Here is an interesting statistic:

Statistic # 1

Women business owners who obtained capital persevered, making an average of four attempts to obtain bank loans or lines of credit and 22 attempts to obtain equity capital ( source, Center of women business research)

Statistic # 2

Nearly 10.4 million firms are owned by women (50% or more), employing more than 12.8 million people, and generating $1.9 trillion in sales. ( source, CFWBR)

Observation: There is an opportunity for women to become savvy in obtaining capital

Are you someone, who wants to start a company? Who has an idea?

My friends at Women 2.0 are organizing Women 2.0 Conference and Pitch Night, where companies in beta phase or concept phase can apply for Business Plan Competition. Finalists will pitch in front of a distinguished judging panel and live audience. The winning team will win prizes including a meeting with Esther Dyson.

To give us some more insight, Pokin Yeung (Pitch 2008 Marketing and PR Specialist) and Aihui Ong ( Pitch 2008 Event Guru) sat down for a conversation.

1. Tell me about the Women 2.0 Business Plan competition?

What’s there to say? The Women 2.0 Business Plan competition is the best thing since sliced bread. Everyone should apply!

Pokin: Really though, this business competition takes an original approach to the classic idea of pitching and selling your business idea to potential investors. In lieu of the usual 10 slide deck, you submit your idea on a 7×7 business napkin. Be creative! Show off! The
napkin’s compact size really forces you to distill your idea to its core – something really helpful to have down later on when you have to explain who you are and what you’re about to investors succinctly.

So what are you waiting for? If you have an idea of how you can change
the world, mark your calendar and use the Business Competition deadline
as your chance to take that first step to turning your dream into reality. This competition is open to submissions worldwide. The only requirement is that the founding team be 50% female. If your venture is selected for the final round you will be required to attend the Women 2.0 Annual Conference and Pitch Night on May 10th in the Bay Area, California.

Be sure to check out http://pitch.women2.org for the full competition details.

2. I find it very interesting that you require the team to submit the idea on a napkin, what motivated you to initiate this?

Aihui: Most good business ideas are not germinated from a spreadsheet or powerpoint. All you need is a pen and a cocktail napkin. Doodling is an universal language and visual thinking has created many great companies e.g. Southwest Airlines.

3. What are the benefits to a first-time entrepreneur to enter this competition?

Pokin: This was an interesting question for me. I first became involved with Women 2.0 last year as a participant. I loved the idea of a competition highlighting female talent. Beyond that though, there are a lot of benefits to any participant. Chances are, if you are a first time entrepreneur, your support network is only just developing. Unless you’re lucky or popular, you’re fumbling as you go, making guesses in the dark. Entering the competition throws you in contact with other like-minded individuals who are also going through the learning process. I’ve stayed in contact with people that I met at the event last year, and that’s not even talking about the grand prize! Esther Dyson is known as one of the best advisers a startup can have. The chance to meet her and pitch your idea is huge! Add to that the business startup package including legal advice, PR services, coaching sessions for the finalists and you have an unbelievable opportunity no one should turn down.

4. What materials an entrepreneur needs to submit?

Aihui: Two simple requirements:

1. The 7×7 paper Napkin that I was talking about before. Preferably containing your business idea.

2. Completing a quick online form that describes your business idea in more detail. Give us your team composition, your financial forecasts, etc. (You already had this down anyway, right?

5. What are the criteria you use to qualify teams to present to the panel?

Aihui: Our savvy judges will evaluate each business plan based upon their likelihood of becoming a viable business in a reasonable time frame. The considerations will include factors like:
1) the reasonableness of the plan for financing the business
2) the creativity and innovation of the business opportunity and concept
3) the adopted strategies for exploiting the opportunities
4) the teams ability to implement the plan

There will be 2 rounds of judging. For the first round, the judges will evaluate the business plans using a star rating scale of 1-5. Teams with the most stars will be qualified for the semi-finals. For the semi-final round, the teams will be judged based on their 2 min video pitches and a 10-slide submission. Judges will have to invest $1 mi
(monopoly money) in their top 3 favorites. Teams with the highest investments will be selected for the finals.

6. Tell us about the outcome last year

Pokin: I attended Pitch Night 2007 last year as a participant. The crowd was great and I had a good vibe talking to the organizers. My BIGGEST takeaway from it all though was the feeling of excitement I had walking out of the event. Looking at the winners, looking at their ideas; what they pitched — the idea of developing my own business idea suddenly became that much more accessible. Up until then, I had this fuzzy notion that it took a certain type of person, or specific character to be an entrepreneur. Sure there are still traits that still help, but these traits no longer felt elusive. I felt like I could really do this for myself.

7. What are some other opportunities for participating women entrepreneurs?

Pokin: Women 2.0 provides many networking events where you meet really interesting people from a variety of backgrounds. You are also interacting with eminent women who are happy to share their knowledge and experience. The opportunities are there for as far as you want to take it – starting with joining the Women 2.0 volunteer team!
The 2008 calendar for Women 2.0 is exciting, stay tuned on http://www.women2.org or join the mailing list.

8. More than a business plan, it is important to consider the team. What makes a winning women 2.0 team?

Aihui: It’s an interesting question. What makes a winning team? From last year we saw a few key traits in our finalists and semi finalists: There’s passion, luck, and heavy dose of determination. Beyond that, you need to convince the judges that your team is uniquely posed to dominate your industry. What is it about your team’s background and experience that makes this a no-brainer?

9. Does an entrepreneur raise any capital in this event? If not, what is the reward?

Pokin: The Silicon Valley is the home of most venture capitalists and millions, if not billions, of dollars available for investment. Through the Women 2.0 network we help entrepreneurs connect with investors. If there is a synergy between the investor, business idea and the founding team, it will be a closed door transaction. It is Women 2.0’s role to be a catalyst in this relationship by giving the entrepreneurs exposure to investors they wouldn’t normally have access to. And, yes, eventually we would hope that the best ventures receive well-deserved venture funds to realize their dreams.

10. Any advise for women who are planning to submit their business plans?

Pokin: Just do it! Don’t dwell on thinking about whether your idea is good enough or spend time debating whether now is the time. The great thing about this is that everyone who submits a plan will get feedback.
Good luck everyone!