Businessplan-Wettbewerb Berlin-Brandenburg (BPW): the three-phase plan from idea to fundable business plan

5-7-page idea sketch: problem, solution, target customer, founder bios, first revenue idea. Deadline mid-November. Written reviewer feedback returned ~6 weeks later. The 10 strongest Phase-1 ideas get the €10k Hauptpreis + €1k Publikumspreis. Two-thirds of all Phase-3 winners enter at Phase 1 because the early feedback shapes the rest of the plan.

10-15-page concept: refined business model, market analysis, competitive landscape, go-to-market, team, milestones. Phase-1 reviewer comments fold in. Deadline early February. €15k Hauptpreis + €2k Publikumspreis for the top concepts. This is the phase that catches most weak product-market-fit narratives - if your reviewers ask for more customer evidence, prioritise that.

Full business plan, max 30 pages: complete financial plan (P&L, cash flow, balance sheet, capital need + sources), risk analysis, detailed operations + scaling roadmap. Deadline mid/late May. €20k Hauptpreis + €3k Publikumspreis + €5k BPW Nachhaltigkeitspreis. The award ceremony is one of the largest startup events in the Berlin-Brandenburg calendar; the resulting press + investor visibility often outweighs the cash.

Every year BPW publishes a free PDF Handbuch (~150 pages) walking through what a strong business plan looks like in each phase - templates, examples, common reviewer feedback, financial-plan worksheets. It's industry-standard reference material used by founders far outside Berlin-Brandenburg. Download it from b-p-w.de even if you don't intend to enter; treat it as the structural baseline for any other Businessplan-Wettbewerb you apply to.

You must be a natural person living in Berlin or Brandenburg, OR have a registered business in Berlin or Brandenburg, OR plan to incorporate in Berlin or Brandenburg within the year. The third option is widely used - many out-of-region founders join, commit to BB incorporation at the start, and use the competition's reach to land their initial customer + team. Companies older than 5 years at the start of the BPW cycle are not eligible.