Startup Foundations and Competitions

Baylor New Venture Competition – The Baylor New Venture Competition on-campus event is a two-day business plan competition and elevator pitch competition promoting student entrepreneurship. The competition showcases student created, managed, and owned ventures. 2017 winners earned $60k!

Cardinal Challenge – 12 teams of entrepreneurial graduate students gather in Louisville for their chance to win more than $100,000 in business start-up cash and prizes.

Cupid’s Cup– The nation’s toughest business competition sponsored by Under Armour

International Business Model Competition – A huge competition focusing on the business model canvas and customer discovery. Competitors from around the world compete at either Harvard or Microsoft’s Venture Capital arm. Shameless plug – Ole Miss is an affiliated group. You can submit an at-large bid with a 5 Minute videoed pitch on YouTube.

Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition – $1 Freaking Million.  Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition (LKYGBPC) derives its name from Singapore’s founding prime minister, who developed the country’s defining business plan bringing the Asian city onto the global stage. It is this spirit of intelligence, entrepreneurship, innovation and ambition the competition enshrines as it invites the brightest minds from the world’s most entrepreneurial universities to come together to tackle the challenges of the 21’st century. It focuses on businesses that can transform the cities of the future (of which Singapore is amongst the biggest)

Lemelson-MIT Student Prize – The competition recognizes students at any U.S. college or university who have tested prototypes of technology-based inventions in healthcare, food/water and agriculture, transportation and mobility,and consumer devices. Teams of undergraduate students must apply with one invention and individual graduate students must apply with two or more inventions. Inventions are not limited to class projects or thesis work, and any side/personal projects could also be considered. Patents are encouraged but not required. In each of the four categories, undergraduate team winners are awarded $10k and graduate student winners are awarded $15k.

National Science Foundation iCorp – Researchers with NSF history can propose their ideas to get $50k in funding and outrageous levels of support and training. Steve Blank built it, the whole country follows.

The NASDAQ Center – An accelerator with workshops that circulate material and lectures. A great place to visit.

Oregon’s New Venture Championship – If you get a berth, talk to the CIE and we can organize something to fund your travel. Prizes are paid to the university, and we will organize to get your company a check you can use to fund your business.

Rice Business Plan Competition – The grand-daddy with the largest pockets.  Over half a million in prizes and the most robust graduate student competition in the world.

Silicon Valley Intensive – Draper University’s Accelerator is open to the entire country. Draper University is offering college students and recent grads the chance to cultivate and share innovate ideas, explore personal strengths and leadership skills, and leave with a product concept and unique experience to stand out in interviews.

The Society of Entrepreneurs in Memphis – The Society of Entrepreneurs was founded in 1991 to foster the development of the entrepreneurial spirit and to recognize the contribution of entrepreneurs to business and the community.

Stu Clark Competition in Manitoba – $20k! It’s Canadian money, but it’ll still fund your business.

TigerLaunch – TigerLaunch is the nation’s largest student-run, inter-collegiate entrepreneurship competition, put on annually by the Princeton Entrepreneurship Club at Princeton University and with the support of many other student partner entrepreneurship associations across the country.

University of Nebraska’s Global Challenge – Prizes around $35,000 and open to any four-year college student anywhere.

University Innovation Fellows  – A wikipedia-style page with innovation coursework and programs from across the country. It highlights some of the premier programs in the country. The program is run by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design (d.school)

Venture for America – Create a Startup and help America!