Welcome to the 15^th annual West Virginia Statewide Collegiate Business Plan Competition! The BPC provides college students throughout the state of West Virginia with the unique opportunity to make a business idea come to life with the support of state institutions of higher education and seasoned business professionals from around the country. The competition awards a minimum of $40,000 each year to eager entrepreneurs willing to invest in West Virginia.

Goal: To work collaboratively with a mission to move the state forward by engaging young minds to solve West Virginia’s greatest issues. The future of our state is at hand, and we are working to involve young talent from across the state to share their ideas. We will provide students with the education, skills, contacts, and motivation necessary to create a viable start-up company in West Virginia. Two (2) grand prize packages consisting of $10,000 cash, consulting services, and legal services are awarded to the top team in each category:

Category 1: Lifestyle and Hospitality – Products or services that are part of daily life or relevant to hospitality, restaurants, hotels, tourism or related fields. They can be the introduction of new products or services, or new methods or techniques of existing products or services.

Category 2: STEM and Innovation – Products or services with an emphasis in science, technology, engineering, math, energy, and healthcare, or any new innovations. They can be the introduction of new products or services, or new methods or techniques of existing products or services.

In addition to the two grand prize packages, the competition awards an additional $20,000 of at-large prize money donated by ZinnStarter. Ray Zinn created ZinnStarter in 2016 to support early-stage entrepreneurs to foster startups.

Getting Started

Use these resources to get acquainted with the Business Model Canvas before submitting your business idea!

• WV Collegiate BPC Round 1 Business Model Canvas Template: a complete list of the questions you will be asked when you begin to fill out your Round 1 submission. This is a great place to start to know what to expect!
• The Business Model Canvas explained (video): a short introduction to the Business Model Canvas
• Item-by-Item Help Guide for the Business Model Canvas: use this to answer specific questions about the Business Model Canvas and for in-depth explanations of each of the sections.
• The Business Model Canvas: a downloadable PDF of the actual Business Model Canvas. We encourage you to fill this out before submitting your Round 1 answers to get a visual layout of your business idea.
• Business Resources: A complete list of resources to help you get a business off the ground; includes important financial resources, recommended books, and West Virginia/national business information.