What the 2019 Judges Committee Wants to Discover
The 2019 BYU Management Society Asia Pacific Conference in Mongolia gives entrepreneurs a valuable stage through the “Believe & Achieve” business plan competition. Its judging committee is looking beyond polished slides. The goal is to discover people who can identify a meaningful opportunity, explain it clearly, and build a responsible path toward growth.
A strong entry connects vision with evidence. Judges want to see that a founder understands customers, competitors, operating realities, financial needs, and the wider community affected by the venture. Originality matters, yet practical execution can distinguish a promising concept from an idea that is difficult to sustain.
The competition also reflects the conference’s wider purpose: connecting business leaders, students, professionals, and BYU Management Society chapters across the Asia-Pacific region. Participants should treat the process as both a contest and an opportunity to receive informed feedback, develop relationships, and communicate their purpose with confidence.
A Real Problem Worth Solving
The committee will look for a business plan grounded in a specific problem. General statements about improving life or serving everyone are rarely persuasive. A compelling proposal identifies who experiences the difficulty, how often it occurs, and why existing alternatives leave room for improvement.
Customer insight is especially important. Before presenting a solution, competitors should define their target audience by needs, behaviors, location, purchasing ability, and decision-making habits. Guidance on identifying target customers can help transform a broad market description into a sharper customer profile.
A credible plan also demonstrates that the founder has listened to real people. Interviews, surveys, pilot users, industry data, and observations can all support the case. Judges are likely to value evidence that reveals what customers will actually pay for, rather than assumptions based only on enthusiasm.
A Clear And Defensible Model
A good idea must become a workable business model. The judges committee will want to understand how the venture creates value, delivers its product or service, and earns revenue. Entries should explain pricing, sales channels, key partners, major costs, and the resources required to operate.
Clarity strengthens credibility. A simple model explained well is more persuasive than a complicated diagram filled with vague terms. Competitors should show how an early version can launch, what milestones will follow, and which measurements will indicate progress.
Financial projections should support the story rather than overwhelm it. Revenue assumptions need a logical basis, while expenses should reflect staffing, technology, marketing, production, logistics, and compliance. A thoughtful plan acknowledges risks and explains how the team would respond if sales grow slowly or costs rise.
Evidence Of Execution
The committee is likely to assess the people behind the proposal as closely as the proposal itself. Judges want to discover whether the team has the skills, commitment, and resilience to move from planning to action. Relevant experience, complementary abilities, and a willingness to learn can make a major difference.
Evidence of progress is powerful. A prototype, early customer, test result, partnership, letter of interest, or small-scale launch shows that the team has already taken steps beyond brainstorming. Even when a venture is at an early stage, a well-designed experiment can demonstrate discipline and initiative.
Presenters should also be ready to explain what they do not yet know. Honest answers paired with a plan for gathering information often sound more mature than exaggerated certainty. The competition rewards potential, and potential becomes credible when it is supported by action.
Purpose, Responsibility, And Regional Relevance
“Believe & Achieve” suggests ambition, but ambition should be connected to purpose. Judges may be interested in ventures that create economic opportunity, improve access to useful services, address social or environmental needs, or contribute to stronger communities. Impact should be specific enough to measure.
A plan designed for Mongolia or another Asia-Pacific market should reflect local conditions. Transportation, infrastructure, consumer habits, regulation, language, financing, and cultural expectations can shape the path to success. Proposals that show regional awareness are more convincing than those that simply copy a model from another country.
Responsible growth also matters. Competitors should consider how the business treats customers, employees, suppliers, and communities. Ethical sourcing, data privacy, fair pricing, environmental effects, and transparent communication can become meaningful parts of a competitive advantage.
What Strong Entries Communicate
The committee has limited time to understand each venture, so structure matters. A presentation should move logically from problem to customer, solution, market, business model, traction, financial outlook, team, and next steps. Every section should reinforce the central reason the venture deserves attention.
| Area | What Judges May Look For | Strong Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Customer need | A focused and urgent problem | Interviews, survey findings, usage data |
| Solution | A practical answer with clear benefits | Prototype, demonstration, customer feedback |
| Market | A realistic opportunity and defined audience | Segmentation, competitor research, market sizing |
| Business model | A credible route to revenue | Pricing logic, sales process, cost assumptions |
| Team | Skills and commitment suited to the venture | Relevant experience, roles, early execution |
| Impact | Positive and measurable wider value | Employment, access, sustainability, community outcomes |
| Growth plan | Sensible milestones and risk management | Pilot timeline, metrics, contingency plans |
Strong communication does not mean making unsupported claims sound impressive. It means selecting the most important facts and explaining them in language that investors, business leaders, and community stakeholders can understand. Visuals should clarify the argument, while rehearsed transitions can help the team remain composed.
The question-and-answer period deserves serious preparation. Judges may test assumptions about pricing, competition, customer retention, regulations, funding, or scalability. A team that listens carefully, answers directly, and admits uncertainty when appropriate can leave a stronger impression than one that attempts to defend every detail.
Preparation That Makes A Difference
Participants can improve their readiness by reviewing the competition phases, award categories, presentation expectations, schedule, and conference logistics well before arriving in Mongolia. Knowing the process reduces avoidable pressure and leaves more time for refining the business case.
Useful preparation includes:
- Validate the customer problem with people who fit the intended market.
- Build a simple financial model and test optimistic, expected, and conservative scenarios.
- Assign presentation roles so every team member can explain the venture.
- Rehearse concise answers about competition, risk, pricing, and growth.
- Prepare a one-minute description that communicates the venture’s value immediately.
The conference setting also creates opportunities outside the formal judging session. Breakout sessions, chapter connections, speakers, and conversations with other participants can reveal new partnerships or challenge assumptions. A founder who remains curious may gain value even before the awards are announced.
The 2019 judges committee wants to discover ventures with substance: a genuine need, a thoughtful solution, an accountable team, and a believable route from idea to impact. Prepare the business plan as evidence of what can be achieved, then bring the confidence and humility to learn from every conversation at the Asia Pacific Conference.