About this event
Virtual Business Challenge-Entrepreneurship (event code VBCEN) is one of eight tracks of the DECA Virtual Business Challenge, run on a competition version of Knowledge Matters' Virtual Business software. In the Entrepreneurship track you research a market, pick one of 20 businesses to launch, then finance it, build a team, acquire resources, set prices and market it while reading market data and financial reports. Your score is the simulation's result, not a judge's opinion; the skill is reading the reports the game gives you and making better decisions than the other teams. Teams are one to three chapter members and may not change once registered. There are two ICDC qualifying rounds, played over the internet: Challenge 1 from Tuesday, October 13, 2026 at 10:00 a.m. ET through Friday, October 23 at 5:00 p.m. ET, and Challenge 2 from Tuesday, January 12, 2027 through Friday, January 22, 2027. The top two teams from each DECA region in each round are eligible for ICDC, with only one team per chapter per round per track, and chartered associations decide who attends. A member can be on a team in every track at the same time but only one team per track, and may compete in only one VBC track at ICDC. A team that qualifies in Challenge 1 cannot re-enter Challenge 2 with different teammates. At ICDC every track competes in two sessions of about 15 minutes each in single-player mode, with final rankings based on the combined points from both sessions. Teams start, stop and set the speed of their own simulation file but must run it through the required simulated time to advance. Sessions are typically held in the exhibit hall in front of an audience; notes are allowed, DECA blazers are required, and VBC competitors may not enter another ICDC event. There is no written test and no presentation.
What judges score
Study resources
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