How contestants can collaborate on a post-conference project

The Believe & Achieve business plan competition at the 2019 BYU Management Society Asia Pacific Conference offers a strong starting point for a post-conference project: a credible business idea, a defined award category, and access to peers, mentors and speakers who can test assumptions with the team. The next step is to turn that shared starting point into work that can continue after the final presentation in Mongolia.

Collaboration works best when contestants agree on the problem, deliverable and decision rights before dividing the work. A presentation may end in Ulaanbaatar, but the venture can still mature through remote research, prototypes and a final pitch to an Australian market. Use the competition phases as a planning rhythm without confusing an entry with a long-term business.

For Australian participants, geography and working habits deserve early attention. Teams can be based in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, coordinate around AEST and AEDT, and test demand with local customers instead of relying only on observations made in Mongolia. Preferences, competitors, pricing and buying channels differ across Australian cities and industries.

A workable proposal links one competition outcome to a measurable plan: who the customer is, what the team will validate, which result earns the next phase, and when the work stops. The conference schedule can supply deadlines, while breakout discussions can reveal complementary skills. Written roles and a simple budget prevent a promising network from becoming an overloaded group chat.

Select a project with genuine follow-through

Begin with the award category your team already understands, then narrow it to one customer problem. The Believe & Achieve prizes can provide direction, but a follow-on venture needs a sharper objective than winning another award. For example, a marketplace prototype might focus on reducing food waste for independent restaurants in inner Melbourne.

A short feasibility check should come before commitment: interview potential users, map existing alternatives, and identify what the team can test within eight to twelve weeks. Reuse relevant competition research, but verify it in Australia because local buying behaviour may invalidate a Mongolia-based assumption. A useful scope is one workflow, one city segment and one measurable outcome.

Agree on roles before momentum fades

Create a one-page working agreement covering the project goal, final deliverable, response times, meeting rhythm and ownership of data, designs, code and customer contacts. Assign one person as product owner, one as research lead and one as delivery coordinator, even if those roles overlap. Record decisions in a shared drive and use a task board instead of relying on informal message threads.

Speakers can sharpen the venture, so approach them with a specific question rather than a generic request for advice. A bureau such as Right Selection Speaker Bureau can be useful when a team needs a moderator, customer advocate or industry voice. Keep any speaker engagement scoped to a defined milestone, such as validating pricing or reviewing a pilot proposal.

Choose the collaboration model

The right structure depends on whether the aim is a portfolio piece, a market pilot or a venture that should continue. Compare the options openly, including the time each model demands and the degree of outside support required.

Collaboration structure Best suited to Main advantage Main risk
Co-led contestant team Shared learning and fast delivery Clear joint accountability Decisions may drift
Independent delivery Portfolio work and solo ownership Focused execution Peer learning is limited
Mentored venture A pilot needing specialist input Faster feedback Mentor availability varies
Small cross-company consortium Complementary skills or businesses Broader capability Partnership complexity

Most teams will perform best with a co-led structure during the first validation cycle, then choose whether to continue independently. Whichever model is selected, set a review date after the first customer interviews. If evidence is weak, revise the customer or channel; if evidence is strong, decide whether to retain the partnership, narrow the team or scale the pilot.

Build an Australian market lens

Local research should combine desk evidence with direct conversations. In Sydney and Melbourne, compare established competitors, digital marketplaces and social commerce channels before proposing an app. Brisbane teams should examine how logistics, regional supply and local price sensitivity affect the same concept. These city-level checks are more valuable than a generic national demand estimate.

Factor in Australian commercial realities before quoting a budget. Budgets in Australian dollars should make the standard 10% GST treatment explicit rather than folding it into operating costs, and customer research should check whether prospects expect a tax-inclusive price. Australian business settings often value punctuality, concise updates and first-name familiarity; a business card is courteous but usually less decisive than the quality of the conversation. Keep client records aligned with Australian privacy expectations, and avoid assuming a global platform alone signals local fit.

Use a compact delivery checklist

Break the project into a short discovery cycle, a practical prototype and a decision review. Align each stage with the conference’s competition phases so the team can show evidence of progress, not merely activity. The final output might be a tested service, a financial model, a pitch deck and a one-page recommendation for continuing, revising or stopping.

Before work starts, copy these inputs into the project brief and assign an owner to each one:

Publish these outputs at the final review:

Sustain momentum and close the loop

Keep collaboration alive with a weekly update built around decisions, completed work and customer evidence. Rotate meeting times so Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney participants are not always disadvantaged, and circulate notes within twenty-four hours. Use feedback from breakout sessions as hypotheses to test, not conclusions to defend. Payment information, accommodation and travel details matter for conference attendance, but the follow-on work should begin with a lighter operating plan once participants return home.

Use the broader BYU Management Society community to extend learning. The BYUMS Asia Pacific site provides a natural place to revisit conference resources, chapter activity, previous regional conferences and relevant contact details. Share a concise progress update with former speakers and fellow contestants, credit contributors clearly, and invite specific feedback on the next milestone.

Finish by comparing results with the original goals and documenting what each contestant contributed. A strong project may end with a pilot in one Australian city, a stronger pitch for a future Believe & Achieve phase, or a clear reason not to proceed. In every case, the network should leave behind a reusable research base, a documented decision and contacts who know how the team works together.