Frequently Asked Questions

1) What are the Key Dates?
Details for ICE 2010 coming soon, but will be based upon 2009 calendar.
The ICE calendar is shifting this year. ICE is expanding to be a year round competition! Kicking Off in November and Finals for this year's competition the following November 2009.

Competitor and Volunteers must prepare for an entirely new ICE age, this fifth year. ICE is shifting the timeline to be year round; allowing roughly five months for our Semi-Finalist teams to work with their mentors and cultivate a business plan that could be implemented into today's market whether the team wins ICE or not. ICE is not only a business plan competition, but an educational platform in which entrepreneurs can learn and improve over the course of the Competition.

The competition invites teams regardless of age, professional status or academic background to compete in one of the most prestigious renewable energy competitions in the US.

The 2009 competition Kicked off mid-November with several Team Building events being held in the coming months to help generate potential competitors.

Team Building Events:
New York City: December 8th 5:30-8:00pm At Mintz Levin
RTP, North Carolina: January 7th
Boston: January 12th 5:30-8:00pm At Mintz Levin
Rochester, NY: January 22nd 5:30-7:30pm
Yale University: January 27th 5:30-8pm
Harvard Business School: February 3rd 6:00-9:00pm
UMass Dartmouth, ATMC: February 5th 5:30-8pm
Washington DC: February 11th At Mintz Levin
Dartmouth College, Tuck School of Business: February 12th

This year Student teams and Professional teams will have separate submission dates.

Student Teams:
Student Teams will be able to submit their team members' information, executive summary and option powerpoint slides between Monday, March 2nd - Monday, March 16th Noon EST and be matched with mentors.

Quarter Finals: (Students Only)
Student Teams will compete in a Quarter Finals in early May where teams will be selected by judges and become Semi-Finlalists.
These Semi-Finalist Student Teams will no longer compete under the Student track but as equals to the selected Professional Teams.

Professional Teams:
Professional Teams or non-student teams must submit their team members' information, executive summary and option powerpoint slides between Tuesday, May 26th- Friday, June 5th Noon EST
Once submitted the ICE judging committee will select Semi Finalist Teams.
These Semi-Finalists will join the other Semi-Finalists already selected from the Student track
Teams will be matched to mentors via our mentoring committee

Summit/Bootcamp
Bootcamp/Summit event to be held sometime in mid to late June.
This year Summit/Bootcamp will be a two day event
All Semi Finalist Teams are required to have at least one team member in attendance
Out of town teams will be put up overnight for the two day event
Various speakers and sessions will discuss the dos and don'ts of writing a business plan.

Work with Mentors
During the ensuing months (June-September 2009), the Semi Finalist Teams get access to world-class legal, financial, operational, strategic, writing and technical experts. These experts (mentors) offer their time in the true spirit of volunteerism and with the expectation that they are helping to create game changing technology.

Included in this competitive time frame are networking events, business plan writing training, instruction on pitching your ideas to mentors and for the winning team – a sizable first place purse.

Semi Finals
Semi Finals will be held in September 2009
All Semi Finalist Teams must prepare a presentation for judges

after Semi Finals
Finalist teams will be announced
Continue work with mentors

week before Finals
Complete Business Plan must be submitted

Finals
Finals in November 2009
All Finalist Teams must prepare a presentation and business plan for judges

2) ICE GEOGRAPHIC COVERAGE?
historically, ICE started as a local Massachusetts competition, then over subsequent years, it's grown to regional, inclusive of most of the Eastern seaboard in the US. in 2008 and beyond, ICE plans to expand beyond the U.S., into Europe as well."

ICE is not able to cover any travel expenses for teams coming from a distance.

3) Is it Confidential?

Contestants may desire to keep their executive summaries confidential. All judges and organizers will be under an obligation to protect and safeguard those documents labeled CONFIDENTIAL by contestants.

The first round of judging will be done privately, with the judges under a verbal non-disclosure agreement.

The final presentations on will be open to the public; therefore, contestants are advised not to disclose any proprietary information in the judging rounds.

The policy for protecting confidential information will be posted on the MITEF Ignite Clean Energy website and emailed to all registered contestants before the Kick-off event.

The confidentiality provisions will extend six-months after the public announcement of the winners on.

The MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, the sponsors, judges, and organizers will not take further responsibility to protect CONFIDENTIAL information or the intellectual property rights of the contestants.

4) Do I have to be affiliated with MIT?

No, no affliation with MIT needed.

5) Should I also enter another competition? Should I enter more than one competition?

Absolutely!

Most competitions will require at minimum a three to five page executive summary and a ten-minute investor pitch. Use the ICE experience to refine your pitch and improve your chances in any competition, whether hosted like this one or in the real world of investment. Our events are free and our training is excellent, so you have nothing to lose and much to gain by entering ICE in addition to other competitions.
With the new ICE calendar shift, no events or deadlines should conflict with other competitions and ICE.

6) Why Become a Contestant

Why not?!

The primary benefits you can expect from the ICE Competition are: to
improve your ability to pitch your business to investors and others; to
benefit from being mentored by experienced and successful entrepreneurs
and others; to network with industry pros; to get visibility and
publicity for your company and yourself; and to win one of the prizes.

7) Does ICE "stop" after the finals are over?
Short answer... no. However, one of the reasons we've changed the ICE calendar and moved the Finals to Fall period of each year is to allow for a better balanced full year-round curriculum.

Mentors and Teams are open to continue working together and in 2008 ICE offered teams who were not Semi Finalists an option to have a mentor, that we matched to them.

8)What do Past Contestants Say about the Competition?

"If you can put together a coherent business plan, and keep your composure in front of an audience of hundreds, then you have a good chance at a 'payoff' in real hard cash. (only slightly joking). But the real 'payoff' - what makes ICE worthwhile - is the opportunity to network with highly qualified, like-minded people. It's a good stepping stone for a young company, and a great development experience."

Abe Schneider, NATEL
--ICE 2006, Third Place Pro

General comments by contestants

"It is gratifying to have a team of industry experts confirm that you are on the right track. The prizes, including the cash award, the office space, and legal services, have been a great help getting us established. As nice as it is to have a place to call home, the greatest benefit we've received has been the broad media exposure.

Since winning the 2006 Ignite Clean Energy Competition, we have received numerous inquiries from potential investors, not only venture capitalists but international strategic industry participants as well. It is our expectation that we will be closing on funding before long. The press exposure has also generated product availability inquiries from around the globe, from such far-flung places as New Zealand, Greece, Spain, Italy, Scandinavia and more."

Jim Paull, Stellaris
ICE 2006, Grand Prize Winner

"How important was the Ignite Clean Energy Competition to me? I'm starting a regional business plan competition with the same model in the Mid-Atlantic (open to all technology businesses) because I thought it was such a great experience."

Jacob Silber
ICE 2006, Team Salvient
Chair, MITEF DC/Baltimore -
Mid-Atlantic Business Plan Competition
www.midatlanticbpc.org

"We have 17 orders, worth $3.5 million, and another $20 M in discussion. Because of the ICE competition, we were invited to participate in the Dow Jones Emerging Ventures Conference in Santa Clara, CA, 10/2006. They told us that they consulted the ICE winners list to decide who to invite.
We've also found that when folks search Google we're pretty high up because of the coverage we've received from ICE. It helps with our internet presence."

Quincy Vale, Powerhouse Enterprises
ICE 2005, Cummings Prize Winner

How has your participation in the ICE competition helped you and your clean-energy business?

"ICE has helped our team has become much more business-focused. Far from a buzzword, this means that through our experience, we have evolved our business plan presentation from one that represented the a vision of the future, to one that convincingly lays out how we're going to get there. We are now better able to attract and hold the attention of potential investors."

Abe Schneider, NATEL
ICE 2006, Third Place Pro

Please cite specific skills you've improved, contacts made, funds and awards received.

"Our team significantly improved the quality of our presentation (including the content, the visual design, and the delivery). We have met dozens of valuable contacts, and the prize money (3rd place) has been useful."
Abe Schneider, NATEL
ICE 2006, Third Place Pro

Why should others take the time to enter the ICE competition? What payoffs can they expect?

How does participating in the ICE competition fit in to a start-up's plans to grow their company?

"ICE provides a unique opportunity to convey your fine-tuned message to a select, elite, and motivated group of potential investors, clients, employees, advisors, and other industry contacts. The ICE audience is truly one of the best around - just go to some other clean energy events and you will notice how educated, dedicated, and motivated this group of people really is. ICE can be a stepping stone to future business growth opportunity - exactly what a start up needs."

Abe Schneider, NATEL
ICE 2006, Third Place Pro

What progress has your business made since the competition? Would you credit any of that progress to the Competition?

"Due in part to our involvement with ICE, our team has expanded our network of potential investors and clients."

Abe Schneider, NATEL
ICE 2006, Third Place Pro

"My experience with ICE has been the networking success for which I had been striving. The forum challenged me to organize and corroborate ideas coincidental with the spirit of the competition and has provided this new forum congruent with creative development. I did not expect to win the competition, but merely to hook up with proficient professionals to coach and direct me toward shaping and polishing the viable enterprise. Much work lies ahead. The challenge is most welcome."
Jim Reardon, AquaEnergy 2008 Team