Team & Business Rules

To qualify for the Riata Business Plan Competition, participants must adhere to the following guidelines:

 

Team Composition

• Each individual may participate in only one team.
• Teams may consist of one or more students; typical team size ranges from two to five members.

 

Eligibility Criteria

• Teams that have raised $100,000 or more in external funding (e.g., investors, competitions) are ineligible.
• Teams that placed in the top three of the Rising Entrepreneurs track for two consecutive years are no longer eligible.
• Business ideas must be the original work of the team. If using OSU-owned technology, prior approval is required from OSU’s Technology Development Center and relevant parties.
• Ventures must be early stage, either for-profit or not-for-profit, and potentially seeking investment. The competition does not support buyouts, expansions, real estate ventures, funds, or franchise purchases.
• Teams must hold a minimum of 25% combined founders’ equity in their ventures.
• Finalists must be available for the entire competition and awards ceremony. Exceptions may be considered for extenuating circumstances.

 

Scholarship Information

• Scholarships may affect existing financial aid. Participants should consult the OSU Financial Aid Office prior to competing.
• Scholarships are deposited directly into participants’ OSU bursar accounts. Outstanding balances will reduce the scholarship amount.
• No direct scholarship payments will be made to participants.

 

Competition Rules

 

Executive Summaries

All submitted work must be original to the team or appropriately licensed. Submissions that do not meet these standards will be disqualified.

 

Format Requirements

• • File Name: RBPC_CompanyName_Exec.pdf
  • Spacing: Single or double-spaced
  • Margins: Minimum of 0.75” on all sides
  • Font Size: Minimum 10-point font
  • Length: 2 to 5 pages (after PDF conversion)
  • Submission: PDF format emailed to riata@okstate.edu

 

Required Content

• • One-Sentence Summary
  • Business Overview
  • Problem Solved
  • Products or Services Offered
  • Market Overview
  • Business Model
  • Customers or Prospective Customers
  • Sales & Marketing Strategy
  • Competitive Environment
  • Management Team
  • Capital Requirements
  • Team Leader Contact Information

Additional relevant data may be included within the page limit.

 

Important: Contact information must include a phone number and email address that is checked daily.

 

Scoring Criteria by track

 

Big City/High Tech & Main Street Lifestyles

• Quality of the Idea 20%
• Market and Competition 20%
• Operations 20%
• Finance 20%
• Quality of Written Work 10%
• Overall 10%

Social Enterprise

• Funding Idea 20%
• Social Impact 20%
• Operations 20%
• Finance 20%
• Quality of Written Work 10%
• Overall 10%

Rising Entrepreneur

• Rising Entrepreneurs are evaluated based on the above criteria for the track they are most suited to.

 

Judging & Submission Guidelines

Each judge will assign a numeric score to each Executive Summary based on the established competition criteria. These scores will be used to rank submissions relative to others reviewed by the same judge.

 

Judges are also encouraged to provide written feedback to enhance the educational value of the competition for all participants.

 

*Important Note
All submission deadlines are final. Late submissions will not be accepted, and no extensions will be granted. Teams are strongly encouraged to submit their Executive Summaries early to allow time to resolve any technical issues prior to the deadline.

 

Final Live Presentations

 

Finalists will participate in a single-round, live presentation consisting of:

• 10-minute pitch, followed by a 10-minute Q&A with the judging panel.

 

Submission Requirements

• All submitted materials must be original work by team members or appropriately licensed. Non-compliant submissions will be disqualified.
• Presentations must be submitted in both PowerPoint (.ppt/.pptx) and PDF formats.
• File naming convention: RBPC_CompanyName_Exec.pdf
• Submit all materials via email to Riata@okstate.edu by 11:59 PM CST on January 27, 2026.
• Video content is limited to two minutes within the live pitch.

 

Presentation Guidelines

All team members must actively participate in the live presentation. Each presentation must include the following key components:

• Business Overview
• Problem Being Solved
• Product or Services Offered
• Market Overview
• Business Model
• Customers or Prospective Customers
• Sales & Marketing Strategy
• Competitive Environment
• Management Team
• Capital Requirements
• Team Leader Contact Information

Additional relevant data may be included, provided it fits within the time and format constraints.

 

Judging & Final Submission Guidelines

Each judge will assign numeric scores to each presentation based on the established competition criteria. These scores will be used to rank the presentations, and each judge will identify their top four teams. Final winners will be determined through a collaborative discussion among the judging panel.

 

Judges are also encouraged to provide written critiques for each Executive Summary and presentation to enhance the educational experience for all participants.

 

*Important Note
All submission deadlines are final. Late submissions will not be accepted, and no extensions will be granted. Teams are strongly encouraged to submit their final presentations early to allow time to resolve any technical issues before the deadline.