Venture Cup

The Leading Business Plan Competition in Denmark

w w w . v e n t u r e c u p . d k
What is Venture Cup?

9 Venture Cup is a competition, where university students,

graduates, and researchers alike explore opportunities for
commercialising their ideas or research.

9 The competition runs across three phases, which are

designed to bring your ideas from a rough outline to an
investment-ready business plan.

9 We provide participants with workshops and coaching within

various fields you need to master in order to succeed in the
competition, and hopefully with realising your plan afterwards.

w w w . v e n t u r e c u p . d k / w h a t i s
 Competition Setup

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3

Deadline 13.11.2006 26.02.2007 07.05.2007

End Product Business Potential Business Model Business Launch

• Competition & Market risk • Launch Plan
• Idea & Concept
• Protection of IP • Marketing
Focus • Unique Selling Points
• Financing • Budget & Cash Flows
• Team members
• Business Model • Investor contracts

Pages 2 to 5 pages 10 to 20 pages 20 to 30 pages

Evaluation ”Elevator Pitch” ”Jury Meeting” ”Pitch to Investors”

1st place 200.000
5 x Kr. 5.000 10 x Kr. 10.000 2nd place 100.000
Prizes
Awarded Regionally Awarded Nationally 3rd place 50.000
Awarded Nationally

w w w . v e n t u r e c u p . d k / m a n u a l
Coming events: Fall ‘06

Creativity Workshop (English) e-learning!

Monday, 2nd October, at 17:30 - 20:00 Deadline
Matchmaking (English) Phase 1
Tuesday, 10th October, at 17:30 - 19:00 Monday,
Creativity Workshop (Dansk) e-learning! Nov. 13th
Tuesday, 24th October, at 17:30 - 20:00
@12:00
Matchmaking (Dansk)
Monday, 30th October, at 17:30 - 19:00
Review Session & Networking
Thursday, 9th November, at 17:30 – 18:30

Workshops are in English and held at CBS,

food and drinks will be served.

w w w . v e n t u r e c u p . d k / c a l e n d a r
Edward de Bono - Creative Thinking

Generate the most profitable business ideas and solutions in order to create value for investors and shareholders
 Objectives

To introduce you to techniques that will help you

to:

• Increase the numbers of new ideas/solutions.

• Generate much more creative solutions.

• Improve the quality of ideas/solutions.

 Lateral thinking

• In normal thinking, each step that we take is

firmly based on the preceding step (vertical
thinking)
– When we arrive at a solution, the validity of that
solution is proved by the validity of every preceding
step.

• Lateral thinking gets us out of the normal

way, and we create something new.
 Lateral thinking tools

• Provocation

• Random word

• Pressure – generate 90 ideas in 10 minutes

• Steal from the previous idea on the list

 Differences generate creativity
• Everyone changes thinking from one mode to another
at the same time.
 Create systematics

• The fundamental rules can be secured through

structuring and staging of the creative
process.

• Edward de Bono has developed a number of

methods and tools:
–The Six Thinking Hats –Lateral Thinking™
 The underlying principles behind
the Six Thinking Hats

• There are six different coloured imaginary/metaphorical

hats representing a different type or mode of thinking.

• The whole group does the same type of thinking at the

same time, which is known as parallel thinking™ as
opposed to adversarial thinking
(traditional discussion is adversarial).
 Practical Process

• Presentation of main thesis

• Split into teams
• Assignment of hats in the teams
• Six Thinking Hats incl. Lateral Thinking
– 10 min calls for information known or needed
– 15 min creativity: possibilities, alternatives and new ideas
– 15 min to manage the thinking process
– 10 min judgment - the devil’s advocate
– 10 min symbolises brightness and optimism
– 10 min signifies feelings, hunches and intuition
• Key Learning's
 Documentation Tools

Facts Sheet

Final Idea
Selected Ideas
Combined Evaluation Sheet

Idea Sheet
 The Data Hat

The person with this role should focus on information and data.

The role seeks to contemplate the information in a neutral and

unbiased way.

The registration and objective stating of the known facts.

Rationality is the driving factor.

• What information do we have?

• What are the objectives?
• What information do we need?
• How do we acquire the needed information?
 The Creative Hat

The main objective is to seek a pattern in the presented

ideas.

To synthesise the information and knowledge and find

commonalities, and thereby developing new aggregated or
derivated ideas or possibilities.

• The basics of this venture are similar to...

• This is comparable to...
• There is a likeness between this platform and...
• The synergies between what your saying and what he
is saying is...
Brain Writing
 The Practical Hat

The main objective is to ensure that the overall agenda is

maintained.

The focus is to accumulate the communication and plan for

the process ahead.

What needs to be done to accomplish the wanted tasks and

realise the durable ideas.

• This has been thoroughly covered. Next item is...

• Will the yellow hat please elaborate on the subject...?
• What is the documentation for the idea that...?
• We need to involve these stakeholders to ensure that...
 The Critical Hat

The main focus is critical in all aspects of the

communication.

The role's center of attention is problem driven; why an

idea is not going to work, potential risks and weaknesses in
arguments as well as current beliefs.

• That is a bad idea because...

• Drilling in the reservoir is problematic because...
• The risk of going forward on this is too high because...
• The implementation will be difficult because...
 The Positive Hat

The objective is to look at the ideas through an optimistic

optic.

The focus is on ideas potential and possible solutions to

existing problems.

The role seeks to produce and promote valid arguments

for the ideas at hand.

• It would be a good idea to...

• The project is running well but it could run even better if...
• The idea certainly has qualities in the area of...
• The potentials of this idea are so great that we should
attempt to...
 The Intuition Hat

The person with this role should focus on his feelings and
first perceptions.

This role is based on personal experiences.

The main objective is to generate ideas through

brainstorming.

• I once read an article where...

• That reminds me of an episode where...
• It is my impression that...
• What if we tried to...?
 Thesis for the exercise

How can we solve the problem with

the future energy supply, once the
whole crude oil from the Earth is
extracted?
 8 min Brain Writing on
• How can we use this going forward ??

Executive Summary

The Idea

Management Team
Key stages in Marketing
writing the
business plan Business Model

Risks

Financing

Implementation Plan