Do you have a brainstorm for a business hidden somewhere in your notebook? Have you and a friend plotted out a great idea but find yourself stuck on what to do next? The Blackstone LaunchPad Ideas Competition could give you the funding and support you need to see if you can turn that idea into something bigger. Apply here.
The competition gives students with just an idea the chance to win up to $10,000 to start the next big thing. This low barrier to entry opportunity will also help you explore entrepreneurship and build entrepreneurial skills with the help of the Syracuse LaunchPad. With a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, the Ideas Competition especially encourages students from underrepresented and under-resourced communities, from all majors offered on campus, and students who represent multiple genders and ethnicities.
Syracuse University campus winners will receive a $1,000 cash prize in each track ($4,000 total in prizes). The four tracks are:
- Social & Climate Impact
- Health & Life Sciences
- Consumer Products & Services
- General
Winners from each campus will go on to compete in the network-wide competition where the Blackstone Charitable Foundation and StartupTree will select and award $10,000 to the grand prize winner in each track.
Additionally, the top three campuses with the most applicants as a percentage of their total student enrollment will receive a $10,000 grant, so let’s rock the Orange team to help win that participation prize!
Eligibility
Applicants must be current students (undergraduate or graduate-level) in the earliest stage of their entrepreneurial journey (anywhere from an idea on paper to a product prototype/service pilot). Applicants must be the founder or co-founder (i.e., the person with the original idea), and may apply individually or in teams of two. All applicants will eventually create a profile on StartupTree.
Application Questions (All questions have a 1750-character limit)
- What is your idea? Be specific on what exactly your venture/organization is going to make or do.
- How did you come up with the idea, what problem is it solving, and why are you uniquely passionate or qualified to take this solution forward?
- What is the business model and how do you plan to sell to customers?
Timeline/Logistics
The Syracuse campus competition will launch at the start of the semester, August 29, 2022. Student campus winners will be decided by October 21, 2022.
Those who win the campus competition will move on the LaunchPad network finals and pitch with an eight-slide pitch deck as a PDF.