Knapp Venture Competition: The Nation’s Oldest Business Plan Contest

Last year's winners, Vow To Be Chic, pose with Betsy and Bud Knapp.

Five teams are gearing up to compete in the 33rd Knapp Venture Competition finals on Thursday. The culmination of 10 preparatory events that winnowed the field of 67 teams down to this final round, Thursday night’s event will conclude with final cash prizes announced at the event. Prizes totaled $32,000 in 2013. The 2014 final five are: Liveguide, phresh, vuPad, RxCUE and SmartestK12.

Finalists are judged on the quality of their business plan, the excellence and viability of their business model, the chances of financial success and whether the judging panel—comprised of entrepreneurs, venture capital investors and senior executives—would personally invest.

"The Knapp Venture Competition gives our students a chance to flex their entrepreneurial muscles and experience real-world evaluation of their ideas, business plans and investment strategy," says Bill Cockrum, adjunct professor of finance, Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies founder and a Knapp Competition advisor.
 
The Knapp Venture Competition is far more than an academic exercise, and numerous business plans have become viable businesses over the course of the competition’s history. Student ventures benefit from a thorough refinement over the course of the academic year, with assistance from faculty advisors. More than 2,000 UCLA Anderson students have participated in this unique venture-creation.

"Over the years, Knapp winners have gone on to create award-winning products and thriving companies, such as the Crazy Cart, Auditude (sold to Adobe), Stamps.com, Greenbotics (sold to SunPower) and the most recent winners, Vow to Be Chic. These notable projects are examples of how students have blended classroom education with experiential learning and followed through to marketplace success," says Angela Klein, Knapp Venture Competition program manager for the Price Center.
 
The lessons learned for business students go well beyond a good elevator pitch or a firm grasp of pitch-deck creation. Developing a working knowledge of the entrepreneurial process yields lessons appropriate across many fields. "Not everyone has an entrepreneurial idea, but everyone can learn how entrepreneurial thought processes are applicable with organizations. Businesses—and nonprofits—benefit when their employees Think in the Next and help their companies and organizations move beyond static models and into new, invigorating processes," says Elaine Hagan, (’91) executive director of the Price Center.

For more Knapp information, head to their Anderson page or their homepage.