Success Guide | BPW Business Plan Competition Berlin-Brandenburg

The Business Plan Competition (BPW) supports founders in developing their business concepts with a wide range of offerings. It is organized by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with an idea or an already-established company from Berlin and Brandenburg. In the BPW, you receive support for further developing your ideas through workshops, training sessions, networking events, and presentations on funding opportunities from KfW Bankengruppe. Winners can look forward to prizes totaling 50,000 euros! In this blog post, we show you what prerequisites you must meet and how to apply for the BPW.

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What is the Business Plan Competition Berlin-Brandenburg?

The Business Plan Competition (BPW) supports founders in developing their business concepts (business plan or Business Model Canvas) with a wide range of offerings. It is organized by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with an idea or an already-established company from Berlin and Brandenburg. In the BPW, you receive support for further developing your ideas through workshops, training sessions, networking events, and presentations on funding opportunities from KfW Bankengruppe. Winners can look forward to prizes totaling 50,000 euros!

The BPW is divided into several phases.

The main event, the BPW, comprises three different categories:

• BPW for sustainable companies with significant market potential
• BPW for innovative service companies that primarily serve SMEs
• BPW as a regional “small business” category for companies from Berlin or Brandenburg

The BPW Berlin-Brandenburg Offers the Following Support

Knowledge BPW conveys relevant founding topics through online seminars, workshops, and forums. Business plan chapters are examined individually, and the Business Model Canvas method is discussed in detail.

Consulting More than 300 consultants support startups in the BPW with their expertise. Experts include financing strategists, tax consultants, attorneys, and successful founders. All consultants work on a voluntary basis. You will be paired with the most suitable experts. A typical consulting session lasts about one hour. In consulting sessions, you receive important information to help you further develop your business concept. Consulting requests can be submitted through the BPW profile.

Networking The BPW is the only institution in Berlin and Brandenburg that offers a complete spectrum of events, workshops, and seminars on the topic of business start-ups. The BPW networks participants with investors, public institutions, and business partners.

Networking is divided into the following areas:

• Contact Evenings: Contact evenings take place in each of the three competition phases. BPW organizes online sessions and hybrid networking events.
• Forums: Together with various partners, the BPW organizes forums on topics including law, taxes, and financing management. Topics include financing and investment for startups, legal and tax issues related to founding.
• Awards: Each phase of the BPW concludes with an awards ceremony where the winning teams in each category are recognized. Typically, this is a hybrid event as it is streamed online.

How Does the Application Process for the BPW Work?

Registration: The first step is registering on the website. You can then register for the competition and events, and manage your schedule. After successful registration, you can also submit consulting requests to the BPW. The use of offerings and services is independent of participation in the competition.

The competition is divided into BPW Plan and BPW Canvas. Within the competition, you can switch between the BPW Plan and BPW Canvas methods at any time or participate in both categories.

BPW Plan: You have the option to submit a (partial) business plan for evaluation in each of the three competition phases. The higher the phase, the more topics the business plan must cover, beginning in phase one with a summary, the product/service, and the team. Two independent judges will confidentially review each business plan based on the specified evaluation criteria. In the three phases, the teams with the highest ratings present their concepts to a panel of experts. After the presentations, the jury determines the three most convincing concepts, which are awarded at the awards ceremonies.

BPW Canvas: In addition to the business plan, you can submit your complete Business Model Canvas for evaluation in each of the three phases. Each concept is evaluated twice by a jury and confidentially reviewed based on specified evaluation criteria. In each phase, three finalists are selected. In a pitch, the jury then decides which team emerges as the winner.

7 Tips for Succeeding in the Competition

The BPW is very open about its decision-making basis and the selection of its winners.

1. Evaluation Criteria: Be sure to review the evaluation criteria found in the manual on pages 46-48. Try to tailor your business plan to the evaluation criteria.
2. Guiding Questions on Individual Topics: The manual provides guiding questions for each topic area that the business plan must cover in three phases. These questions give a good overview of what is expected and which areas must be covered.
3. Structure: Give your business plan a solid structure that is easy to follow and understand. Be precise and concise when writing. Avoid lengthy formulations that don’t get to the point, and try to make it as easy as possible for the jury.
4. Be Realistic: The key is finding the right balance between ambitious and visionary on one hand and realistic on the other. Ensure that all your assumptions are supported by data and that your planned growth development is reasonable.
5. Think Outside the Box: The jury will have to read hundreds of business plans. Try to stand out from the crowd by incorporating something new into your business plan. Work with visual representations and images that support your arguments. Use examples of startups in your industry that have failed and show what you learned from them. Be creative!
6. Outside Perspective: Have your business plan read by people who are not involved in the project and ask for their feedback. Ensure that people without your expertise understand your plan, as the jury likely won’t have your industry knowledge either. We also offer a free business plan review to support you in the competition.
7. Know Your Numbers: Know exactly how much money you need to start your company, what investments are required for each operating phase, etc.

Who Can Participate in the Competition?

Every idea is welcome—regardless of industry and whether it’s a new venture or business succession. Please note the deadline for the respective stage. The barriers to participating in the BPW are low, but the following prerequisites must be met to participate in the competition:

• The founding of the company is planned in Berlin or Brandenburg or has taken place there.
• If your company already exists, it was founded no more than twelve months before the start of the BPW.
• Your company already exists, but you are building a different business area or the company was taken over as part of a succession? In this case, participation is possible.
• The business concept must be created by the team members themselves (no creation by business consultants, etc.).

The Advantages of Participating in the Competition

Prize money and free PR for the BPW are some of the biggest advantages of participating in the competition. The prize money is distributed as follows:

Business Plan Competition Berlin-Brandenburg - BPW Plan:

• Phase 1: 1st to 3rd place, 3,000 euros each
• Phase 2: 1st to 3rd place, 4,000 euros each
• Phase 3: 1st place 8,000 euros, 2nd place 6,000 euros, 3rd place 4,000 euros

Business Plan Competition Berlin-Brandenburg - BPW Canvas:

• Phases 1 to 3 each: Winner team 4,000 euros

Business Plan Competition Berlin-Brandenburg - Special Sustainability Award:

• 5,000 euros

The free knowledge you gain through participation in the program is enormous. Consulting sessions and free training in which experts support you with their industry knowledge are invaluable for taking a startup to the next level.

In addition to the prize money, the competition is a good opportunity to expand your network in the Berlin startup hub. Experts such as investors, tax consultants, and other founders can open doors for you in the future, even if you don’t win the big prize money.

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