Competition categories and criteria

In the Best JA company competition category, the selected winner must be a JA company that also meets the competition criteria for the Gen-E European competition. According to these criteria:

• The JA entrepreneurs participating in the comprehensive school and upper secondary level competitions must be between 15 and 21 years old.
• The participants in the university level competitions must be JA entrepreneurs between 18 and 30 years old.
• The winners of the Best JA company category are selected from JA companies that have, at least, two members in their team.

Note! The winners of the Best JA company category get to represent Finland in the GEN-E European competition in summer 2023. In addition to the aforementioned rules about the age and number of company members, the European competition has a rule where the competing company can only include five (5) members. If the place in the European competition is won by a team that has more than five members in the Uskalla Yrittää finals, the team must select five representatives for Gen-E.

In this category, the best JA companies from all levels of education are awarded.

Criteria

In their evaluation, the jury will pay attention to the following matters:

• The business concept of the company is interesting and topical.
• The company is able to tell why the product or service is needed and which customer issue it solves.
• The company has set themselves objectives and tracked their fulfilment.
• The company understands the most important economic figures for its operations.
• The team members (at least 2 members) have clear roles and the team’s motivation is visible on the outside.
• The company members can tell what they have learned in the JA company.
• The members’ performance and interactions are convincing, and they display an entrepreneur-like attitude.

In the Best Business Concept category, the JA companies with the competition’s best business concepts are awarded. In this category, the best JA companies from all levels of education are awarded.

Criteria

In their evaluation, the jury will pay attention to the following matters:

• The company’s business concept solves the customer’s existing problem, and the company recognizes its most important customer target groups.
• The company has developed, at least, the first version of its product or service.
• Behind the company is a motivated team with the will to develop their business operations.
• The company has calculated its economic figures and made a plan on how the business concept can be made economically profitable.
• Taking sustainable development from a social, economic and ecological point of view into account when considering the product or service and its different processes is considered to have extra merit.

In the Best Product category, the JA company with the competition’s best product is awarded. The winner is selected among all JA companies participating in the competition..

Criteria

In their evaluation, the jury will pay attention to the following matters:

• The best product is innovative and responds to a practical issue.
• The product is user-friendly, it has a good price-quality ratio and a functional design.
• The company has identified the most important target groups for the product and investigated their needs.
• The product has a clear and justified pricing model.
• Taking sustainable development from social, economic and ecological point of view into account when considering the product and its different processes is considered an extra merit.

In the Best Service category, the JA company with the competition’s best service concept is awarded. The winner is selected among all JA companies participating in the competition.

Criteria

In their evaluation, the jury will pay attention to the following matters:

• The best product is innovative and clear as a whole, and it responds to a practical issue.
• The company has identified the most important target groups for the service and investigated their needs.
• The buying process of the service is clear and has been made easy for the customer.
• The service has a clear and justified pricing model.
• The jury considers taking circular economy into account in the service as an extra merit.

In the Best Exhibition Stand category, the JA company with the competition’s most eye-catching and comprehensive exhibition stand is rewarded. The winner is selected from among all JA companies participating in the competition. Every JA company participating in the competition has a table at their disposal at the Uskalla Yrittää event, and they can decorate their stand as they wish.

Criteria

When selecting the best exhibition stand, the jury will pay attention to the following matters:

• A great exhibition stand is a whole that complements the product or service as well as the image of the JA company.
• The exhibition stand is a comprehensively built visual whole, which includes:
  • Display of products
  • Price list
  • The team and their outfits
  • Decoration that fits the brand
• The stand encourages the customer to step closer and to get to know the company.
• The stand is designed so that the entrepreneurs can easily illustratively tell about their operations by the stand.

Take a look at pictures of JA companies’ exhibition stands in the Uskalla Yrittää finals in 2022.

In the Best Sales Pitch category, the JA company with the most interesting and well-structured sales pitch is rewarded. The winner is selected among the JA companies entered for a separate sales pitch competition. A willingness to participate in the sales pitch competition is inquired in the registration form of the Uskalla Yrittää event and competition.

Criteria

The jury evaluates sales pitches with the following criteria:

• The best sales pitch is concise (max. 60s) and a well-structured whole that piques the listener’s interest.
• A great sales pitch is clear and convincing with a memorable beginning and end.
• The structure and content of a great sales pitch are clear.
  • Which issue does the company solve?
  • Who are the company’s customers?
  • How much does the product or service cost?
  • What makes the company unique?