Open Registration
Bases 100K Challenge
- Startup competition for startups at all stages that tries to find the most viable startup, offering $100,000 in prize money. The prize money is split across categories, with the winning startup team receiving $45,000.
Baylor Business New Venture Competition
- Two-day competition where approximately 12 teams participate on both a business plan and a speed pitch competition, awarding $250K+ in cash prizes and vital resources. Event is held in March, applications open in September, and must be submitted in November.
BioCom Catalyst Awards
- A competition organized by Thermo Fischer Scientific, BioCom and CONNECT, where 6 finalist groups compete for up to $15K. Application deadline is in October.
BMEidea Competition
- Competition for domestic bioengineering graduate and undergraduate students with a health related technology addressing a real clinical need. Up to $10K of funding. Application deadline is in early April.
BU Annual New Venture Competition
- A three-round pitch competition that gives early-stage BU entrepreneurs a chance to win up to $18,000. Open to all Boston University (BU) students in good academic standing, recent (1-year) alumni, and anyone who would like to pitch an idea, join a startup or simply watch the pitches.
Collegiate Inventors Competition
- Competition representing the original idea and work of a graduate or undergraduate student or team of four or fewer students enrolled full-time in a university. Top prize is $15K for graduate students and $12.5K for undergraduates. Submissions open in March. Application due in June.
eMerge America's Startup Showcase
- An event held in March combining a Hackaton, a Government Innovation Forum, a Women Innovation & Technology Summit, and a Startup Showcase. Three tracks are available: University track for students and recent graduates, early stage track for companies funded for no more than 3 years, and late stage track for companies with a commercially ready product. Up to $175K in prizes.
Empact Showcase
- National showcase highlighting the top 100 companies founded by young entrepreneurs (under 35) and located in the U.S. Companies must have $100K in revenue or funding. Distinctions awarded in multiple categories. Applications due mid-July and event held in October.
HIMSS Venture+ Forum
- Competition organized by the Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society, where early- to growth-stage companies developing health technology products, services or solutions present a 3-minute pitch. Companies must have raised at least $750K and be seeking Series A funding, and have at least three pilot or licensed customers.
Hult Prize Foundation
- Student teams developing ideas for social enterprises compete in global regional competitions. Winners attend the Hult Prize Accelerator, then move to the Hult Prize Global Finals, where the winning team receive a $1M prize.
Intuitive Surgical Technology Research Grant
- Supports technology research in the field of surgical robotics or related fields. Successful proposals address clinically-relevant technology development.
- Applicants may apply for funding of $10K to $60K per project.
Lemelson-MIT National Collegiate Student Prize Competition
- Two different tracks (based on technology or application) that address opportunities in both developed and developing economies. Competition involves teams of undergraduates and individual graduate students. Winning graduate teams receive $15K. Recognizes mid-career inventors (i.e., those who are the primary inventors of two or more U.S. patents, one of which is a product or process that has been commercialized or has the potential for adoption). Applicants must also serve as an inspiration to young people and have rights to proposed IP Application deadline in September.
Mass Challenge
- Global startup competition and accelerator for early-stage business entries. Variety of prizes depending on challenge level. Finalist startups compete for millions in non-dilutive cash awards: over $3M in Mass Challenge Boston. Applications close in April.
McGinnis Venture Competition, Carnegie Mellon University
- Venture competition with teams competing for the chance to win investments worth a total of $60K. First place receives $25K. Non-CMU students can participate, but current CMU students must deliver the majority of the content in all of the rounds. Competition begins in January and runs through March.
MedTech Innovator
- MedTech Innovator is a venture competition and virtual accelerator designed to identify and support innovative early-stage medical device companies. Semi-finalists compete to be selected among the four finalists vying for cash prizes during the MedTech Innovator competition finals at AdvaMed. Deadline for applying is in February.
MIT 100K Entrepreneurship Competition Elevator Pitch
- Family of different venture and pitch competitions with multiple tracks and areas of emphasis. Team must have one current MIT student. Over $350K in cash and prizes are awarded. Semi-finals take place on April, and the finale is held May. Event also hosts the YouPitch elevator pitch competition, open to the public, with $25K going to the winner.
Oregon New Venture Championship
- Global competition for graduate-student conceived ventures, with a chance to win over $50K in cash prizes. Teams must have at least one graduate student, and be majority owned by students. Intent to compete must be indicated by early February.
The PNW Big Sell
- Applicants have two minutes to pitch their idea. First Place: $10K, Second Place: $5K, Third Place: $2,500. Application deadline is in April, and the competition is held in May.
ReleaseIt at SXSW
- Pitch competition taking place in Startup Village on opening day of the SXSW Interactive Festival, where 10 companies with any type of technology-related product present to a panel of industry experts. Company product or service must have launched no earlier than January 1 nor after Tuesday, March 15. Deadline to apply is in mid-January.
RESNA Student Design Competition
- Competition for technologies related to assisting people with disabilities, allowing them to function more independently. Open to all students from accredited universities. Registration opens in December. Event held in July.
Rice University Business Plan Competition
- Competition where over 40 seed, startup, and early stage companies formed by graduate students compete for $1.5M+ in prizes. Event offers a chance to receive mentoring from investors and experienced entrepreneurs. Held in July.
The Startup Challenge
- Venture competition for ideas and business concepts. Submissions due in November, Qualifying Round pitches take place February, and the Final Event will be held in March.
- $10K cash prize and the opportunity to receive follow-on investment from industry leaders.
TMCx Accelerator
- Program provides startup companies with shared workspace, a curriculum tailored to the needs of health care entrepreneurs, and the guidance of over 200 mentors from the front lines of the industry.
Touch of Genius Prize for Innovation
- Competition for technologies related to tactile literacy. Finalists must have a prototype. Applications are due in January. $10K prize.
UCSF Digital Health Awards
- The “Academy Awards of Digital Health” and the standard for recognizing excellence in digital health in North America. The biggest industry awards event in healthcare, bringing together the biggest hospital systems, providers, payers, patient networks, government officials, VCs, incubators, accelerators, innovators, and innovation centers in the USA.
- Submissions from June-August. Finals in September.
Venture Well E-Teams
- The E-Team program supports multidisciplinary, student-led teams aiming to bring their innovation out of the lab and into the market. Over $700K in non-dilutive E-Team grants is awarded annually to these early-stage student science and tech startups on the path to launching innovations with a social, health, or environmental impact.
- Applications open in July and close in August.
Restricted Registration **
Cozad New Venture Competition
- Co-founding team must consist of at least 30% University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students, and overall team should be at least 50% students (from any institution).
- Submissions are due in late January. Grand prize of $25K.
GW New Venture Competition Finals
- At least 50% of each team must be affiliated with the George Washington University as a faculty member, currently enrolled GW student, staff member or GW alumnus/a; at least one team member must be a currently enrolled GW student.
- Up to $500K cash and prizes. Round 1 is in February, Finals in April.
Harvard Alumni New Venture Competition
- Competition open to new ventures and social-impact companies. Venture must have an HBS alumni as a founder or C-level employee. $75K in prizes. Application opens in November, deadline is in late January.
Harvard Business Competition
- Requires at least one Harvard Business School MBA student on the core team. Up to $300K cash prizes; winner gets $75K. Application deadline is in February.
New Venture/Social Venture Challenges, University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Series of different venture challenges open to teams with at least one University of Chicago student. Variety of prizes based on competition year and track. Application deadline in late January.
NYU Stern $300K Entrepreneurs Challenge
- Competition offers three competition tracks: New Venture, Social Venture, and Technology Venture. Teams must have at least one current NYU student or Stern alumnus. Technology Ventures track can also count an NYU researcher or faculty member as part of requirement. Winners receive $75K-$100K, based on competition track.
- Applications due in November.
Tufts 100K New Venture Competition
- Teams must have an actively participating executive member with Tufts affiliation who is the driving force behind the venture. Application window in January. $100K prize for winner.
University of California Berkeley Launch Accelerator
- Must have a UC student, faculty or alum on the team to apply to LAUNCH. Program begins in January. Applications open in Fall.
- Run one program per year with a cohort of about 25 startups. Sessions are held between January to April, culminating in a Demo Day at the end of April. Three startups stand a chance to receive up to $25K at Demo Day.
Women’s Founders Network Fast Pitch Competition
- Pitch competition that offers valuable leadership and in-kind sponsorships. Over $25K in cash prizes and $50K in professional services. Applications accepted May-July.
** The above competitions have restrictions in team composition and require affiliation with the institution hosting the competition; some require active student members while others state alumni.
Restricted Location ***
1ST 50K Startup Competition
- Competition for entrepreneurs who are already located in Cape Girardeau or are willing to relocate there. Prizes include a $50K grant, pro bono services, and business mentors.
Alabama Launchpad
- Promotes and rewards high-growth, innovative start-ups from Alabama. Start-ups compete for $20K-$25K each. Must launch the proposed business in Alabama and maintain company there for 5 years. Application window begins in June.
Arch Grants Global Startup Competition
- Provides $50K equity-free cash and pro bono support services to innovative startups willing to locate their business to St. Louis. Applications for the Fall Competition open in May and run through July. The Finalist Pitch days in September.
Innovate ND Idea & Venture Competition
- Entrepreneurial program for entrepreneurs and established business owners with revenue less than $1M per year that are based in North Dakota. Program holds an Idea Competition (10-minute presentation) and a Venture Competition (15-minute presentation).
N100 Startup Competition
- Three-round (Pitch, Business Planning and Negotiation) annual startup competition. Applications are due in March, the competition runs from March to July. $100K convertible note prize.
NYC Next Idea Global Venture Competition
- Competition inviting teams worldwide to submit business ideas that can be launched and operated from NYC. Open admission criteria, $35K in prize money plus services. Competition looks for ideas that can tangentially be encountered in NYC. Teams must have 2-5 members actively involved in developing the business idea, and must be students or recent alumni of a higher-learning institution. Late October deadline.
North of Boston Business Plan Competition
- Applicants must be companies less than three years old, or established business with a new strategic direction. Companies must be located in the North of Boston/Merrimack Valley or must relocate to the area. $10K first place, $3K second place, $2K third place. Applications due in February.
Pappajohn Iowa Entrepreneurial Venture Competition
- Competition open to any original idea for a business in operation for four years or less or that is not yet cash flow positive. The venture must be located in Iowa. First place $40K, second place $25K, third place $15K. Applications are due in May, prizes are awarded in September.
Rhode Island Business Plan Competition
- Anyone over the age of 18 is eligible to participate. All teams must agree to establish substantial operations in Rhode Island. All finalists and winners will receive cash and services. Submissions due in March, selected semi-finalists must submit a business plan in April.
Towson University’s Entrepreneurship Competition
- Annual competition open to anyone in the Baltimore-Washington area. Winner receives a 90-day incubator membership, office space, mentoring, advisory services and a cash prize. Applications due in February.
Wisconsin Governor’s Business Plan Contest
- Competition produced by the Wisconsin Technology Council, intended for high-tech companies based on or with plans to locate in Wisconsin. $150K in cash and in-kind prizes. Phase 1 entries due in late January.
*** The above competitions have restrictions based on team geographic location.