Spring competitions offer funding to launch your great idea

student pitching

We’re gearing up for competition season here at the Blackstone LaunchPad powered by Techstars at SU Libraries.  Be sure to bookmark these slate of spring campus, state and national business idea competitions.   For news about competitions and funding opportunities for your great idea, follow us on Facebook and Twitter @LaunchPadSYR, and our brand new LinkedIn company page.

Spring competitions include:

  • Panasci Business Plan Competition: Applications due January 24, 2020; competition April 10-11, 2020. Open to graduate and undergraduate students.  Check for details on Martin J. Whitman School of Management website:  https://whitman.syr.edu/programs-and-academics/centers-and-institutes/falcone/for-students/panasci/index.aspx
  • ACC In Venture Prize: Applications due Feb. 7, 2020; competition Feb. 21, 2020. Open to undergraduate students or recent graduates of ACC universities within one year of graduation from their undergraduate program.  This is a prize competition that pits top inventors of the ACC network against each other at a live PBS-televised event in April 2020 at NC State University in Raleigh.  Apply at:  http://bit.ly/competesu2020
  • Raymond von Dran iPrize: Applications due March 13, 2020; competition March 27, 2020. Open to all graduate and undergraduate students working on venture ideas for products, services, technologies and social impact ventures.  A pitch workshop will be held on March 6, 2020 in the LaunchPad. This is also part of Compete CNY, the regional qualifier for the New York State Business Plan Competition.  Apply at https://www.nybpc.org/. Select Central New York.
  • Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award: Applications due March 13, 2020; competition March 27, 2020. Open to undergraduate and graduate students at Syracuse competing in the iPrize.  Apply at:  http://bit.ly/competesu2020
  • Compete CNY:  Applications due March 13, 2020.  Regional teams will be selected at the Compete CNY qualifier.  Competition is May 1, 2020 in Albany, New York. Open to all undergraduate and graduate students at New York State Universities.  Check for updated details at  https://launchpad.syr.edu/compete-cny/ and  https://www.nybpc.org/

Applications require a one page executive summary of a venture idea.  It is the same template for this class.  The template can be found on Blackboard, as well as here:  http://launchpad.syr.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/One-page-executive-summary-template-for-business-plan-competitions.pdf

Photo:  Kate Beckman, winner of the ACC campus competition, iPrize, and Compete CNY, pitching at the New York State Business Plan where she won first place in her category.