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2021 ‘Cuse Tank Business Competition
October 8, 2021 | 2:00 pm - 5:00 pm
The Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University is pleased to present ‘Cuse Tank as a featured event during Family Weekend. Join us Friday afternoon, October 8!
What: Cuse Tank student startup prize competition sponsored by the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries as part of Family Weekend. The event features top student ventures pitching to parent judges who are innovators and entrepreneurs. An impressive prize package from parent donors will be awarded to the winners.
Where: Hybrid event, with pitches occurring in various rooms at Bird Library and on-line via Zoom (link provided with registration). Judges will be in person and virtual.
When: Friday, October 8, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Who: Are you a parent who would love to mentor or be judge? We’d love to hear from you. Here’s a simple way to let us know: https://launchpad.syr.edu/become-a-mentor/ or e-mail us at: LaunchPad@syr.edu
Event description: ‘Cuse Tank is a “Shark Tank” style pitch competition open to all SU students across all academic majors who are creating innovative new products, services and technologies in exciting industry sectors. Prize funding helps take the most promising ideas through next steps from concept to commercialization. How successful is ‘Cuse Tank? In the past five years, Syracuse University LaunchPad students have gone on to raise $50 million in competition follow-up funding to start and scale their business ventures. In fact, a 2017 LaunchPad alum scored a $1 million deal from the Sharks this past season. Others have gone on to become leading innovators at companies like Virgin Galactic and more. Catch a rising rock star at this year’s ‘Cuse Tank!
About Family Weekend 2021: Family Weekend will be held Oct. 8-10 and registration information will be shared this summer on the Parent and Family Services website. Loved ones are encouraged to participate in a host of programs that showcase daily life for Syracuse University students. We are preparing for an in-person experience. We will also have some virtual events for families who cannot attend in-person. A full schedule of events will be posted in early August.
About the LaunchPad: The LaunchPad is the university’s innovation hub, working with researchers, inventors, creatives and entrepreneurs from across campus and around the world. We do two things:
- For those who want to build and create, we help bring ideas to life
- For those who want to explore, we are a creative community that helps you build innovative leadership skills to launch lives and careers
We are a mentor-driven program, building a support system for student startups to coaches and advisors, mentors, industry experts, collaborators, and investors – and through our own very powerful Syracuse University alumni and parent networks.
4,850 students have participated in our program, launching more than 135 companies, raising more than $54 million in outside investments, and winning more than $3.5 million in business competitions. Four of our LaunchPad alumni were named to Forbes 30 Under 30 This Year. One was on Shark Tank this fall and walked away with $1 million in the season premiere.
They have had stories about them in Adweek, Entrepreneur Magazine, Forbes, GeekWire, Mashable, New York Times, Newsweek, PBS, TechCrunch, Venture Beat, WIRED, and more.
They have launched their own companies in sectors like food, fashion, health, fitness, e-commerce, cleantech, Medtech, media and entertainment, gaming, advanced tech like VR/AR and AI, blockchain, data analytics, and the Internet of Things.
They’ve published seven books, produced 35 award-winning films, launched mobile apps, brought exciting products to market, created nonprofit organizations.
They’ve been hired by some of the leading innovative companies in the world like Virgin Orbit, Techstars, Amazon, Google, Deloitte Innovation, Netflix, and Relativity Space.
And they have tackled big wicked social problems like food access, literacy, poverty, sustainability, access to health and mental health care – and challenges like the pandemic – building teams to find solutions and winning global challenges along the way.
The LaunchPad is the place where students gather from across campus and around the world. It’s a creative community that is a gathering place for ideas, and the best and brightest working together from 123 countries around the world. They are learning skills to become innovation leaders in a dynamic and interconnected entrepreneurial world.
Learn more at: https://launchpad.syr.edu/