As Canada's premier graduate business plan event, the Ivey MBA Business Plan Competition draws entrepreneurial teams from universities throughout North America and beyond. First held in 1999, the competition offers graduate students the opportunity to present innovative new ventures to potential investors. At the same time, investors have a chance to get a close-up look at up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
Organized by the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship and MBA student volunteers, the competition is funded by private sponsorship with the winning team receiving $15,000. The competition also includes prizes for 2nd and 3rd placed teams, as well as the Pembroke Management Prize in Social Enterprise.
The competition's past title sponsors have included CIBC World Markets and IBK Capital Corp. Graduate students from all degree programs are invited to apply for the Ivey MBA Business Plan Competition.
How to apply
The 2020 Ivey Business Plan Competition will use rules and guidelines for submissions set out by the Venture Labs Investment Competition (VLIC). For complete information on Eligibility Rules and Submission Requirements, please read the Competition Rules.
If you have any questions on eligibility, please contact us at iveyentre@ivey.ca.
Application Process:
- Complete our Intent-to-Compete form
- Submit a 2-page Executive Summary of Business Plan to iveybpc@gmail.com prior to the November deadline.
Teams chosen for the competition will need to provide a completed business plan a week prior to the competition. For more details on the format, please read the Competition Rules.
Important Dates & Deadlines:
Intent to Compete: November 6, 2020
Executive Summary: November 6, 2020 by 12.00 pm
Business Plan Due: January 18, 2021
Competition Weekend: January 21-22, 2021
For more information, please contact Shanthal Perera at sperera@ivey.ca
Team Hairstrong, from Western University took first place in the MBA Competition. Founder Nicole Baranowski, MSc '21 candidate, has created the world’s first customizable hair band that specifically targets women in athletics. The product was developed through Western’s Propel Entrepreneurship incubator.
Team HomePainters from Iowa State won the 21st edition of the graduate competition, securing $15,000 for their online platform that enables homeowners to get fast and accurate paint estimates from the comfort of their couch.
Homeowners can book their job online with HomePainter, which then subcontracts the order to vetted and registered painters in the area. With the aid of technology, HomePainter is hoping to reinvent the subcontracting model to become more scalable and profitable. The team consisted of Jacob McClarnon and Anthony House.
Team Hello Prosper from the Ivey won the 20th edition of the IBK Capital – Ivey Business Plan Competition, securing $15,000. Hello Prosper is a mobile application that helps young users build soft skills required to land their dream jobs. The team consisted of Krystyn Harrison, HBA’ 12, MBA ’15, Beckie Thain-Blonk, MBA ’18 Candidate and Sam Williams.
The Ivey MBA team, Aunt Mary’s Beverage Company, won $15,000 at the 19th IBK Capital – Ivey Business Plan Competition from January 20-21 for its pitch for a powdered beverage that will counteract the bitter taste of cannabinoid oils, which are often used for medicinal purposes. The team included Ryan Bauer, Erik Lapointe, and Michael Palumbo, all MBA ’17.
Team Rhizofeed from the University of Pikeville won CAD$ 20,000 and first place at the 2016 IBK Capital - Ivey Business Plan Competition held on January 22-23, 2016. The 18th edition of Canada's premiere business plan competition was sponsored by IBK Capital Corp. and the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship.
Team KAir Battery from Ohio State University won first place and $20,000 at the 2015 IBK Capital – Ivey Business Plan Competition held at the Ivey Business School on January 23-24, 2015. At the 17th edition of Ivey’s annual graduate competition, KAir overcame a strong competition pool of 11 teams from seven universities from Canada, the United States and Thailand.
An underdog story: First Indian team at the IBK Capital – Ivey Business Plan Competition takes title
The effort to raise money for flights, food and lodging to travel 12,000 kilometres for the 16th Annual IBK Capital – Ivey Business Plan Competition paid off in a big way for a team from Calcutta, India.
Representatives from Team Zostel from the Indian Institute of Management – Calcutta (IIM – Calcutta) went home $20,000 richer after winning the competition at Ivey Business School, which ran January 24-25. They’ll also go on to compete in the 2014 Global Venture Labs Investment Competition in Texas in May.
2013 - Picasolar, University of Arkansas
2012 - Learning DifferentiatED, University of Arkansas
2011 - CHAR Technologies, University of Waterloo
2010 - Shape Collage, University of Toronto
2009 - Epitherapeutics, Queen's University
2008 - Romanov Caviar, Queen's University
2007 - Divisio Technologies, Dalhousie University
2006 - Powershift, Western University - Ivey Business School
2005 - JARN, Simon Fraser University
2004 - Benchkeeper Software, Western University - Ivey Business School
2003 - SoftStitch, Western University - Ivey Business School
When you come to the IBK Capital – Ivey Business Plan Competition, you’ll have a chance to network with some of Canada’s most successful entrepreneurs. A large part of our success can be attributed to this elite group of experienced judges, many of who are successful serial entrepreneurs and mentors.
Our 2014 panel of judges included:
Albert Behr, President & CEO, Behr & Associates
Andrew Campbell, President (retired), ACAI Consulting
Howie Chan, HBA '12, Business Analyst, Tech Alliance
Dennis Ensing, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Tech Alliance
Stephen Gunn, MBA '81, Co-founder, Chairman & CEO, Sleep Country Canada
Ian Haase, MBA '10, Vice President, Tech Alliance
Paul Hayman, HBA '81, Executive Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Ivey Business School
Daniel Kaute, President & CEO, Environmental Waste International
Sarah Landstreet, MBA '13, Owner, Georgette Packaging
Rajah Lehal, LLBMB '06, Lawyer, Cobalt Business Counsel
Justin Leushner, MBA '03, Entrepreneur-in-Residence, Tech Alliance
Jacoline Loewen, Director, Crosbie & Company Inc.
John Pollock, Director, BizInc
Kevin Ronson, Vice President of Finance and Operations, Voices.com
John Rothschild, MBA '73, Chairman & CEO, Prime Restuarants Inc.
Colleen Sharen, MBA '93, Professor, Brescia University College
Steve Suske, MBA '77, President & CEO, Suske Capital Management
Deniz Temelli, MBA '12, Business Analyst, Tech Alliance
Miranda Werstiuk, Senior Vice-President, IBK Capital Corp.
Michael White, MBA '00, President & CEO, IBK Capital Corp.
The competition was supported by our title sponsor IBK Capital Corp., the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship and the Ivey MBA Association.
