2010 WALMART BETTER LIVING BUSINESS PLAN CHALLENGE

MBA Program Office / Net Impact at the Carlson School of Management

Walmart developed the Better Living Business Plan Challenge to encourage entrepreneurial expression and growth. The focus of business today must take into accountnot only the profit potential of a business venture or new product, but also the effect on the environment and on people.
The Challenge provides students with a venue to develop confidence in presenting their ideas to world business leaders, to receive feedback and constructive coaching to be successful in selling their ideas, and to make seed money available to help young entrepreneurs make their ideas a reality.

The business plan must consist of a sustainable, profitable business plan for a new product orbusiness process with a measurable positive environmental benefit. The

environmental benefit must include at least one of the following:

  • preserving clean air,water, and/or soil
  • reducing waste
  • improving energy efficiency or developing renewable energy ideas
  • or promoting healthy living for people and/or communities.

The Plan must quantify its ability to provide such an environmental benefit.

Business Plan Evaluation Criteria

Business Plans(and their presentation) will be judged by a panel of judges, based on thefollowing evaluation criteria:

A. Market Opportunity (10 points): The Plan must present a clear market need as well asa way to take advantage of that need.

B. Distinctive Competence (10 points): The Plan provides somethingnovel/unique/special that gives it a competitive advantage in its market.

C. Management Capability (10 points): The Team can effectively develop the Plan andhandle the risks associated with the venture.

D. Sustainability (35 points): Execution of the Plan improves the environment by at leastone of the following benefits: preserving clean air, water, and/or soil; reducing waste; improving energy efficiency or developing renewable energy ideas; or promotinghealthy living for people and/or communities. The Plan must quantify its ability toprovide at least one benefit in at least one (or more) of the above areas.

E. Financial Understanding (10 points): This team has a solid understanding of thefinancial requirements of the Plan.

F. Profitability (25 points): The Plan represents a real profit opportunity.

G. Sponsor reserves the right to consider other factors in addition to the above criteria.

The written business plan is your passport into the competition and must support your plan effectively. The written business plan should cover all of the following aspects:

  • Executive Summary
  • Company Overview
  • Product or Service
  • Market and Marketing Strategy
  • Operations and Management
  • Financials

Team Eligibility Rules

  1. All team participants must be a currently enrolled, degree-seeking, graduate or undergraduate student in any discipline at the University of Minnesota.
  1. There is no set rule on the number of people per team.
  1. Team participants must be of the legal age of majority in their state of

legal residence and residents of the fifty United States and the District of Columbia.

  1. Employees of Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (“Sponsor”) and its affiliates and subsidiaries, participating advertising and promotion agencies and members of their immediate family, defined as parents, children, siblings and spouse, regardless of where they reside, and/or those living in the same household are not eligible.
  1. A majority of students participating on the same Team may not be employed by the same corporate employer. Students performing research and/or working for the same college or university are exempt from this prohibition. Teams of one student are exempt from prohibition.
  1. Each team must identify a team leader for contact purposes and for submitting the plan on behalf of the team.
  1. Each participating team should seek the feedback of a faculty advisor.

Team Declaration

If you would like to have a team compete in the business plan challenge, or are looking for other students to join up with, please email the names of your entire team to Jon Ruzek at y January 11th, so we may appropriately plan for logistics. You do not have to submit a business plan at this time.

Business Plan Submission Instructions

  1. Failure to meet submission deadline may result in disqualification. Judges will receive copies of the plans for review in advance of each round
  • First Round (University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management)

One electronic copy (MS Word format; 2007 preferred but 97-2003 accepted) of the final plan should be emailed to JonRuzek () on or before 12:00 noon (local time) Monday, January 25, 2010. Jon will forward the final plans to the judges. Judges will be selected by the MBA Program Office for the competition.

The first round will tentatively be held at the Carlson School of Management onFriday, January 29, 2010. Exact times/roomsTBA.

  • Second Round (Regional competition- Northwestern University)

If your team wins the University of Minnesota competition, you will need to submit an electronic copy of the final plan in advance of the regional challengetaking place at Northwestern University on Friday, February 19, 2010.

  • Third & Fourth Rounds (Semifinal & Final competitions- Arkansas)

If your team wins the regional competition, you will need to submit an electronic copy of the final plan in advance of the semifinals and finals taking place on April 22-23, 2010 in Bentonville, Arkansas.

  1. Each team will need to bring their own laptop with their presentations previously loaded, as well as a jump-drive with the presentation on it in case of equipment failure.
  1. Plan must be in English and no longer than 20 pages in length; typed and double-spaced, using 12point font. Margins will be 1” on all sides.
  1. Spreadsheets and appropriate appendices are permitted, but the entire plan must not exceed 30 pages.
  1. The text portion of the plan is the most essential part, and time may not permit careful study of any attachments or appendices by the judges. All necessary information should be stated in your business plan, and attachments, appendices, and spreadsheets included for justification or illustration purposes.
  1. Each team will have no more than 15 minutes to present their plan, followed by answering the judges’ questions for no more
    than 15 minutes. Judges have 10 minutes to confer and break between each presentation. Each team has five minutes to set up their presentation.
  • The Plan should include the following documentation:
    - The name of the Team’s university or college

- The full name of each Team member, the Faculty Advisor and the Team Leader.

- Email address, telephone number and postal address of the Team Leader.

- A budget for the Plan.

- Proof of university or college affiliation for both the Faculty Advisor and students, which may include, for the Faculty Advisor a link to the Faculty Advisor’s webpage, and for the students, a copy of the student’s transcript. Sponsor reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to accept or reject as sufficient proof of university or college affiliation provided by students and Faculty Advisor.

- An image file of a scanned document listing all Team Members, the signatures of all team members (including Faculty Advisor and students), and the percentage of the potential grant to be awarded to each Team Member if they won at the finals in Arkansas. Teams are solely responsible for determining distribution of Grant and for ensuring Grant is distributed according to their initial determination. Sponsor is not responsible for any disputes resulting therefrom.

More detailed information at: