor analysis (competitors and your competitive differentiation)
ƒ Management team and/or advisors, including relevant experience
ƒ Financial highlights (cash flow, income statement, & balance sheet)
ƒ Offering of the company (how much investment you are seeking, uses of funding,
return on investment and possible exit strategies)

Financial Data: Financial data should include a cash flow statement, income
statement, and balance sheet. We recommend projecting annual financials for at
least five years along with a monthly plan for year 1. This data should be included in
a summarized fashion in the main section of the business plan. Include an
explanation of the offering to investors indicating how much money is required, how
it will be used, and the proposed structure of the deal, (i.e., stock, bonds, etc.) and
possible exit strategies. Detailed financial data and tables should be included in the
appendix.

Appendices: Should be included only when they support the findings, statements,
and observations in the plan and must be within 10 pages.

The cover page, curriculum vitas and copies of all necessary permissions and
clearances, in writing, for the use of any non-original material must be included in
the appendices and will NOT be counted towards the 10-page maximum.

Submitting Your Business Plan

ƒ All applications must be in English
ƒ All applications must be emailed to bizplan@nycedc.com.
ƒ Applications must be submitted as .pdf attachments.
ƒ Please enter “NYC Next Idea 2010 – <University Name><Team/Business
name><Round #>” in the subject line of your email.

Late, incomplete, unreadable, and submissions that do not conform to the

submission requirements outlined above may be disqualified.

Round III Submission – Presentation Guidelines

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Finalist Teams will present their business plans in person before a judging panel
comprised of NYC entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and professors. Presentations
should address all the topics covered in the Finalist Teams’ Written Business Plan, as
detailed above.

Presentations must be limited to 15 minutes and a maximum of 15 PowerPoint

slides, not including an Appendix. Any Finalist Teams that exceed the 15 minute limit
will be penalized in Round III scoring.

In preparing for Round III, Finalist Teams may revise their Written Business Plans,
incorporating feedback received after Round II. Updated Written Business Plans must
be emailed to NYCEDC no later than March 28, 2011.

Submitting Your Presentation

ƒ All presentations must be in English
ƒ Presentations must be in PowerPoint
ƒ A final version of each team’s PowerPoint will be due to NYCEDC no later than 4
pm the day before the Round III events are to take place

Late, incomplete, unreadable, and submissions that do not conform to the

submission requirements outlined above may be disqualified.

III. SCHEDULE:
October 1, 2010 Teams must register by e-mailing bizplan@nycedc.com to
secure status as a Participating Team
October 15-22, 2010: Question & Answer period
November 15, 2010: Executive Summaries due (Executive Summaries
submissions will be accepted between November 1, 2010
and November 15, 2010. No preference will be given to
early submissions.)
December 1, 2010: Announce semi-finalists (the Qualifying Teams)
January 4, 2011: Qualifying Teams’ Written Business Plans due
January 18, 2011 Announce finalists (the Finalist Teams)
April 4-9, 2011: Final presentations in NYC; announce winner

Schedule is subject to change at the sole discretion of NYCEDC.

IV. PARTICIPATING UNIVERSITIES:

The list of participating universities (collectively, the “Participating Universities”,
individually the “Participating University”) is available online at
www.nycedc.com/nextidea.

Participating Universities are universities whose students have indicated an interest

in registering a team for the Competition, as expressed to NYCEDC by officials from,
but not limited to, the university, alumni associations, or student groups.

To become a Participating University, please email bizplan@nycedc.com.

V. PRIZES:
It is anticipated that the following prizes will be awarded:

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ƒ Free week-long trip to New York City for the Finalist Teams from both tracks (up
to a maximum of 5 persons per Finalist Team) including airfare, boarding and
lodging.
ƒ Networking event with investors, entrepreneurs, professors and government
officials for all finalists
ƒ A $20,000 cash prize
ƒ Other goods and support services

Unless agreed upon by NYCEDC, prizes are non-transferable and non-exchangeable.

NYCEDC reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal or greater value if the
awarded prize is unavailable for any reason. When prizes are provided by third
parties, Prize Sponsors as defined below, delivery of the prizes may be the
responsibility of such Prize Sponsors. Prize recipients are responsible for all taxes
and fees associated with prize receipt and/or use.