Rice Business Plan Competition 2023 for Student Startups (Up to $2M in prizes)
Deadline: 28th of February, 2023
The Rice Business Plan Competition 2023 for Student Startups is now accepting applications. Currently in its 22nd year, the competition offers college entrepreneurs real-world experience to present their ideas, improve their business plan, and discover what it takes to found a successful firm.
The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship, Rice University’s well acclaimed project committed to the development of entrepreneurship, and Rice Business are hosting and organizing the event. From nine teams fighting for $10,000 in prizes in 2001 to 42 teams from across the world competing for more than $2 million in cash and prizes in the last 20 years.
Competition Sectors:
- Energy, Cleantech and Sustainability: (including but not limited to): Agriculture/Agtech,
Batteries & Storage, Decarbonization/Climate Tech, Energy Infrastructure, Oil & Gas
Technologies, Renewable/Alternative Energy, Recycling, New and Non-Carbon Fuels,
Transportation/Electric Vehicles, Water - Hard Tech: (including but not limited to): Advanced Manufacturing, Advanced Materials,
Aerospace/Spacetech, AR & VR (augmented & virtual reality), Autonomous Vehicles, Drones,
Machine Learning and AI (Artificial Intelligence), Quantum Computing, Robotics, Smart
Sensors - Life Sciences and Healthcare Solutions: (including but not limited to): Aging/Gerontology,
Biotech, Diagnostics, Digital Health, Disease Management, Public Health, Medical Devices,
Personalized Medicine, Pharma & Therapeutics, Prevention - Digital Enterprise: (including but not limited to): Big Data, Blockchain, Cyber/IoT Security,
Cloud & Edge Computing, Enterprise Software, Fintech, Media & Advertising, SportsTech,
Supply Chain/Logistics, Workforce - Consumer Products and Services: (including but not limited to): Analytics, Consumer Web,
Education/EdTech, Food & Drink, Gaming, Mobile, Personal Devices, Social Impact,
Subscription Services, Wearables & Clothing
Benefits:
- In total, more than $2 Million in investment and cash prizes was awarded to the teams at the
2022 Rice Business Plan Competition. - They offer an intense, educational experience over the multi-day event for student startup
founders to pitch to investors, receive feedback and advance their startup. There is also
significant time designated for interaction with judges and prize sponsors, the majority of
whom are from the investment community. - One of the most important parts of the RBPC is the mentoring component. Startups
accepted to the competition have the opportunity to engage experts before, during and
after the event. The mentoring programme helps founders make their startups stronger,
better, more equipped to fundraise and excel in the entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Eligibility:
You are initially eligible for RBPC 2023 if your startup:
- is student-driven, student-created and/or student-managed;
- has at least two current student founders or management team members, and at least one
of those students is a current graduate degree-seeking student; - are from a college or university anywhere in the world;
- has not raised more than $250,000 in equity capital prior to July 1, 2022;
- has not generated revenue of more than $100,000 in any 12-month period prior to July 1,
2022; - is seeking funding or capital (or will be in the next 12 months);
- is a potentially viable investment opportunity.
Application:
Only one team member will need an account to apply to the Rice Business Plan Competition. Applications
are due by the deadline of on Tuesday, February 28, 2023 by 11:59 PM CST.
