Steven A. Rodriguez, startup community manager at GEN, on the new Startup Compete platform for business plan competitions at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Medellin, Colombia.

2. WEAREGEN.CO

3. Steven A. Rodriguez
Startup Community Manager, Global Entrepreneurship Network

4. How It Works
Design
• Identify your focus
• Set the goal, challenge
metrics and guidelines
• Discover existing
innovators
Launch
• Announce the challenge
• Recruit innovators
• Engage and build
community excitement
Educate
• Support and encourage
innovators
• Community
engagement
• Judging
Award
• Announce
• Present
• Publicize
Results

5. Customized Experience
• Creating a challenge is about taking a framework
and translating it into a competition. The most
important part about a competition is WHERE you
set the bulls eye.
• It’s about asking the right question that will expose
people to entrepreneurship…START the spark!

6. #ofRounds
When Designing a Challenge,
there are a variety of levers that
can be pulled on in order to
determine the “right” competition
that will motivate innovators to get
involved.
Tie In Your Goals
Focus
Awards/Prizes
Engagement
Complexity

7. Great Opportunities
• For the winners:
– Awesome prizes

8. Great Opportunities
• For everyone:
– Lots of potential fans like investors, corporates, talent and
experts involved
– International exposure and network in 160+ countries
– Exciting and educating process where you get feedback
and learn more from experienced fans

10. Managing a Competition
• Some Cons:
– Web presence ideal
– Application storage
– Judging
– Rounds
– Management…

11. Compe&&on
Website
In-person
event
Intent to Compete
& Registra&on
Submit Abstract or
Exec Summary
1st Round Judging
Submit Complete
Plan
Elimina'on
Judging N Feedback
Elimina'on
Invita&on to Pitch
Elimina'on
Request for more
informa&on

12. • A single platform that helps streamline
the way you manage and conduct
startup competitions.
Simplify Your Work

13. Simplify Your Work
• It allows an organizer to customize questions and
rounds, invite and sort judges, and manage
everything from one spot.
• It is also white-label, meaning you get to brand the
experience as your own.

14. Easily manage:
• Updates and reminders
• Questions and files
• Complex timelines
• Email history
• Your TIME!!!
Simplify the process for:
• Administrators
• Judges
• Applicants, team members, advisors

16. CompletionTime
4 Months
Innovators
490 Startups
Results
Develops connections
between students and local
enterprise community, and
brokering mentorship with
local business leaders.
RwandaBusinessIdea
Challenge
Academic,Local

17. Incentive
Challenge
BusinessPlan
Competition
Academic,Global
CompletionTime
6 Months
Innovators
750 Startups
Results
Opportunity to meet and
network with over 250
venture capital principals,
early stage investors, and
successful entrepreneurs.

18. Final Thoughts
• Startup Compete helps:
– Create exposure opportunities
– Develop startup-up skills and human capital
– Simplify your work

19. PLEASE REACH
OUT TO US AT:
STEVEN@GEW.CO
Thank you
Let’s host a startup
competition together!

20. GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP NETWORK
w e a r e g e n . c o