1. Dell / FIRST® in Texas “Leaving Your Legacy” Business Plan Challenge
John Pflueger
May 29, 2014

2. The Dell “Leaving Your Legacy” Business Plan Challenge
Dell and FIRSTinTexas are proud to announce the “Leaving your Legacy” Business Plan Challenge
This challenge offers Texas FRC teams the opportunity to work with Dell leaders to develop their presentation skills, improve their business plans, further the sustainability of their team and promote their vision for STEM education in Texas.
These plans should both discuss the sustainability of the team, as well as the team’s vision and proposal for promoting STEM education in its region.
These plans should also discuss the benefits that Dell will receive by extending support to the presenting team.
The challenge consists of two stages.
In the first stage, participating teams will submit modified versions of their business plans, along with a video of the presentation of their plans, to a team of judges and business mentors. From these submissions, the judges will identify three teams as finalists.
In the second stage, finalists will continue to work with these mentors, developing versions of their plans that they will present to a select group of Dell executives at a meeting in Austin on July 15th.
From among the finalists, Dell executives will select the team they feel has the best business plan to support that team’s vision for the promotion of FIRST and STEM education, and the long-term sustainability of their team.
The winning team will receive a $3K ‘investment’ from Dell to be used in support of their proposal / vision
Non-winning finalists will receive a small stipend for their team of $500
The winning team may be asked to give a follow-on presentation in 6 to 9 months on proposal status and accomplishments
Confidential
11/17/2018

3. Who is Eligible to Participate?
All FRC teams in Texas are eligible to participate, subject to the following expectations
Teams will meet all submission requirements and deadlines
Teams are able to be present in Austin on July 15th
You must also be able to bring a competition FRC robot for demonstration
Composition of participating teams
Each team will be represented by three students and a coach.
The coach should be the primary coach or mentor for the team’s program
Students should be rising seniors or younger – it is our intent to involve students who will be a participant on their FRC team for the 2015 competition season.
Confidential
11/17/2018

4. Why should your team participate?
Participating FRC teams will see the following benefits:
Team business plan review
Initial review by FIRST mentors with experience in business plan development and assessment
Final review by a Dell leadership
Potential financial support for their team’s vision for their sustainability and STEM education in their region
The Dell leadership team will provide a $3000 ‘investment’ for the team they feel has best met the challenge goals
Non-winning teams that make the final stage will receive a $500 ‘investment’ for their team
A strong outreach experience they can promote during their next competition seasons
By participating, teams will be helping promote FIRST by raising awareness of the value of FIRST’s programs to Dell leaders
Individual students will benefit by:
Developing a business proposal / solution to address a real-world challenge
Presenting and promoting a business proposal to a management team
Confidential
11/17/2018

5. How does a team participate? (page 1)
Develop and document your team’s vision for
The long-term sustainability of your team
Your team’s plan or proposal for promoting FIRST and STEM education in its region
The definition of region is up to the team
The plan or proposal will include:
Team history and mission
Plans for
Including financials – expected income and spending
Team risks and risk management
Should particularly address the team’s long-term outlook and sustainability
Team’s vision with respect to outreach and impact
Should include the team’s long-term goals
Why Dell should ‘invest’ in your team
This will focus on the benefits Dell would receive by supporting your team through an ‘investment’ in your team’s vision
Plans can be a modification of, but should not be an exact copy of, your teams business plan
Confidential
11/17/2018

6. How does a team participate? (page 2)
Participating FRC teams will submit the following collateral to the challenge management team by June 20th
(details on all of these items are provided below)
A link to a copy of your team’s business plan
A one-page summary of your team’s qualifications and business plan proposal
A short PowerPoint presentation providing background for your proposal
A link to a video of your team presenting your proposal
A link to your team’s Chairman’s Award video
A link to a video of your team’s robot in action (match play preferred)
In addition, the competition management team expects participants to:
Reach out to the competition management teams promptly with any questions or concerns
Be available for finalist coaching and peer review meetings
Uphold FIRST’s core values of Co-opertition and Gracious Professionalism
Confidential
11/17/2018

7. Competition Process – First Stage: Initial Competition and Identification of Finalists
Initial Competition Announcement
Announcement to all Texas FRC teams
Communication of presentation/submission requirements as well as evaluation criteria (Rubric)
Target date – Friday, May 30th
Proposal Preparation and Submission
Submissions to evaluation team must be complete by Sunday, June 22nd
Proposal Evaluation
Eval team picks THREE finalists to present to the Dell ELT
Evaluation team will review all submissions and announce finalists by Friday, June 27th
Confidential
11/17/2018

8. Competition Process – Second Stage: Finalist Competition
Finalist preparation and proposal refresh
The competition management team will provide coaching and guidance to each of the finalist teams as required or requested
We will schedule a group review where each competing team will present to the other finalists for comment and review
Final presentations
July 15th at the Thinkery in Austin – 6pm to 8pm
Dell and the challenge management team will provide a minute introduction both to FIRST and to this contest
Team presentations (15 minutes for each team)
Presentation of team’s proposal and value to Dell (5 minutes, hard stop)
5-10 minutes questions and feedback from ELT
Final wrap-up and decisions
Confidential
11/17/2018

9. Additional Material
Confidential
11/17/2018

10. Presentation Guidance
Strict time limit  
5 minutes max for all points
“Here’s what our team is all about”
Should be a QUICK summary of the team, team history, accomplishments….
“Here’s our vision and proposal for promoting STEM in Texas”
Should talk to the sustainability of the team
Should ideally talk about expanding STEM within their community
Could be just within the school, could focus on an entire region
“Here’s what we need to make our vision a reality”
“Here’s what Dell will receive in return”
(see next slide)
Confidential
11/17/2018

11. Potential Benefits to Dell
Dell brand recognition
The perception of Dell as a company
Business results (i.e. sales)
Employee engagement
Volunteer opportunities with Powering the Possible partners
Dell employee skills development
Volunteering and mentoring potentially helps Dell employees build skills they can use back in their role at Dell
Dell workforce pipeline development
Helping to train potential future employees
Alignment to Dell’s Youth Learning initiatives
Support for under-served communities
Women in Science and Engineering
Other items that come to mind later….
Confidential
11/17/2018