All SF State undergraduate or graduate students with an innovative business idea or startup are invited to compete in the Fifth Annual Innovation Pitch Competition. This year, the top three pitches share $10,000 in cash prizes!
Whether your entrepreneurial idea is in the ideation phase or ready for angels and seed, this is a great opportunity to get feedback from seasoned entrepreneurs, investors and business faculty. Put your idea to paper and see if it’s got wings to take off! (A little prize money doesn’t hurt either!)
| First Place | Second Place | Third Place |
|---|---|---|
| $6000 | $3000 | $1000 |
FINAL RESULTS
1st Place - StomaMate - Scott Drapeau (MA, Design '22)
2nd Place - Wise Assistant - Angelou Lorraine De Bedout (MSQE)
3rd Place - Baked! - Angela Healy (MSA '23)
IMPORTANT DATES
- Application Close: Monday, April 25, 2022
- Acceptance Notification: on or before April 29, 2022
- Innovation Pitch Competition Day: May 6, 2022
APPLICATIONS FOR THE INNOVATION PITCH COMPETITION ARE NOW CLOSED.
How It Works
The founder or co-founder must be a currently enrolled SF State student. The pitch competition is open to business and entrepreneurial ideas and startups from all industries and at any stage in the startup cycle.
Submit an Application and Pitch Deck
APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED.
Entries close Monday, April 25 at 5 p.m.
- All entries will be reviewed, and finalists will be notified via text and email, on April 29, before 5 p.m.
- Selected entries will be invited to present live, in front of a panel of judges on May 6, from 1:30 to 3 p.m.
- Winners will be announced at the closing ceremony of the Fifth Annual Entrepreneurship Symposium on May 6 at 3:30 p.m.
Review the 2022 Terms & Conditions
Please fill out the pitch application by the deadline. Space is limited. Only selected startup ideas will be invited to present during the Pitch Competition. The final pitch competition is a seven-minute verbal pitch followed by an eight-minute Q&A and feedback from our panel of judges. Presentation timing is strictly enforced. All startup founders who are selected to pitch to our panel of judges will be invited to participate in the Pitch Competition event on May 6, 2022.
General Rules
- There is no fee for entry.
- Applications may be entered by individuals or teams.
- Each team may enter one idea, though an individual student may be on more than one founding team.
- Each team must have at least one currently registered SF State student; if you are applying as an individual, you must be a currently registered SF State student.
- Currently registered SF State students include all full-time and part-time undergraduate and graduate students, and post-doctoral candidates.
- SF State students must submit via their SFSU student email address at the time of submission.
- The required final pitch event must be attended by at least one SF State student on each team. Team members who are not SF State students are also encouraged to attend, but at least one SF State student per team is required to attend.
- A single individual cannot be the sole qualifying student for two teams.
- Entries must be the original work of entrants.
- Teams must disclose any funding already received at the time of registration.
Terms of Participation Agreement
You agree that you are responsible for any accidents or damages that you cause. You also agree to not hold the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University, or any of the event supporters liable for any loss, damage, injury, or any other unforeseeable incident.
By participating in the event, you grant the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University permission to capture photo/video of your participation at the event for promotional use.
By registering for this event, you also consent to receive email communication from the Lam Family College of Business at San Francisco State University and its programs about events and updates that may interest you.
The preliminary round of judging focuses on finding a compelling and convincing innovation or entrepreneurial story, based on what is presented on a 10-15 side pitch deck (PDF and PPT files accepted only).
The most successful entries have typically demonstrated:
- A clear value proposition for a clearly defined target market
Who is the prototypical consumer of your innovation, and why would they pay for your solution? What problem of theirs does your innovation solve? What need(s) does your innovation fulfill? - A clear explanation of how you are able to solve the consumer’s problem
How or why does your solution work? What enables your solution to fulfill customer needs better than anything/anyone else out there? - Traction in the marketplace
Is there demonstrated product-market fit? Do you have evidence that your idea or prototype is desirable to, adopted by, or sought after by a market? - A well-articulated revenue model
How does this innovation generate revenue? What recurring revenues streams are created? Who’s paying, and how are they paying for your offering? - A founding team that is set up for success
Does the founding team have the right technical expertise to execute on the innovation? Is this something that the founders will continue to pursue after graduation?