Date: Wednesday 11 June 2008
Time: 6pm for 6.30pm start
Venue: The Cambridge Union Building (Map)

Dress code: business dress 

Please register for this event here.

Back in October, we took groups of students, added a dash of inspiration, sprinkled with £1k prizes and nurtured with mentoring and business training - what did we get? 12 hugely promising teams ready to set up businesses.

At the CUE Grand Finale we will announce the winners of the Entrepreneurs' Challenge 2008. In addition to being awarded £5k each to kick-start their companies, each team will have the chance to pitch for further prizes before a panel of angel investors including Robert Sansom, Jonathan Milner, Adrian Critchlow and Ewan Kirk.

After the ceremony, you will be able to mingle with the winners and business community over drinks and refreshments at the Union bar.

We really do hope that you will be able to make it and look forward to welcoming you to our end of year finale. Please let us know whether you’ll be there either by registering online.

This event is part of Enterprising Cambridge, three days of intense entrepreneurial activity. Visit www.EnterprisingCambridge.com to find out more.

And the finalists of the Entrepreneurs' Challange 2008 are:

AI Speech
AutoTB
Bamfur
BeFree!
Carta Mea
CoolWind
GreenPB
Microantenna
Piezopulse
PowerSilicon Technology
Rescent
Sonnet Models
TerraNova
Idea Belt
Veinbay

The public summaries are available here.

Well done!

Details

Date: Monday 17 March

Time: 7pm drinks reception and 3 course dinner

Venue: New Hall

Tickets

Please use our online form to book tickets for this event. Tickets can no longer be bought.

Tickets are on sale for the Cambridge University Entrepreneurs’ Finalists’ Dinner to take place this year on 17 March at New Hall. Standard tickets are £35. There are two concession rates available: £15 for entrants and £29 for students.

Time: 6.00 for 6.30pm
Venue: Judge Business School

More important than having a great idea is figuring out how to sell it! Entrepreneurship may be instinctive, but presenting to venture capitalists benefits from rehearsal in the same way as a singer with raw talent still needs to be trained. We invite you to come and pitch your idea, receive feedback and learn from other pitches.

The masterclass will be led by Andrea Blakesley. Andrea founded Mudhut in late 2005 with the aim of advising individuals and organisations on complex verbal communication. Prior to founding Mudhut, Andrea spent three years as a Director of the Great Eastern Investment Forum, the leading UK business angel network based in Cambridge. Responsible for the selection of early stage companies and recruitment of investors, Andrea also led the GEIF investment readiness programme, coaching over 100 companies on their investment presentations to private investors. Andrea has experience in consulting companies from a wide range of sectors including biotechnology, telecoms, finance, internet, leisure, engineering and the arts.

Have you written your entry for the £5k Challenge yet?

The brief:

Write an extended executive summary describing your business idea.

Note: You DO NOT need to have entered the £100 or £1k Challenges to enter the £5k Challenge.

Specifications:

1. For the public summary, there is a word limit of 100. This should not contain any confidential information. Please submit this as part of your entry form.
2. For your executive summary, there is a word limit of 3500, which includes text in tables, on diagrams and any appendices or addendums.
3. You may include photos, diagrams, graphs and tables in your entry.
4. Please note that entries must NOT contain any fabricated material.
5. Business ideas must be novel – executive summaries of existing businesses may not be entered.
6. You must include in your entry:
   • Your team name
   • The names of your team members and their departments/backgrounds

How to enter:

1. Read the Competition Rules.
2. Fill in this form.
3. Email a PDF of your entry to before 11.59pm GMT, Friday 22 February 2008.
4. Print off a copy of each of these and UMS or post them to Cambridge University Entrepreneurs, Institute for Manufacturing, Mill Lane, CB2 1RX by 5pm, Tuesday 26 February 2008:
   • Competitions Declaration
   • NDA for Entrants
   • Competitions Disclaimer
   • The
     entry fee of £20 in the form of a cheque payable to “Cambridge
     University Entrepreneurs” – unless your entry was a winner or runner up
     in Phase 1
5. Email a poster depicting your entry to by 11.59pm,
   Friday 29 February, which fulfils the following criteria:

• • Suitable for printing at A2
  • Contains the team name and team member names
  • Does not contain any confidential information

To help you along:

• Please see our £5k Business Training Event resources. This includes a presentation by Bob Pettigrew, one of our competition judges, explaining what he looks for in a winning entry.
• Also see the resources from our £1k Training Event, including a presentation from Chris Lamaison about how to do Market Research in 4 hours.

Attached to this page are the presentations from £5k Training Event held on 9th Feb 2008.

Competitions Rules

1. Eligibility

1.1 All staff and students at all levels of education and from any department, registered with the University of Cambridge for the year 2007/2008, are eligible to enter. This includes visiting and exchange students.

1.2 Other people that do not meet requirement 1.1 may join or form teams, provided that at least one principal team member meets requirement 1.1. For the business creation competition, it is understood that the winning team would, upon incorporation, have at least one member meeting requirement 1.1 as a director.

1.3 The President of Cambridge University Entrepreneurs may not enter the competitions during tenure as President. There are no restrictions for all other CUE committee members or organisers other than as stated in rules 1.1 and 1.2, as they will not have access to confidential information regarding the competition. This rule supersedes rules 1.1 and 1.2.

1.4 Competitors are encouraged to seek the involvement of faculty members, past winners, postdoctoral researchers and other staff. Multidisciplinary teams tend to do best. However, there are no restrictions on the size or composition of your competition team.

1.5 Teams that have already secured arrangements for capital from any source must disclose the amounts and sources clearly in their entries. Example sources of capital include cash generated from sales revenues or contracts, research grants and personal or family funds.

1.6 Entries must describe an entirely new business. Projects within existing businesses are not eligible for entry, nor are executive summaries of already existing companies.

2. Entry Fee

2.1 There is no entry fee for entering Phase 0.

2.2 The entry fee for Phase 1 is £10 per executive summary. Winners and runners-up from Phase 0 are exempt from paying this fee.

2.3 The entry fee for Phase 2 is £20 per business plan. Winners and runners-up from Phase 1 are exempt from paying this fee.

2.4 Teams submitting multiple entries will be charged multiple entry fees.

2.5 Payment will be made online as part of the submission process by the deadlines for entry.

2.6 The entry process will not be complete without payment or exemption code.

2.7 Payments are valid only for the competitions in 2007/2008 and are not transferable to future CUE competitions.

3. Content

3.1 All entries must be the original work of the entrants.

3.2 All entries must be factual.

3.3 Entries should be made with full understanding of University regulations on Intellectual Property Rights. It is the responsibility of the entrant to ensure that no third party, such as a research sponsor or another member of the University who participated in your research, has any rights on the idea which may prevent its exploitation. Proprietary information about the idea should not be disclosed in the public summary (see rules 4.4 and 5.4.4), posters, or presentations, as this information will be published.

4. Phase 0: £100 Challenge

4.1 Entries should be submitted online at www.cue.org.uk before 11.59pm on Monday 22 October 2007.

4.2 Entries may be no more than 100 words in length. They may be circulated via press releases and CUE competition publications for promotional purposes.

5. Phase 1: £1k Challenge

5.1 Entries should be submitted online at www.cue.org.uk. Online submission of entry forms and executive summaries may be made up to 11.59pm on 12 December 2007.

5.2 Hard copies of the signed Disclaimer and Non-Disclosure Agreement must be received at the UMS address below before 5.00pm on 12 December 2007 for the entry to be valid.

Cambridge University Entrepreneurs
Institute for Manufacturing
Cambridge CB2 1RX

5.3 Executive summaries should be a maximum of 1500 words including text in tables. The number of diagrams is not limited. The document should be sized to print out on A4 paper. Keep in mind that the judges appreciate brevity and clarity.

5.4 A public summary of no more than 100 words will be required as part of the submission. It may be circulated via press releases and CUE competition publications for promotional purposes.

5.5 Posters will be required from each team for a rotating public exhibition and future CUE events. Posters should be supplied in electronic form and be suitable for printing on size A1 paper.

5.6 No entries will be accepted after 12 December 2007.

5.7 Content beyond the 1500-word limit for the executive summary and the 100-word limit for the public summary will be disregarded.

5.8 Incomplete submissions with missing documents, incomplete fields or missing signatures will be rejected.

6. Phase 2: £5k Challenge

6.1 It is recommended that entrants obtain a letter from an appropriate authority within their department, e.g. the Head of Research or Supervisor, confirming that they know a business plan has been submitted in relation to the idea.

6.2 Entrants wishing to be considered for the CleanTech or Social Awards need to clearly demonstrate the social and/or environmental purpose of their venture in addition to the traditional business plan headings.

6.3 Phase 2-a

6.3.1 Entries should be submitted online at www.cue.org.uk. Online submission of entry forms and executive summaries, complete with market research and competitor analyses, may be made up to 11.59pm on 22 February 2008.

6.3.2 Executive summaries, complete with market research and competitor analyses, should be a maximum of 3500 words including all text, graphics and appendices. The number of diagrams is not limited. The document should be sized to print out on A4 paper. Keep in mind that the judges appreciate brevity and clarity.

6.3.3 A public summary of no more than 100 words will be required as part of the submission. It will be circulated via press releases and CUE competition publications for promotional purposes.

6.3.4 No entries will be accepted after 22 February 2008.

6.3.5 Content beyond the 3500 word limit for the executive summary and the 100 word limit for the public summary will be disregarded.

6.3.6 Incomplete submissions with missing documents, incomplete fields or missing signatures will be rejected.

6.4 Phase 2-b

6.4.1 Only the finalists announced at the Finalists’ Dinner will be required to submit full business plans and posters.

6.4.2 Entries should be submitted online at www.cue.org.uk. Online submission of entry forms and full business plans may be made up to 11.59pm on 28 April 2008.

6.4.3 Full business plans should be no more than 40 pages, including all text, graphics and appendices. Any pages exceeding the limit will be disregarded by the judges.

6.4.4 Posters will be required from each finalist team for public exhibition at The Final in 2008 and future CUE events. Posters should be supplied in electronic form and be suitable for printing on size A1 paper.

6.4.5 Further details on Phase 2-b will be given to the finalists after the Finalists’ Dinner.

6.5 Finalists’ Judging Presentations

6.5.1 Each finalist team will be asked to present to the judging panel for no more than 10 minutes, followed by a 5-minute question-and-answer session. The main purpose of this session is to clarify issues that arise from the full business plan and presentation. It is also a good opportunity for teams to convince the judges that they will be able to meet and surpass their business goals and challenges.

6.5.2 No AV equipment may be used for these presentations.

7. Judging

7.1 The judging panels of all of the competitions are appointed by Cambridge Enterprise and include experienced entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. They are highly experienced and respected members of the wider entrepreneurial community and are under the supervision of the Cambridge Enterprise Judging Coordinator to ensure the impartiality of judging.

7.2 The judging panel reserves the right to disqualify any entry that, in its opinion, violates the spirit of the competition.

7.3 Judging feedback will be provided for each entry.

7.4 Judging criteria are available in this booklet and online at www.cue.org.uk.

7.5 Judging decisions are final and not subject to appeal.

8. Prizes

8.1 The prize money awarded to the winning teams must be claimed in instalments linked to agreed milestones in creating the business.

8.2 The winners will have the opportunity to pitch on stage to a panel of business angels and early-stage investors for cash from the CUE Angel Prize Fund and investment funding. CUE raises the Angel Prize Fund during the year.

8.3 Sponsored services, such as free patent filings, may also be awarded to Phase 1 and Phase 2 winners.

9. Entry Confidentiality

9.1 All judges with access to the entries will sign a non-disclosure agreement. A copy of the agreement is available at www.cue.org.uk.

9.2 A qualified mentor may be provided to Phase 2 finalists. With consent, entries may be shared with prospective mentors who will formally agree to a non-disclosure agreement as described in 10.2 below.

9.3 With consent, Phase 2 finalists’ entries may also be shared with prospective investors, including the panel of business angels and early-stage investors for The Final in 2008, who will formally agree to a non-disclosure agreement as described in 10.2 below.

10. Intellectual Property Protection

10.1 Cambridge University Entrepreneurs, its sponsors and the organisers of the business ideas and creation competitions have taken reasonable measures to ensure the confidentiality of your entries.

10.2 The sponsors of CUE and the judges of the competitions include organisations and individuals that work with entrepreneurs and invest in their ideas. Sponsors, judges and mentors will agree to a confidentiality agreement which extends for 12 months after the public announcement of the competition winners. Copies of these confidentiality agreements are available from the Cambridge Enterprise Judging Coordinator.

10.3 Cambridge University Entrepreneurs cannot, and will not, take further responsibility to protect the intellectual property or other rights of the entrants.

10.4 The protection of intellectual property or other rights of the entrants is the ultimate responsibility of each entrant. Entrants are urged to mark as “confidential” any portion of their entries that they consider to be confidential. Entrants should be careful about disclosing any patentable concepts in the entries.

10.5 Entrants looking to incorporate are strongly advised to seek professional advice on the issues surrounding Intellectual Property Rights. A list of organisations known to Cambridge Enterprise is available on request.

Date: Saturday 9 February 2008

Time: 10am

Venue: Judge Business School

CUE would like to invite you to our business training event on Saturday 9th February at 10am in the Judge Business School.

10.00-10.30	The Judge’s Perspective	Bob Pettigrew, competition judge
10.30-11.15	Keynote: A brief History of ARM (And what it taught me about business)	Lee Smith, ARM co-Founder
	15-min break
11.30-12.00	Marketing	Peter Hiscocks, JBS
12.00-12.30	Rough guide to entrepreneurship	Jack Lang, Angel
12.30-13.00	Bonzer or Bonanza Business	Philip Baddeley, Equity Fingerprint

Whether you are a seasoned entrepreneur, setting up your first company, or even just want to find out what it takes to be an entrepreneur, everyone is welcome to attend.

Our Keynote speaker is Lee Smith, one of the founding members of ARM, who will tell us the story of how a company that started with 12 engineers in Cambridge became a global standard: their embedded microprocessors are used in most digital devices on the planet today!

For the ambitious, this event will also prepare you for the £5k challenge. In our first talk, at 10am, Bob, Pettigrew, a competition judge, will share his views on what kind of entries impress him.
Remember that to enter the £5k Challenge, you will need to write an executive summary of up to 3500 words and submit it to us by 11.59pm GMT on the 22nd of February.

Please note: The event begins at 10am prompt, so please arrive before then. There is no need to register.

Date: Saturday 2 February 2008

Time: 2pm

Venue: Judge Business School

Do you have a business idea but no team? Perhaps you’re looking for a team to be part of. Maybe you’re seeking that crucial expertise that’s so hard to find.

At ordinary networking events, you can normally expect to meet fewer than 6 new people during an entire evening. At Speed Networking, you are guaranteed to meet 25 new people per hour, face-to-face, whose interests will be attuned to your own. Remember that even if people at first sight do not seem directly relevant to you, it is likely that they will know someone who is and visa versa.

Signups for this event have now closed.

By Phase 2, you will have built a team and be ready to make your idea happen. In this phase you will benefit from a professional mentor, write a business plan and pitch for investment. The £5k Challenge rewards propositions that show practicality, financial viability and strong teams.