Rules

Requirements 

Submissions must be new concepts, not already existing companies. No concepts that have won or placed in the finals of a previous Fowler competition may be submitted again. Students are allowed to re-submit a concept that was previously accepted to the semifinalist competition, so long as the student did not advance to the finals round with that concept. Students may submit as many concepts as they like, but only one entry will beeligible to compete in the semifinals competition. 

DO NOT INCLUDE YOUR NAME OR NAMES OF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS ON THE SUBMISSION DOCUMENT. 

Submission Requirements 

Provide a brief description of your business concept following the prompts outlined below. Your submission can be a maximum of five pages, double-spaced, 11-point font. 

Business Track: 

1. Description: Provide a concise description of the proposed business and why it is unique/compelling. 
2. Proposed Solution: What is your product or service? How will it solve the problem? How will your solution create exceptional value for the customer? How is it different from and superior to other solutions in the market? 
3. Target Market: Who is your customer? What customer problem will you solve? How does your customer solve that problem today? What other solutions will compete for that customer? 
4. Market Opportunity: Provide a preliminary estimate of the size of the potential market (number of customers that can be reasonably addressed). 
5. Business Model: How will you deliver this solution to your customer affordably and effectively, and how will the venture make money (revenue model)? 
6. Investment Potential: Why should someone invest in your venture? Explain why you will be successful. 
7. Ethical Considerations: What are the ethical principles guiding your business model, operations, and decision-making process? How does your business address fairness, transparency, social responsibility, and environmental impact? 

 

Social Track:  

1. Description: Provide a concise description of the proposed business and why it is unique/compelling. What social or environmental problem does your business aim to solve? Provide some evidence of the scale of the problem. 
2. Proposed Solution: What is your product or service? How will it solve the problem? How will your solution create exceptional value for the customer? How is it different from and superior to other solutions in the market? 
3. Target Market:  
   1. Who is impacted by the problem? How do they experience the problem today? How do they try to solve it today? How will they be impacted by your solution?  
   2. Who is your customer (if different from above)? What customer problem will you solve? How does your customer solve that problem today? What other solutions will compete for that customer?  
4. Market Opportunity: Provide a preliminary estimate of the size of the potential market (number of customers that can be reasonably addressed). 
5. Business model: How will you deliver this solution to your customer affordably and effectively, and how will the venture make money (revenue model)? 
6. Ethical Considerations: What are the ethical principles guiding your business model, operations, and decision-making processes? How does your business address fairness, transparency, social responsibility and environmental impact?  
7. Potential Social Impact: How will your concept contribute to the common good? How will you measure the success of your venture against the problem it’s working to solve? Are there any potential harms to stakeholders or society, and how do you mitigate those? 

Eligibility

The competition is open exclusively to all University of St. Thomas undergraduates, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows registered in the semester of the competition. All members of a team must be current students with a valid St. Thomas student ID. Teams typically consist of one to three members.