SYEA Ventures

By Michel Arcouche
November 2007
Beyond the business plan
Entrepreneurs dilemma: to pay or not to pay!

Risk averse people stop at the business plan phase

Lack of resources makes the decision more difficult

Many good ideas not put into implementation
What is SYEA Ventures?
SYEA Ventures is a national program that supports
the implementation of prominent small and medium
business ideas in Syria

Provides entrepreneurs with the basic toolkit to put
their business ideas into implementation and
assigns industry expert mentors

Grants financial support to cover startup expenses
of the venture that can be pushed forward to make
a difference in the Syrian market
SYEA Ventures Vision
To become the primary source of support for entrepreneurs to
turn their ideas into real businesses and speed up the formation
process of new ventures

To gain credibility and help startups become bankable based
on SYEA Ventures auditing of business plans

To create a network of SYEA Ventures companies with proven
track records and to strengthen bonds amongst them

To boost innovation in Syrian entrepreneurs
Why SYEA Ventures?
Social responsibility towards young entrepreneurs

Support strategic projects for the development of the
Syrian economy

Decrease the risk associated with starting the
business by grant financial support to prominent
SMEs and introducing their ideas to potential
investors (personal or presentations)
The Process
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
The Opening Ceremony
Presentation about SYEA and the importance of
entrepreneurship

Presentation about SYEA Ventures

Motivation of potential applicants to submit their ideas

High profile event to seek more funding
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Candidates Registration
SYEA should look for strong candidates with good ideas
and convince them to be part of the competition

Target universities, incubators, etc. to attract participants

Interested candidates fill in SYEA Ventures application with
a brief description of their project and submit their CVs

Registration fees may be added if more funding is required

Candidates receive SYEA Ventures package
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Candidates Reception
Invite candidates who pass the preliminary screening

Introduce candidates to SYEA Ventures program

Informal networking event and ice-breaker

This will:
Motivate applicants to increase competition

Increase the chances of building cross-industry teams
(business, engineers, lawyers, etc.) or merging if two
teams have similar ideas that complement each other
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Idea Competition - Support
Candidates support by SYEA members

Face to face interviews with the support committees

Ensure that candidates with no previous business
planning experience get the chance to reach the
Entrepreneurship Competition
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Idea Competition - Training
Business Planning workshops

Presentation skills/voice presence workshop

Elevator pitch lecture

Entrepreneurship lecture

Team building lecture

Teams support
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Idea Competition - Evaluation
Candidates submit a preliminary business plan

Judges and involved team to sign NDAs

Judges evaluate submissions

Judges choose 10 finalists and identify the related
industries

Initiate contact with industry experts and mentors
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Who Can Apply?
Individuals or teams can participate

Syrians or non-Syrians can be part of the team with at
least one Syrian and the venture should be based in
Syria

Had not won another competition with the same idea

Each candidate can be part of one team

Age from 20 to 45

Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Opening
Ceremony

Entrepreneurship Competition
1-1 mentoring by industry experts

PowerPoint training

Videoed mock presentations



Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Entrepreneurship Competition Evaluation
Candidates submit a business plan and a PowerPoint
presentation

Candidates present their ideas to SYEA Ventures
judges

Judges choose a winning team and 2 runner-ups
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Its not about writing business plans, its all about
entrepreneurship!
The Business Plan
Executive Summary
Project Description
Market Study
Industry Analysis
Product Offering
Marketing Plan & Business Model
Operations with timelines
The Management Team
Statement of Opportunity
The Opportunity
SWOT Analysis
Risk Mitigation
Financial Analysis


Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Winners Selection Criteria
Entrepreneurship

Feasibility (convince judges that 1 million are
enough to start the project)

The market size, competition, growth potential

Synergy among team members and the relevance
of their skills to the success of the project

Economic impact of the new venture
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Who Can Apply?
Individuals or teams can participate

Team should include the individual/team that
participated in the Idea Competition

Empirical evidence shows that teams with members
who hold a university degree and speak English are
more likely to reach the finals
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
The Closing Ceremony
Statistics about the years candidates submissions
Present titles and briefs of prominent projects that were
submitted
Announcement of winners
Winning teams pledge to support future SYEA Ventures
teams and spinout companies by transferring their
experience
A team will be nominated to represent SYEA in
international competitions
Mentors of winning teams will receive honorary awards
Trophies distribution to Judges and sponsors
Thank you certification for participants who reached
Idea Competition
Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
The Prizes
First prize of SYP 1,000,000 conditional-cash to be
used strictly to implement the idea

Second and third runner-ups get an honorary prize

All winning teams get a 1 year free SYEA membership

Any other awards donated by event sponsors

Opening
Ceremony
Candidates
Registration
Candidates
Reception
Idea
Competition
Entrepren.
Competition
Closing
Ceremony
Who are the Judges?
Idea Competition
Individuals from different practices with strong
academic and business backgrounds
Senior managers from different industries

Entrepreneurship Competition Prestigious profiles!
Entrepreneurs
Investors and businessmen with proven track record
Bankers, Consultants, and Lawyers
Selection process of judges must be done carefully and
follow up is fundamental!!!
SYEA Ventures Success Metrics
Companies started as a result of the SYEA
Ventures (winners and non-winners)
Diversity of people reached in raising awareness
campaign, primarily a function of marketing and
PR activities
People who took classes and got trained on
important skills in the preparation phases
Entrants who joined the program
SYEA Ventures Organizing Team
Communications
Sponsorship
Training
Judges
Administration
Events
Website
Mentors
Project
Manager
Board of Advisors
Quality
Assurance
Project Plan & Milestones
SYEA Ventures will be
launched on November 26,
2007
The project will take about 5
months from the day we
advertise to the day prizes
are given out. This
calculation includes 1 month
of advertisement.

Phase Days
Opening Ceremony 1
Registration 55
Idea Preparation 14
Idea Evaluation & Presentation 7
Entrepreneurship Training 30
Entrepreneurship Preparation 30
EC Evaluation & Presentation 12
Closing Ceremony Gap 7
Own Tomorrow
Thank you for your time! Questions