Eligibility and Guidelines
The following guidelines are applicable for the graduate, undergraduate, and alumni B.E.T.A. (Babson Entrepreneurial Thought & Action®) Challenge.
The B.E.T.A. Challenge focuses on action: the major milestones each business has achieved to date and the credibility of future goals.
- The following individuals are eligible to apply for the 2025 competition:
- All Babson students that were enrolled fall 2024 or spring 2025.
- Any alumni with an undergraduate and/or graduate degree from Babson.
- Olin College of Engineering or Wellesley College venture that is a member of the John E. and Alice L. Butler Launch Pad.
- All applications must be for a seed or an early-stage startup. This is defined as having less than $1 million in annual revenue and less than $500,000 in investment.
- All student applicants who will be competing in the B.E.T.A. Challenge must be in good standing with Babson College and the community. The Blank Center staff reserves the right to request information from the Office of Community Standards to confirm that this is the case and may disqualify any applicant who does not meet this requirement.
- Babson alumni who have volunteered in the past as a B.E.T.A. Challenge evaluator or intend to volunteer as a 2025 B.E.T.A. Challenge evaluator are not eligible to apply to the B.E.T.A. Challenge.
- All past B.E.T.A. Challenge finalists, Douglass Foundation Graduate Business Plan winners, and John H. Muller Jr. Undergraduate Business Plan winners are not eligible to apply to the 2025 competition. Those that are applying with a different venture may be eligible. Please email the Blank Center team for more information.
- Individual students/alumni or teams are eligible to submit their application to the B.E.T.A. Challenge. The lead entrepreneur of any team must be a current Babson student, Babson alumni, or an Olin/Wellesley student that is a member of the John E. and Alice L. Butler Launch Pad. If a team is comprised of both alumni and students, the status of the lead entrepreneur determines which track the team can apply for. A lead entrepreneur is defined as someone who is part of the founding team and/or holds an executive position in the startup. A lead entrepreneur is not an employee, contractor, and/or intern in the startup. The application deadline is at 11 a.m. on Friday, February 7, 2025.
- Student applicants must have a faculty sponsor in order to participate. All student applicants must find a faculty member willing to sponsor them. Butler Launch Pad faculty advisors can be considered as a faculty sponsor. The faculty sponsor must be willing to review and provide input on the submission and agree to sponsor the submission. The faculty sponsor submitted will be verified for accuracy. Staff members, unless teaching a course at Babson, are not considered faculty. A faculty sponsor is optional for alumni applicants, but not required. The faculty sponsor deadline is at 11 a.m. on Friday, January 31, 2025.
- All applicants must commit to presenting their business in person during the semifinals on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, and the finale on Thursday, April 17, 2025, if chosen.
- The application requires the following:
- Faculty Sponsor information (if applicable)
- Executive Summary—two page limit in .doc, .docx or .pdf format.
- Description of Opportunity
- Business Concept
- Industry Overview
- Target Market
- Competitive Advantage
- Business Model and Economics
- Team and Offering
- Financial Projections
- Slide deck—maximum 10 slides in .pptx, .ppt or .pdf format. The 10-slide limit includes any cover slides or appendix slides. The slide deck must cover the following:
- Description of venture
- Industry represented
- Target market, include market analysis
- Value proposition
- Backgrounds/roles of team member(s)
- Milestones completed to date
- Timeline of future goals
- Overall potential of opportunity
- Emphasis should be placed on actions taken to date, milestones reached, and next steps to move the venture forward. Sample applications are available from the Blank Center for viewing. Please email the Blank Center team for more information.
- The two page limit for the executive summary and the 10 slide limit for the slide deck are strict limits. Applicants that exceed the limits may be disqualified.
- All applicant(s) must agree that the materials they are submitting are their original work. The applicant(s) will retain all rights to the materials regarding their use at all times prior to and following the competition.
- In order to be considered for the B.E.T.A. Challenge, faculty sponsor information (if applicable) and files (executive summary and slide deck) must be successfully uploaded through the application portal. An email confirmation from the application portal must be received by the applicant in order for the application to be considered for the B.E.T.A. Challenge.
- By participating in the competition, applicant(s) give the competition organizers the right to post the executive summary and slide deck on a password protected website in order for alumni evaluators to access the applications, post comments, and score the application. Applicant(s) also give the right to share the executive summary and slide deck with faculty sponsors, faculty reviewers, and judges.
- Applicants may be contacted via email at any time during the competition if more information is needed by the Blank Center or any group of reviewers or judges.
- All applicants will be asked to sign a media release form.
- All semifinalists will be required to submit updated materials. The information submitted will be verified for accuracy. Guidelines will be provided by the Blank Center to semifinalists. The updated materials must be emailed to the Blank Center team by Monday, March 31, 2025 at 5 p.m. EST (no exceptions will be made).
- Special awards will be offered during the 2025 competition. Upon notification of semifinalist status, the Blank Center will provide descriptions of the awards to the semifinalists. The semifinalists will be asked to submit a 250 word count written response or one minute video specifically addressing the criteria of the award(s) for which they would like to be considered. If a semifinalist does not submit the required material(s), they will be not eligible for award consideration. The material(s) must be emailed to the Blank Center team by Monday, March 31, 2025 at 5 p.m. EST (no exceptions will be made). The winner of each award will be determined by a panel of expert judges, who will judge the application based on its exemplification of the award criteria, and announced during the finale on Thursday, April 17, 2025. In the event that there is no venture that satisfies the criteria, the prize will not be awarded.
- Upon notification of semifinalist status, the Blank Center will provide information regarding the competition’s travel policy to the semifinalists. If eligible, semifinalists may submit expenses for reimbursement in order to travel to Babson’s Wellesley campus for the B.E.T.A. Challenge events taking place from Wednesday, April 16, 2025 through Thursday, April 17, 2025. Required forms (including W9 or W8BenE, EFTs or wire transfers and receipts) must be submitted to the Blank Center by May 1, 2025 for processing and reimbursement.
- All semifinalists must prepare to present during the semifinals on Wednesday, April 16, 2025. They must also prepare a final presentation slide deck and be prepared to pitch it during the finale on Thursday, April 17, 2025 if chosen. Guidelines will be provided by the Blank Center.
- Award money to finalist and winner ventures is seed money for the advancement of their ventures. Award money will be distributed to the business, not the individual(s). Businesses must be established as a legal entity before May 1, 2025. Required forms (including W9 or W8BenE and EFTs or wire transfers) must be submitted to the Blank Center by May 1, 2025 for processing and award money payment. Recipients are responsible for all taxes, if any.
- The winner(s) of the B.E.T.A. Challenge will be determined by a panel of expert judges who will judge based on demonstrated success of the venture in achieving major milestones through taking action. In the event that there is no business that demonstrates significant progress, the prize will not be awarded.
- The Blank Center will forward feedback to applicants upon the completion of judging. Feedback is anonymous unless otherwise indicated.