Submission Guidelines

Regional Semi-Final Round

Submission Guidelines

Please adhere to the submission guidelines below. If you do not your team will have to be disqualified.

The following documents should be submitted to your respective Regional Semi-Final Round:

1. Revised Executive Summary (up to 1 page)

  • In PDF format
  • Must use the template provided for consistency - not to exceed 1 page in length.  Template to be provided.
  • Executive Summary PDFs should be titled using the following convention: TeamName_GSVC SemiFinal_RevisedExecSummary.pdf

2. Business Plan (up to 20 pages + exhibits)   

  • Business Plan must be limited to 20 pages in PDF format (typed and double-spaced, #12 Times New Roman font, and 1-1-1-1 inch margins, page size: 8 1/2 x 11 inches) exclusive of text, charts, and diagrams. Appendices are limited to 5 pages, which may include detailed spreadsheets and other appropriate appendices. Total plan length should be no more than 25 pages (a cover page, if included, will not be counted towards the 25 pages).
  • Within the financing section of the business plan, entrants must include an explanation of the offering to investors which indicates how much money is required, how it will be used, and how a deal might be structured, i.e., stock, debentures, etc. The team is not required to reveal its desired deal, although the judges may ask questions about it. Also, delineate the possible exit strategies. Detailed financial data should be displayed in spreadsheet form as an appendix. Financial data should include a cash flow statement, income statement, and balance sheet.
  • Business plans must include a Social Impact Assessment section. Please review the 2011 GSVC SIA Guidelines and access other helpful resources at the SIA section of our website
  • Business plan PDFs should be titled using the following convention: TeamName_GSVCSemifinal_BPlan.pdf
  • Your business plan will be judged not on the length of your submission, but on the overall quality, analysis and presentation of your business opportunity.

2. Team Resume Booklet

  • One team resume booklet in PDF format, wherein each individual’s resume should not exceed one page in length.
  • Resume booklet PDFs should be titled using the following convention: TeamName_GSVCSemifinal_ResumeBooklet.pdf
  • Please note that even if your team resume booklet has not changed from the one that was submitted for the executive summary round , we are asking you to rename the file and resubmit one for the semi-finals round.

3. Pitch Video (90 seconds)

  • You should provide a pitch video of up to 90 seconds demonstrating your busines opportunity and idea – the details and format of the video are left to your discretion and should best represent the strengths of your idea and team. This is especially useful for judges that will not meet the teams during this round (Haas School of Business and Columbia Business School Regional Semi-Final Rounds).
  • To share your video link, please complete the form in the Submission Forms box at the top of the page.
  • Pitch video link documents should be titled using the following convention: TeamName_GSVCSemifinal_PitchVideoWaiver.doc
  • Please note that you are not to add the video link to the application field that was provided in the executive summary round application.
Submission Forms