Participate. Stay focused. Take off.

Submit your business plan or read deck - receive individual expert feedback, media attention and the chance to win prize money. Make new contacts and take the first step towards our investor network.

Bavarian business plan competitions

In the Bavarian Business Plan Competitions, innovative entrepreneurs from all sectors benefit from professional feedback on their ideas at a very early stage. The competition enables them to quickly steer their concepts in a direction that appeals to their market as well as to potential partners, investors and customers. Successful alumni of the competition include companies such as Adnymics, Blue ID, Fazua, Flixbus, invenox, Magazino, Testbirds and Toposens.

For many investors, a good placement in the competition is a reliable proof of quality and a synonym for well thought-out, future-oriented business models. Especially for technology-oriented teams that depend on venture capital to build their companies, the Bavarian Business Plan Competitions are considered a springboard to the first rounds of financing.

Benefits for startups

Feedback from our renowned expert jury with serial founders, business angels, VCs & Co
Prize money in the total amount of € 85,000
Visibility in our (investor) network and the general public
Access to the BayStartUP services: online tutorials, (free) coaching sessions, exclusive events, access to the financing network

Participants alumni

Flix
Magazino
FAZUA
Invenox
Exasol
Hydrogenious

Roadmap of the competitions

Three phases of competition - three opportunities

You have the opportunity to submit your business concepts and ideas in three competition phases of the Bavarian Business Plan Competition. This gives you the opportunity to develop or optimize your business plan step by step. The support program with tutorials for business plan development takes place online. You can participate in any phase!

Registration for the new competition season starts in mid-October 2025!

Submission deadline: 13^thJanuary 2026

In Phase 1 of the Bavarian Business Plan Competition, the focus is on the business idea and its customer benefit. A business plan of approximately 7 pages (+/- 10%) is required. It should include a short executive summary, a detailed description of the product/service, and an analysis of the market and competition.

Submission deadline: 24^th March 2026

Phase 2 of the Bavarian Business Plan Competition focuses on business model, marketing and SWOT. A business plan of approximately 20 pages (+/- 10%) is required. It should include a short executive summary, a detailed description of the product/service, and an analysis of the market and competition, marketing and sales, business model and organization, opportunities and risks.

Submission deadline: 9^th June 2026

Phase 3 of the Bavarian Business Plan Competition focuses on the implementation, capital requirements and sales planning of your business idea. A complete business plan of approximately 30 pages is required. The concept should describe the business idea of the product or service in detail and especially address the roadmap to realization. Entrants should develop a sales plan and show how they will meet their capital requirements. The judges will also be looking for an executive summary, a description of the market and competition, an assessment of the opportunities and risks of the business, the sales and marketing approach, and the structure of the entrepreneurial team.

Dr. Miriam Haerst, co-founder of Kumovis, winner of the Munich Business Plan Competition 2018:

"With the external feedback loop from the jurors of the Munich Business Plan Competition, we were able to sharpen our business strategy as a team. The discussions with the BayStartUP experts and the jurors were worth the effort, as we were able to improve all of our business plans and increase the level of detail in our strategy. With the knowledge we gained, we were well prepared for our first round of funding and were able to confidently present a mature business plan to the investors."

Robert Hilmer, Managing Director Easy2Parts:

„The business plan competition Ideenreich is a super platform to sharpen your business plan and to compare yourself with your competition. The jury members have enabled us to establish contact with potential customers and investors. In addition, the competition has given us the opportunity to appear in our local newspaper, which increases our public recognition.“

Neele Maarten de Vries, co-founder and CEO of Mozaik:

„The Business Plan Competition Swabia was the ideal opportunity for us to put our business plan through its paces. We received professional feedback from experienced experts, which we were able to use for our further path. In addition, BayStartUP was an important contact and supporter for our later financing round with the coaching at our business incubator.“

Further information for participants

Frequently Asked Questions

Based on your postal code, you will be assigned to the Business Plan Competition Swabia or Ideenreich, the Munich Business Plan Competition or the Business Plan Competition Northern Bavaria when you register your team.

The competition is a platform on which you can test your concepts and improve them through feedback. So: yes, please submit your concept even if it is not perfect, yet.

You upload your concept in our protected web portal after a successful registration at www.baystartup.de. All our judges have signed an NDA and are bound to secrecy.

If we at BayStartUP communicate your solution externally (e.g. if we present your team as a winning team as part of our marketing activities), then only with content that you have approved in advance.

Feedback from experts, the chance to be included in the free BayStartUP financial coaching, media attention, prize money, support from the twelve digital incubators throughout Bavaria and our other partners in the network, information and updates from the Bavarian startup scene.

The page numbers of the chapters are guidelines, but they should by no means be exceeded. In terms of content, you should make sure that you address the main topics of the respective competition phase.

Regarding the Munich business plan competition and the business plan competitions Schwaben and Ideenreich:

Max Achmedschin via achmedschin@baystartup.de

Regarding the business plan competition Northern Bavaria:

Tobias Bladowski via bladowski@baystartup.de

Eligibility Requirements

Headquarters or residence of a founding member in Bavaria
Participation possible without official company foundation
Compliance with rules/limits

Learn more about the competition process, the judges and their requirements, how the winners will be selected, and other information about entering the competition.

Learn more