The 2016 LSC Entrepreneurship Awards have been developed to give aspiring LSC entrepreneurs, business owners and social entrepreneurs the opportunity to transform their ideas into reality.
If have always wanted to embark on your own business or social enterprise venture, this is your chance to turn your ideas into commercially viable technologies, products or services. If you believe you have the entrepreneurial aptitude, commercial acumen, vision, ambition and drive to build a successful enterprise, this is the perfect opportunity to make your dream materialise into a reality.
The Entrepreneurship Awards is open to all current students and alumni of the LSC Group in any country who have a realistic and exciting concept of a new business venture, particularly in a developing country.
Winners will be awarded start-up capital funding of up to £25,000 and also receive business support and enterprise mentoring from LSC. In return for the funding, the LSC Group will have a minority stake in the business or enterprise. This stake will vary according to individual projects. The LSC Group will plough all profits from its stake in these businesses and enterprises to support future Entrepreneurship Award projects.
The award will open on 1 July 2016 and close on 31 July 2016.
To enter you must prepare a written business plan, develop a 60 second 'creative' and if shortlisted, make an oral presentation (pitch) to a panel of judges. Submit your business plan and creative to entrepreneurship@lsclondon.co.uk by 31 July 2016.
Your written business plan should be between 4 to 6 sides of A4, font size 12 point and must address the following key aspects:
This is an opportunity for you to bring your idea to life and 'tell' us about it through an 'elevator pitch' of no more than 60 seconds in length. You can use a video or an animated power point. Please remember to include your name and ensure that it does not contain any copyright content (material that other people have made).
Shortlisted entrants will be invited to present their ideas to the judges. The presentation will allow you to introduce your idea and explain your plan - it will also enable the judges to ask questions and for you to highlight areas of your idea that you think are important.
The presentation will be no more than 10 minutes long and be supported by Power Point or similar. Once you have presented your ideas there will be a further 5 minutes of time allocated for questioning from the judges. To enable a fair competition we will be strict on the timekeeping.
Judging will take place over two rounds:
At the centre of the awards are your great ideas for new businesses and new social enterprises. The judges will look at your business plan and assess the idea, its benefits and your capability. The judges will want to know, among other things:
You are a current student or graduate (alumni) of any campus or centre of the LSC Group.
Your business idea must be your own. Franchises or subsidiaries of existing companies are not eligible.
Your entry conforms to the ethical and moral standards of the LSC Group.
The LSC Group reserves the right to disqualify any entry that we feel infringes the spirit of the competition or exceeds the bounds of social convention.
All entrants own the rights to their ideas.
Entrants must acknowledge any trademarks or copyrighted materials that are incorporated into their entry or presentation. The entrants are responsible for obtaining any necessary permission before incorporating copyright or trademark materials into their submissions.
Once submitted, the LSC Group reserve the right to publish information about the entries in publications and press releases.
Winners of the Entrepreneurship Awards will agree to giving the LSC Group a minority stake in the business or social enterprise in return for the start-up capital funding.