Read all the competition details on how to enter, teams, deadlines competition rounds, judges, prizes and resources.
Below find answers to other frequently asked questions. If you have further questions, please contact Andrew Earle at Holloway.Prize@unh.edu.
Q: Do I need to be a business student to participate?
A: Nope! Students from all majors are welcome to enter the Competition. Many teams of non-business majors (or a mix of business and non-business majors) have done very well in past Competitions. See videos for examples.
Q: Do I need to be an UNH-Durham student to participate?
A: Nope! The Competition is open to all students (i.e. undergraduate and graduate) from all University of System of New Hampshire schools (Keene, Plymouth, UNH Law, UNH Manchester, and UNH Durham)
Q: Do I need an operating business, working prototype, functioning app etc. to enter the Competition?
A: Nope! You can simply start with a problem that needs solving and an idea for a solution (see FIRST ROUND QUESTIONS). For later rounds, working toward having these is a good goal but is not required. We also offer support to develop your product or service further over the course of the Competition.
Q: Can I enter as an individual or do I need a team?
A: Either way works! That said, interdisciplinary teams tend to do well in the Competition. So, if you have an idea, try to find some friends with complementary skill sets. For example, if you have a technical background, find a teammate with business skills or if you have a vision for solving a particular problem, find someone with the skills to help you build a tangible solution. We limit the team size to four (or fewer) students and when you see “team” in these documents this includes “teams of one.”
Q: What are the important dates and deadlines for the Competition?
A: The important dates and deadlines are summarized in the table
Q: How do I enter the Competition?
A: Simply by registering, answering the FIRST ROUND QUESTIONS, and submitting a short (90 second) video about your idea.
Q: What if I feel I can’t provide a perfect answer to one of the First Round questions?
A: Just start by doing the best you can! Perfection is rarely, if ever, achieved in the entrepreneurship, so instead, push yourself to constantly develop better answers as you move forward. The Competition is designed to help you with process and encourages you to update, improve, and refine your idea as you progress through the rounds.
If you find yourself really stuck, ask your advisor for guidance and/or try to find an additional team member with that missing skill set.
Q: How do I make the video for my submission?
A: You can simply shoot your video with your phone or digital camera. Also, you can check out professional-grade cameras from the Parker Media Lab at UNH (or the equivalent on other campuses). For submitting your video, you can either upload the file with your written submission or supply a link if your video is hosted by a third-party site (e.g. YouTube or Vimeo)
Q: Is there help available for developing my submission?
A: Yes! The UNH Entrepreneurship Center offers help sessions and a “maker space” for creating prototypes, etc. We also keep list of other resources here.
Judging criteria is viewable on the competition website. The rubric is the same for judging the 5-page written submissions and videos.
You are NOT required to create a poster unless you are competing in the Charles & Miriam Nelson Poster Competition. However, teams are strongly encouraged to have a professionally prepared poster available for viewing by judges, guests and others. Teams may display their poster during their presentation and all teams, whether or not they advance to the finals, may stand with their poster during the Holloway Prize Championship reception to encourage interaction with potential investors and other guests.
Teams can revise their video or submit a new video.
Various departments on campus have 3-D printers which may be available for student use. Contact your Dean's Office to find out if your college has one available. Unfortunately, Paul College does not have a 3D printer available.
Contenders have 10 minutes to present their ideas through the video and PowerPoint presentation, followed by 15 minutes of Q&A.
Yes.
Due to space and other restrictions arrangements to bring props, products, etc. must be made in advance. Contact Holloway.Prize@unh.edu to discuss.
Six teams (the first place team from each flight of teams plus two additional teams).
You can use many types of presentation software. If you are using software other than PowerPoint or Prezi please contact Holloway.Prize@unh.edu by April 18th.
Business professional attire.
There is no limit to the number of slides you can use, though most advisors recommend about 10. Remember, you want your audience to be listening to you rather than reading your slides, so don’t go overboard with the number of slides or the density of their content.
No. Playing your video is optional. However, the video has the potential to give the judges a better sense of your product or service.
Yes.
Each round of the competition is judged by a separate team of judges comprised of successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, former competitors, CEOs, CFOs, and other representatives from business and industry. Judges’ names will be posted on the competition website prior to the event.
