INNOVATION CHALLENGE.

New Jersey Female

STEM College / School Students

ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHALLENGE.

New Jersey Female

STEM Graduates or Entrepreneurs

ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARDS

Eligible winners will:

1. Receive cash awards

2. Be assessed for eligibility to participate in

NJIT Summer Innovation Accelerator.

3. Be assessed for eligibility to participate in

STEM to Market: The AWIS Accelerator.

4. Get complimentary invite for AWISNJ

events & meets

INNOVATION AWRADS

Eligible winners will:

1. Receive cash awards

2. Be assessed for Johnson & Johnson

Consumer R&D Immersion.

3. Be assessed for eligibility to participate in

NJIT Summer Innovation Accelerator.

4. Get complimentary invite for AWISNJ

events & meets

All participants Will be assessed for eligibility to participate in the 2 Accelerators mentioned

above.

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NEW JERSEY WOMEN IN STEM ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHALLENGE.

The challenge is to encourage women who have embraced or plan to lead entrepreneurial ventures. All New Jersey

resident STEM female professionals are eligible to apply. Institutional affiliation is not necessary. To participate, the

entrepreneurial team must be led by a female STEM professional residing in New Jersey with a clear potential and

willingness to adopt a leadership role in the prospective company. Female led companies already in operation are also

eligible to apply provided the entity is not more than 5 years old on Jan 1 2018.

COMMON REQUIREMENTS DEADLINE

Registration & Executive Summary (in lines with PPT available on the website) January 15th, 2018 Request for Business Plans from selected finalists February 15th, 2018 Final Pitching & Awarding March 8, 2018

REGISTRATION & EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

A 10 pager Executive Summary (following the template theme available HERE) should be submitted as a pdf file to

awis_cjc@yahoo.com with subject line: Executive Summary. It is highly recommended that your Executive

Summary highlight the most interesting and important elements of your plan that would inform an external

reviewer or judge as to why your idea will succeed. Register using THIS link.

BUSINESS PLAN

The invited Business Plan should be an expanded version of the Executive Summary. It should clearly explain your Products or Services, Market and Marketing Strategy, Operations, Management and Revenue Model. JUDGING PROCESS & FORMA Pitches will be judged on factors such as innovation of product/service, understanding of the market, growth and sustainability planning, the development of competitive advantage, the availability of management and skill sets, the strength of vision, and well-defined goals.

• A panel of judges will conduct a blind review of executive summaries to select and invite top teams for the final pitching & awarding event.

• On March 8, 2018, female leads from invited teams will give a 20 minute presentation of their business plan, including a 60 second Elevator Pitch

• Judges will evaluate the presentations and winners will be announced. • All decisions by the judges will be final.

Awards:

The qualifying top three winners will be eligible to receive the cash awards. The winners and additional eligible

applicants will also be evaluated to participate in the following accelerators:

1. Cash Awards:

1st Place - $5000

2nd Place - $2000

3rd Place - $1000

2. STEM to Market: The AWIS Accelerator (No fees or equity taken)

AWIS has developed STEM to Market: The AWIS Accelerator, a unique program designed to help STEM-trained

women transform their research into market-ready products that make customers’ lives better. STEM to Market is

a two-pronged program for STEM women entrepreneurs and commercial financiers and galvanizes equitable,

inclusive, and productive STEM entrepreneurship ecosystems. All applicants for the competition will be

evaluated for eligibility to participate in The AWIS Accelerator. Strong applicants will be invited to participate

in the fall cohort of STEM to Market, anticipated to begin in September 2018. The program spans 5 months of

instructional support and additional 5 months of mentorship and technical support.

3. NJIT Summer Innovation Accelerator Membership (No fees or equity taken)

We have also partnered with NJIT to provide the winners access to NJIT Summer Innovation Acceleration

Program, a ten-week long start-up accelerator program in the model of Lean Start Ups utilizing Business Model Canvas.

4. Complimentary Invite for AWISNJ Events & Meets

In addition to cash prizes described above, the winners will also get a complimentary year-long invitation to attend

our events and meetings, providing them access to our professional network of experienced entrepreneurs, academic

leaders, pharmaceutical & biotechnology professionals.

AWISNJ STEM INNOVATION AWARDS

These awards will be offered to the top four lucrative business plans pitched by New Jersey high school and college

and females/ female led groups (Two for school groups, two for college groups. Groups having both college and

school students will be categorized as college groups). The group should demonstrate clear leadership role by a

female, but can have male participants.

COMMON REQUIREMENTS DEADLINE

Registration & Executive Summary (in lines with PPT available on the website) January 1, 2018 Request for Business Plans from selected finalists January 30, 2018 Final Pitching & Awarding March 8, 2018

REGISTRATION & EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The Executive Summary (following the template theme available on

our website) should be submitted as a pdf file to awis_cjc@yahoo.com with subject line: Executive Summary. It is

highly recommended that your Executive Summary highlight the most interesting and important elements of your

plan that would inform an external reviewer or judge as to why your idea will succeed. Register using THIS link.

BUSINESS PLAN The Business Plan should be an expanded version of the Executive Summary not exceeding 20 minutes during presentation. It should clearly explain your Products or Services, Market and Marketing Strategy, Operations, Management and Business Model (how your venture makes money). JUDGING PROCESS & FORMAT Pitches will be judged on factors such as innovation of product/service, understanding of the market, growth and sustainability planning, the development of competitive advantage, the availability of management and skill sets, the strength of vision, and well-defined goals.

• A panel of judges will conduct a blind review of executive summaries to select and invite top teams for the final pitching & awarding event.

• On March 8, 2018, female leads from invited teams will give a 20 minute presentation of their business plan, including a 60 second Elevator Pitch

• Judges will evaluate the presentations and winners will be announced. • All decisions by the judges will be final.

Awards

The qualifying top two school teams and top two college teams will be eligible to receive:

1. Cash Awards:

2. Johnson & Johnson Consumer R&D Immersion.

The qualified winning teams will be offered an opportunity to tour the R&D facility. During this tour, they will also

have an opportunity to meet and interact with key scientific leaders in the consumer R&D division of J&J.

3. NJIT Summer Innovation Accelerator Membership (No fees or equity taken)

We have also partnered with NJIT to provide the winners access to NJIT Summer Innovation Acceleration

Program, a ten-week long start-up accelerator program in the model of Lean Start Ups utilizing Business Model

Canvas.

4. Complimentary Invite for AWISNJ Events & Meets

In addition to cash prizes described above, the winners will also get complimentary year along invitation to attend

our events and meetings, providing them access to our professional network of experienced entrepreneurs, academic

leaders, pharmaceutical & biotechnology professionals.

College Groups

1st Place - $500

2nd Place - $250

School Groups

1st Place - $500

2nd Place - $250