at Otago - School of Business, University of Otago, New Zealand ...

Audacious
If you’ve got an idea that you think could make you a little extra cash, or perhaps you have ambitions of
world domination - going head to head with the likes of Richard Branson, or Bill Gates, then the Audacious
programme at Otago can help kick-start your business dreams.
Audacious supports student entrepreneurs
in their efforts to start and run their own
businesses. It’s designed to inspire young
entrepreneurs to explore their business ideas,
gain valuable business insight from local
experts, and kick-start future businesses.
Audacious essentially consists of three aspects,
a business challenge, a Business Coach, and an
entrepreneurs lounge.
NBR Online Audacious
Student Entrepreneurs
Challenge.
An exciting aspect of Audacious is the student
challenge sponsored by the National Business
Review (NBR). The challenge provides
budding entrepreneurs with the opportunity to
compete for financial support from a $60,000
prize pool. Free seminars are held throughout
the year providing practical support on
topics such as business planning, law, website
development and finance. These provide a
useful background when working on your
entry.
The challenge is split into two sections. The
first requires you to provide a basic two-page
overview to your business idea. The top 40
ideas receive $500.
If your idea wins a prize then you’ll be asked to
enter the second part of challenge where you’ll
develop your idea further into a comprehensive
business plan, plus make a 55-second “elevator
pitch” to tout your idea to the judging panel
(as if you’d just met a potential investor in the
elevator).
The winning entry receives around $25,000 in
cash and prizes towards fully commercialising
their idea. Category prizes of cash and
professional assistance are also up for grabs.
Previous winning entries have included,
Medikidz, Language Perfect, Home In, and
Creative Hype! You could be next!
Business Coach
The Audacious Business Coach supports
you if you want to start a business, as well
as providing assistance if you already have
a business up and running. The service
is free to all students at the University of
Otago regardless of whether you enter the
entrepreneurs challenge. The service is
confidential and can provide information or
leads to help you develop your business or idea.
Student Lounge
The student lounge is a dedicated area in the
Commerce Building for entrepreneurially
minded students where you can go to meet
with the Business Coach, meet with potential
investors, go to for quiet time to develop your
idea or work on your challenge entry, or to
use the computer and business resources.
Adjacent to the lounge is a small boardroom
if you require a professional group meeting
environment.