Challenge Overview
High Level Overview
The Center for Advancing Innovation (CAI) in partnership with The City of Virginia Beach, and Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development has launched the VABeachBio Innovation Startup Challenge, an unprecedented, open innovation challenge to create 20 startups around commercially viable veteran health-related inventions. 
Challenge Phases
  • Phase 0: Enter Challenge: Teams provide information their background. Teams also choose their area of interest or an invention and outline their intent to participate in the Challenge
  • Phase 1: Elevator Speech: Teams develop a two-minute elevator speech via recorded video and a 350-word executive summary outlining potential commercial product(s) and company vision. Semi-finalists move on to Phase 2
  • Phase 2: Business Plan: Teams develop a 10-page business plan with a detailed financial plan as well as a 20-minute "live" pitch presented virtually to the Challenge judges. The winners of this phase will receive a $2000 award per team and move to Phase 3
  • Phase 3: Start-up: Teams launch their start-ups, including company incorporation, apply for licenses, and raise funding
Key Dates
Team Eligibility and Guidelines
  • No minimum team size
  • Your Background: Anyone with an entrepreneurial spirit! Participants can come from any background
  • No Geography Restrictions: This challenge welcomes international participants
Deliverables Per Phase
Phase 0: Enter Challenge - (you will provide all documentation electronically through the LOI form):
  1. Find/Choose an Invention: The model of this Challenge encompasses high-value inventions from various research institutes. Teams may choose a provided invention from the inventions list
  2. Letter of Intent Form: Challenge teams will need to select their invention and provide details on their team. The team will also need to submit their statement of intent to participate in each phase of the Challenge. Click here for the LOI form
  3. CDA Form: All Team members (advisors, mentors, collaborators) will need to execute a CDA. The CDA form can be found here. CAI can work with any members concerning the terms of the CDA

Phase 1: Elevator Speech
  1. 2-minute elevator pitch in a recorded video, uploaded on our YouTube site
  2. 350-word executive summary
  3. Public voting​

Phase 2: Business Plan – estimated 20 pages PPT and Word (not including appendices):
  1. Start-up company incorporation
  2. ​10-page business plan: 11pt font (depending on font type) - title, table of contents, and appendix should not be counted in the 10 pages
  3. Financial Model: Profit & Loss w/ risk-adjusted NPV, Valuation, and Cap Table
  4. 20-minute Pitch (5 minute presentation, 5 minute Q&A, 10 minute preparation time) virtual live pitch via join.me to the Challenge judges and to potential funders
  5. 10-page pitch deck (maximum length is 10 pages PowerPoint or Prezi)
*appendices should be added and submitted with your business plan as a supplement, to be available on request from the judges
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Phase 3: Start-up
  1. Applications for the license
  2. Applications for dilutive/non-dilutive funding
  3. Management team selection