Judge Training

Prepare to be a VE Judge in just 15 minutes, make a lifetime impact on students

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Welcome, Judges!

Dear Judges,

On behalf of the VE staff, our facilitators and students, we thank you for sharing your valuable time, feedback and expertise as a competition judge. For the last 25 years, VE has served over 200,000 young people in its mission to transform students through authentic business experiences that prepare them for fulfilling, financially secure futures.

Please review the resources, materials and instructions on this page thoroughly in order to prepare to be a judge. If you have any questions, please see our support section on this page for troubleshooting tips or contact information.

Sincerely,

The VE Team

Prepare to be a judge in just 15 minutes.

Jump to:
Part 1: Understanding VE
Part 2: Competitions Overview
Part 3: Using the Competitions Manager
Part 4: Live Presentations
Part 5: Judge Training Form
Support
 

Part I: Understanding VE

Approximately 3 minutes

About VE – Video 1 out of 2

Approximately 3 minutes

How VE Works – Video 2 out of 2

Part 2: Competition Overview

National Business Plan Competition

See Written Business Plan Rubric
See Oral Business Plan Presentation Rubric
View Past NBPC Winners

The National Business Plan Competition showcases some of the best and brightest student leaders and budding entrepreneurs in the country. After receiving top honors in local and regional business plan competitions during the school year, the following teams have earned the chance to compete in the country’s premiere team-based national business plan competition. Teams representing VE companies from around the country will have their written business plans and oral presentations judged by industry professionals.

Booth Design Competition

See Competition Rubric

A trade show booth allows companies to highlight their product(s) and/or service(s) and to increase sales. This competition challenges each company to design and build out a booth at a Virtual Enterprises Trade Show.

Sales Pitch Competition

See Competition Rubric

A sales pitch is a persuasive speech given to someone to convince them to purchase a product or service. This competition challenges VE students to make a convincing and engaging sales pitch to sell their product(s) and/or service(s) at the Virtual Enterprises International Trade Show.

Social Media Marketing Campaign Competition

See Competition Rubric

Effective social media advertisements must be very creative and well designed to quickly capture the viewer’s attention. A team of students will create a social media campaign that sparks interest in their company.

National Finance Competition

See Competition Rubric

Each team participating in the National Finance Competition present their current and projected financial statements to show the judges panel that the company has obtained adequate capital and be able to show stakeholders and potential investors a reasonably accurate projection of sales and profit.

National Human Resources Competition

See Competition Rubric

Each company is tasked with creating an Employee Handbook, developed and managed by the Human Resources department. Each Human Resource team participating in the National Human Resources Competition will then present the policies and practices in the handbook as the best for promoting a positive, productive and successful VE firm.

National Marketing Competition

See Competition Rubric

Judges for the National Marketing Competition will review a student-made comprehensive 8-page written marketing plan and watch a presentation on their research, analysis and strategy. The plan should explain why potential customers would be interested in the products/services provided, and what company resources are to be used to first attract and then turn these potential customers into sales and satisfied customers.

National QuickBooks Competition

See Competition Rubric

Judges will evaluate a team’s Quarterly Financial Report. It is the end of the most recent fiscal quarter and the accounting team is meeting with management to review the most recent financial results and to address a few specific scenarios.

View Samples of Marketing, Human Resources,
and Finance Submissions.

Part 3: Competitions Manager

Using the Competitions Manager to Judge

  1. Log into the VE Competitions Manager using the buttons below in order to access the competition and score each team.
    ○ First time judging? Create an account using the email you have been using to communicate with VE.
    ○ Returning volunteers can just sign into their account.
  2. Once logged in, you will see the description for the competition and scoring guidelines. Select JUDGE on the bottom right to see your assignments. Please note: you will not see your assignments until April 1, 2022.
  3. Once in the competition, you will select a team name to review their submission and submit your scores. For in-person presentations, you will begin entering scores once you have seen the team present at the competition.

Click the buttons below to be taken to the Competitions Manager event you are participating in:

National Business Plan Competition
National Finance Competition
National Marketing Competition
National Human Resources Competition
National QuickBooks Competition
Social Media Marketing Competition

Part 4: Live Presentations

Judging In-Person Presentations

  1. Look for the email and/or calendar invite from Erika Apupalo (eapupalo@veinternational.org) with venue info and competition details. Ensure you have either created an account or signed into your Competitions Manager account.
  2. Bring a device (laptop or tablet) that can be used to enter scores and feedback on the day of the competition.
  3. Arrive early to the venue for check-in with VE staff and to meet other judges. VE staff will go over important details and instructions before the first presentations begins.
  4. You will then be escorted by VE staff to a presentation room to prepare for incoming student presentations. The presentation room will have a VE moderator who will introduce judges, keep track of the time, facilitate the Q&A sessions, and answer any question.
  5. Once students enter the presentation room, they will set up their slideshow on the screen projector and make their presentation. Each competition will include a team’s oral presentation and Q&A session with judges.

Judging Presentations Remotely (via Zoom)

  1. Look for the email and/or calendar invite from Erika Apupalo (eapupalo@veinternational.org) to locate your competition Zoom link.
  2. Be sure your Zoom account reflects your name to make it easier for the VE team to identify judges in the waiting room.
  3. Once in the meeting, VE staff will go over important details and instructions 15 minutes before the first presentations begins.
  4. You will then be moved into breakout rooms to prepare for incoming student presentations.
    ○ The breakout room will consist of a VE staff moderator who will introduce judges, keep track of the time, and facilitate the Q&A and feedback sessions and make sure everyone has the links needed for the session.
  5. Once students enter the breakout room, they will share their screen and present their business plans. Each competition will include a team’s oral presentation and Q&A session with judges.

Main Room: Judges Orientation

Breakout Rooms: Student Presentations

Q&A Session

The Q&A session is a 5 to 10 minute time frame for judges to ask VE students questions about their presentation and their business.

Q&A Do’s
  • Ask clarifying questions based on the content of the students’ presentation.
  • Refer to the list of questions provided by VE.
  • Be respectful of all participants’ time when asking multiple questions and follow the guidance of the VE moderator.
Q&A Don’ts
  • “Why is your target market Gen Z and not ____?”
    • VE Context: VE firms and students primarily buy and sell from each other, making themselves (students aged 13-18) their own target market.
    • Instead ask: How are you appealing to your target market?
  • “Why are your payroll expenses so high?”
    • VE Context: In the VE program, firms are made up of the entire VE class. Although unconventional for a start-up to have 30 employees, in the VE world, it’s expected based on the class size.
    • Instead ask: What is your strategy to increase profits if your projected sales fall short?
  • “How is this product produced and shipped?”
    • VE Context: VE firms purchase and re-sell products and services from the VE Wholesale Marketplace, so they may not encounter all real-world costs. Products are “shipped” to customers through email, but firms apply shipping costs based on real-world shipping rates as a business expense.

COVID Considerations

Holding this competition has resulted in many required modifications, and we thank you in advance for your patience and understanding. Some teams will be presenting remotely and others will have some or all in person. Often teams are faced with challenges beyond their control, so we thank you in advance for being mindful of their circumstances.

Part 5: Complete Judge Training Form

All judges must complete the Judges Training Form below in order to participate in the 2022 Youth Business Summit – National Competitions.

If you do not see the form below, you can click here or copy and paste this link into the address bar: https://form.jotform.com/220485309702150

Judges Code of Ethics

By serving as a judge for a Virtual Enterprises, International competition, I agree to evaluate student work and performance in a fair, unbiased, and impartial manner. I fully commit to:

  • make my evaluations based entirely on the teams’ or student’s presentation or deliverables,
  • give scores based solely on my own review of the team(s) or student(s) and not be influenced by other judges’ opinions, comments, or scoring, and
  • judging without discriminating on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, or sexual orientation.

Support

Tips & Troubleshooting

Use your desktop computer or laptop to access the Competitions Manager.

Each competition has a direct Competitions Manager link (begins with “register.veinternational.org/”) that allows you to access the student materials, rubric, and scoring platform.

We recommend using Google Chrome as your internet browser for the best experience in accessing the Competitions Manager.

Click this link to reset your password if you have trouble logging into the Competitions Manager.

Programs Contact

For questions regarding accessing the Competitions Manager or any other related technical issues, please contact:

Gina Pol
National Program Manager
gpol@veinternational.org

Volunteer Contact

For general questions about volunteering, VE, or other questions, please contact:

Erika Apupalo
Engagement Coordinator
eapupalo@veinternational.org

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