Ivey Business Plan Competition
Test your entrepreneurial talents against some of the best and brightest teams from across North America, gain valuable experience by creating and defending a business plan in front of an experienced panel of judges, and network with rising stars and established entrepreneurs.
As Canada's premier business plan event, Morrissette Entrepreneurship has drawn entrepreneurial teams from universities throughout North America and beyond to compete at the Ivey Business Plan Competition. First held in 1999, the competition offered 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. In 2017, the competition included an undergraduate stream, giving further opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to test their ideas and meet like-minded students.
Organized by the Western Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship Powered by Ivey Business School, the competition includes a prize pool of Canadian $30,000 with the winning team receiving $20,000. The competition also includes prizes for 2nd and 3rd placed teams.
The Ivey Business Plan Competition is open to graduate and undergraduate students from all degree programs.
How to Apply:
- Complete our Intent-to-Compete form;
- Submit a 2-page Executive Summary of Business Plan to iveyentre@ivey.ca 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: October 25, 2024
Executive Summary Deadline: November 9, 2024, by 12.00 PM
Business Plan Due: January 20, 2025
Competition Weekend: January 23-25, 2025
For more information, please contact Shanthal Perera at sperera@ivey.ca
Recent Winners
Ivey Business Plan Competition
Michigan State University’s Paul Reiss won the 26th edition of the Ivey Business Plan Competition with his high-protein, low-sugar ice cream brand, Protein Pints. Childhood friends, and undergraduate students Reiss and Michael Meadows created Protein Pints to provide an alternative to ice-cream lovers looking for healthier options that don’t compromise on taste. Each pint jas 45 grams of complete protein (equivalent to two protein shakes or bars), and averages 10 grams of sugar (90% less than traditional ice cream). The functional ice cream is gluten-free, and lactose-free, and uses no artificial sweeteners for its chocolate, vanilla, and peanut butter chip flavours. While having crafted the original formulation in their kitchen, Reiss and Meadows have partnered with professional ice cream makers and launched the brand in Michigan-based retailers. They are expecting to launch nationwide soon.
MBA Students from the University of Arkansas won the 25th edition of the Ivey Business Plan Competition with their venture, UNCL Co.; an app-based security and monitoring system for bicycles that retrofits to existing bike racks. Represented at the competition by MBA Candidates Michael Burton, Payton Lenz, and Clayton Woodruff, UNCL Co. (Universal Network Controlled Lock Company) addresses the rising problem of bicycle theft across North America, where more than 2 million bikes (a total value of $350 million) are stolen every year. Despite these statistics, only 10% of cyclists carry a bike lock due to a number of reasons, ranging from convenience and effectiveness. UNCL Co. is hoping to change that by providing consumers with an option that offers both security and mobility.
History of the Competition
Ivey MBA Business Plan Competition
The 24th graduate edition of the Ivey Business Plan Competition was won by Team Worxstr from Appalachian State University. Represented by James Wheeler and Jackson Sippe, Worxstr is a fully integrated, intuitive management software platform for the growing independent contractor labour economy. The platform fosters transparent and effective management practices that have resulted in increased worker satisfaction and retention, along with a 30% increase in workforce management efficiency.
Togle from Western University took first-place at the Ivey MBA Business Plan Competition with its volunteer tutoring platform, with a particular emphasis on helping companies deepen their connections with the communities they serve through volunteerism. Togle was represented by Ivey MBA ’21 Candidates Noah McColl, Wasi Mesbahuddin, and Kartik Gandhi.
The 2021 Competition was held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.
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 hairband that specifically targets women in athletics. The product was developed through the Western Accelerator.
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 Business School 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 the 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 premier 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.
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
Ivey HBA Business Plan Competition
The 6th edition of the undergraduate competition was won by LocalStudent. Represented by Katherine Gotovsky, Daniel Joseph, and Matt McCoy, LocalStudent connects students to homeowners in need of yard work services, including on-demand lawn mowing, leaf cleanup and snow removal services at a competitive price point.
Mentum won the top prize of $15,000 at the Ivey HBA Business Plan Competition. Formed in May 2020, Mentum is a B2B Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) company that amalgamates delivery platforms and provides restaurants their own white-label digital ordering solution. Mentum is currently used in over 60 restaurants across Canada and has raised significant pre-seed capital. The team comprised of Ivey HBA candidates Joshua Gao, Kyle Dayton, Shikhar Maheshwari, Cole Moorcroft and Michael Lakkotrypis.
The 2021 Competition was held virtually due to the ongoing pandemic.
Team EarthSuds from Wilfrid Laurier University, took first place at the Ivey HBA Business Plan Competition. Represented at the competition by Daniel Moll and Marissa Vettoretti, EarthSuds is a sustainable shower products company offering alternatives to the plastic toiletry containers used in hotels.
BRITE bites from Michigan State University won $15,000 at the 3rd Ivey HBA Business Plan Competition.
BRITE bites is an all-natural probiotic snack company headed by Bri Makaric, which currently offers three flavors of bites packed with superfoods and a probiotic that contains 1 billion CFUs (colony-forming unit) to support digestive and immune systems.
Team Impedix and RollUP Solutions Inc., from the Ivey Business School shared the first-place prize at the Spin Master – Ivey HBA Business Plan Competition on January 19-20, 2018. With the judges unable to separate the strong contestants, both teams were awarded $9,500.
Team Iris Technologies from Queen’s University won $15,000 and first place at the inaugural Spin Master – Ivey HBA Business Plan Competition, held January 20-21, 2017. Ivey’s first undergraduate business plan competition was sponsored by Spin Master Ltd. and the Pierre L. Morrissette Institute for Entrepreneurship.
Iris Technologies is developing a computer monitor that does not trigger computer intolerance in concussion patients. Stimuli from computers, such as light and noise, can often trigger concussion symptoms. The team was represented by Colin Harding and Conor Ross.