THE 2020

Leading A Generation To Change The World

 Judging Criteria
Our 2020 challenge is all about the
environment and how for-profit business done
right, can bring long lasting change.

Competitors who go through our program can choose to build

companies to demonstrate their transformative education, but
must do so based on our game-changing criteria.

All competitors must show traction against the following five

criteria and questions:

1. IS THE BUSINESS IDEA TRANSFORMATIVE?

2. IS IT THE RIGHT TEAM?
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3. DOES THE BUSINESS IDEA HAVE A POSITIVE NET

IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT?
4. CAN THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE BE SOLD?
5. CAN THE BUSINESS REACH 1 MILLION
CONSUMERS? Leading A Generation To Change The World
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Leading A Generation To Change The World

 1 IDEA
Is this business
idea transformative?
Ask yourself one question:
If successful, will the business
Explanation
transform an industry or sector?
Could it possibly invent a new one?
Examples to think through are how
flat screen TVs eliminated tube TVs in
the market, digital music versus
tapes and CDs or even the way we
consume video and content through
the idea of anywhere, anytime or any
place.
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10
2 TEAM
Is this group of students ready,
willing and able to move the
idea into the marketplace?
This criteria should consider the actual makeup
of the team compared to the idea presented
How well do they know each other?
Are they smart enough?
Do they have the stamina to overcome the
many obstacles it takes to be successful?
Can they demonstrate the know-how and
resourcefulness to develop a pathway to
implementation?
You will consider geographical expertise and
financial resources required by them as
individuals to be successful.
A group of Arabs proposing to launch a
business in Western Africa may struggle to find
local partners, support and financing so we
must consider ability and willingness to be
successful.
5
 !

Criteria one and two are the most critical.

Zero to low scores in these categories would

not require the evaluation of criteria 3, 4 and 5.
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Leading A Generation To Change The World

 3 IMPACT
Does the idea have Impact?
Further, and most critical for the success in this challenge, does this impact have net
positive impact on the environment with every sale completed / dollar of revenue
generated?

Please don’t over complicate this criteria. It is binary.

Explanation

For the purpose of this challenge, we are not discounting short-term negative implications of
the business from a societal perspective if the long term environmental impact is net positive.
We ask that our judges do not impede the progress of an idea that may cause an immediate
short-term negative impact on society, should the eventual long term impact be clear.

At this stage in the startup process, student teams will continue to benefit from grooming
and training of the Hult Prize Foundation and it’s community. As we keep this in mind, we
must broaden not narrow the funnel and must encourage transformative business.

Consider the impact of the business at scale and back into your assessment of the idea. Once
you have established that the business idea does in fact, “Have Impact” it is then necessary to
compare the idea to others reviewed.
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Net positive impact

Earth Benefit = with every transaction
X Number of transactions
To help you do this across a broad spectrum of entries, we have created a quantitative
method of environmental unit economics which you can find the formula for above.
 4 SALES AND PRODUCT MARKET FIT
Can the product or service idea be sold?
Our fourth criteria is all about the product market fit and stickiness of the product.

We all know that great products which sit on the shelf are unable to have impact.

So our fourth criteria is: Can the product or service idea be sold? Prove it.
Explanation

Please do not consider how many of the product can be sold within this category, as
scale will be considered in category five. We are now evaluating the team’s ability to sell
as much as we are the product selling itself..

The most effective way to demonstrate if a product or service can be sold is earned
revenue, however, given the early nature of the program we do not expect the majority
of startups at this stage to have already generated revenue / purchase orders, so we can
substitute a clear pathway to earning the first dollar of revenue instead.

We must evaluate the potential of this product or service to be sold in the market and
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the ability to generate customers, sales channels and partners.

Top teams will have created marketing brochures, prototypes, developed

distribution strategies and will have demonstrated a solid product market fit for
their product through evidence.
 5 PROFIT AND SCALE

Can the Business Reach 1 Million Customers?

Our final and fifth criteria revolves around a holistic approach on the team’s
ability to reach one million consumers.

We must first review criteria four, and after establishing a YES on this criteria, can
Explanation

move to evaluate the scalability and profitability of enterprise.

One million is a large number, and the ability to reach that many consumers
through a direct to market approach is difficult and requires a sellable product or
service, that is profitable and self sustaining. If it is unclear that the idea will
ever be in a position to generate a profit, then we must consider not moving
this idea forward as generating a profit will likely be a critical component of
reaching one million consumers.

For the purpose of this challenge, startups may choose to sell their product or
service wholesale, retail or a combination of both. Innovative ideas and the ways
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to scale up should be welcomed, even if not yet completely tested and

without precedent.

5 10
 2020 SCORECARD Startup Name ___________________________ Total Score ___________

TEAM NOTES

IS THE BUSINESS IDEA TRANSFORMATIVE? (Is this a badass idea) Score (Please indicate 1-10)` ________________

Creates new kinds of value in new ways, never been done before.
The idea is or can change the way a current product or service is consumed, sold or utilized.
Is the idea innovative in one or more of the following ways? Product innovation / partner innovation / manufacturing innovation / sales channel
innovation / business model innovation
Upon success, can this startup disrupt the market?
0 Not innovative in any way and and does not have the potential to be transformative
10 Innovative across multiple innovation channels, clearly creates new value in new ways and has a clear pathway to being a transformational,
game-changing solution that disrupts the sector and creates systematic change

IS IT THE RIGHT TEAM? (Are these students willing and do they have the ability) Score (Please indicate 1-10)` ________________

Does this team have the willingness to move the idea forward? (will they drop out of school, move to the market and sacrifice everything to win)
Does this team have the ability and knowhow (resourcefulness and skills) to move the idea forward?
Does the team get along well, kind to you and one another and have it what it takes to stick together through commercialization? (are they friends?
do they get along? do they respect one another?)
Does the team demonstrate subject matter expertise and geographic knowledge in the markets they aim to work?
Does this team possess or have access to the right mix of sales people, design professionals and SME to be successful?
Without considering the idea presented, would you invest in this team?

0: The team does not have the willingness nor the ability to launch the business.
5: The team lacks either willingness, ability or team dynamics to launch the business.
10: The team is kind, works amazing together, looks good, sells well, has the willingness, ability and team dynamics to be successful. They
either have experts or a clear pathway to access to be successful and also demonstrate the resourcefulness required to continue onwards
with their enterprise.
 2020 SCORECARD Startup Name ___________________________ Total Score ___________

DOES THE BUSINESS IDEA HAVE A POSITIVE NET IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT? Score (Please indicate 1-10)__________________

Is there net impact on the environment with every dollar of revenue generated when this idea commercializes?
Is the business model built for impact so the more revenue it generates the more impact takes place?
Does this idea go beyond “neutral” - and create positive net impact capable of generating unlimited revenues and impact?
Is the business designed in such a way that the impact generated is affiliated with the top line not bottom line revenue?
Is the idea able to quantify the environmental unit economics of the business?
0 The idea does not create a positive net impact on the environment.
5 The Idea indirectly creates a positive impact to the environment.
10 The idea creates a positive net impact to the environment with every dollar earned and it’s able to quantify the environmental unit
economics.

CAN THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE BE SOLD? Score (Please indicate 1-10)__________________

(demonstrated market or pathway to market for the product or service)
Is there a proven product market fit?
Is there a clear pathway to or demonstrated willingness to pay or exchange (aka has this idea created value)?
Has the business established partners who are willing to invest in sales channels or “shelf space”?
Has the team created a brochure or other marketing materials and demonstrated effective sales channels for their product or service?
0 The idea is not sellable and does not demonstrate a product market fit.
5 There is a clear business model but it is uncertain that the idea can be profitable.
10 The team has powerful marketing tools and the idea has demonstrated value creation through its product or service with established
sales channels.
CAN THE BUSINESS REACH 1 MILLION CONSUMERS? Score (Please indicate 1-10)__________________

Does the team have a demonstrated business model?

Can the product or service be sold and generate a sustainable profit? Can the profit be sustained at 1M consumers?
Is there clear and demonstrated market demand to reach one million consumers?
Is the business replicable across markets? If not, is a local approach capable of reaching one million consumers?
Do the financials presented by the team make sense? Are their forecasts and assumptions substantiated with clear data?
0 There is not a demonstrated business model that allows for scale.
5 There is a clear business model but it is uncertain that the idea can be profitable.
10 The business has a clearly demonstrated mass market demand, a profitable business model and unlimited market potential to reach 1
million consumers in the next decade