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 founders from all sectors benefit from professional feedback on their own idea 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 potential partners, investors and customers. Today's successful competition alumni include companies such as Adnymics, Blue ID, Fazua, Flixbus, invenox and Magazino, Testbirds or Toposens.

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

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 chance 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 programm with tutorials on business plan preparation takes place online. It is possible to join at any phase!

Deadline for submission: 16^thJanuary 2024

The focus in phase 1 of the Bavarian Business Plan Competitions is on the business idea and its customer benefit. A business sketch of approx. 7 pages in total (+/- 10 %) is required. It should contain a short executive summary, a detailed description of the product/service and an analysis of the market and competition.

Submission deadline: 20^th March 2024

The focus in phase 2 of the Bavarian Business Plan Competition is on marketing and sales. A business plan of approx. 20 pages in total (+/- 10 %) is required. It should contain a short executive summary, a detailed description of the product/service as well as an analysis of the market and competition, marketing and sales, business model and organization, opportunities and risks.

Deadline for submission: 11^th June 2024

The focus in phase 3 of the Bavarian Business Plan Competition is on the topics of realization, capital requirements and sales planning of your business idea. A complete business plan of about 30 pages is required. The concept should describe the business idea of the product or service in detail and in particular address the roadmap to realization. The participants should develop a sales plan and show how they will cover their capital requirements. The jury also evaluates an executive summary, a description of the market and competition as well as a weighing up of opportunities and risks of the business project, the sales and marketing approach and the structure of the entrepreneurial team.

Participate now!

Registration

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

„With the external feedback loop from the jurors in the Munich Business Plan Competition, we were able to sharpen our corporate strategy as a team. Discussions with the BayStartUP experts and jurors were worth the effort, as we could improve all plans regarding our company and increase the level of detail in our strategy. With the knowledge that we have built up as a result, we were optimally prepared for our first round of financing and could 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

Conditions of participation

Registered office or place of residence of a founding member in Bavaria
Participation also possible without official company foundation
Compliance with regulations/limits

Find out more about the course of the competition, the jury and which requirements you need to meet, how the winners are selected and further participation informations.

Learn more