A business plan can help you determine whether your idea is feasible, to pitch your idea to others, and, in some cases, help you win a bit of necessary start-up cash. Many top business schools and colleges in the United States offer business plan competitions, with cash prizes that can help you move from creating a business plan to creating a business.

Business plan competitions, once deemed as the culmination of an academic exercise, are now sources of serious money. Rice University hosts at business plan competition that offers more than $1 million in prizes. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology $100K Entrepreneurship Competition has launched over 160 companies. By bringing together new thinkers who are armed with a detailed business plan and venture capitalists, these competitive events can be win–win for all.