REGISTRATION & AGENDA

Attend the conclusion of the Big Idea Competition.

November 9, 2021 // 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm CST

ATC Lecture Hall (in-person) // Livestream

Please RSVP using this link (for both in-person and livestream): http://utdallas.startuptree.co/event/s/F8szcNyzjBpaAKCU7PsmAh/2021-Big-Idea-Competition-Awards-Ceremony

The 2021 competition offers the following awards:

• UTD Student Track: $25,000
• UTD Alumni Track: $25,000
• UTD Research Commercialization Track: $100,000
• Capital Factory’s Biotech+ Investment Challenge: $50,000
• UTDesign Startup Challenge: $20,000

View 2021 Program

---

SPEAKERS 

BIO

Anurag Jain

Chairman, CEO – Access Healthcare

Co-Founder, Managing Partner – Perot Jain

Co-Founder – Get Shift Done

BIO

Ross Perot Jr.

Chairman, The Perot Companies and Hillwood

Co-founder, Perot Jain

BIO

Hannah Davis

Host – Good Morning Texas

AGENDA

• 3:15 PM – Doors open at the ATC Lecture Hall
• 4:00 PM – Awards Presentations
  • UTD Student Track
  • UTD Alumni Track
  • UTD Research Commercialization Track
  • Capital Factory’s Investment Challenge
  • UTDesign Startup Challenge
• 5:30 PM – A Conversation with Ross Perot Jr. and Anurag Jain
• 6:00 PM – Event concludes

ATTEND VIRTUALLY

Click this link for the livestream: zelayaproductions.com/bigidealive

ATTEND IN PERSON

The event takes place on the UT Dallas campus located at 800 W Campbell Rd, Richardson, TX 75080

Please print this parking pass and display on your dashboard.
You may park in gold or green color coded spaces that are not marked reserved. Please note if you are parked illegally or in a reserved space your car could be towed. The closest parking will be in the PS1 parking garage. A campus map is available here: https://map.utdallas.edu

The Awards Ceremony takes place from 4-6 PM in the Edith O’Donnell Arts and Technology building. The ATC Lecture Hall is located on the first floor and doors open at 3:30 PM. It is a large auditorium with plenty of room for social distancing.

We recommend smart casual, business professional, or cocktail attire for the event.

2021 WINNERS

AGENDA

The Big Idea Competition (BIC) is one of the most celebrated nights of entrepreneurship in North Texas. Keynoted by Mark Cuban and with $200,000 in scholarship awards and cash prizes, BIC is the marquee event of Capital Factory’s virtual Texas Startup Roadshow. For fourteen years, this event recognized the entrepreneurial progress of UT Dallas students, faculty, and alumni. This year’s event has grown to include innovative research from the labs of UT Southwestern Medical Center. Join us as we bring together the best undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines, alongside top research faculty and alumni, to pitch the most innovative startups and ideas to a panel of esteemed judges.
Register

JUDGES

UTSW TRACK

Adil Adi

Christine Brennan

James Graham

Karl Handelsman

Kenichi Hartman

Clay Heighten

Claire Leurent

STUDENT & ALUMNI TRACK

Elle Bruno

Cheryl Campos

Michael Gorton

Abe Minkara

Jason Santamaria

 

RESEARCH TRACK

Daniel Kleinmann

Jonathan Mandelbaum

Sherket Peterson

Travis Whitfill

 

EVENT SCHEDULE

STUDENT PITCH TRACK

Congratulations to the Student Track finalists:

• Campus Oven
• Reallos
• Glaucomedi

One grand prize winner will receive:

• $25,000 cash
• $10,000 in AWS Credits
  • Promotional Credit valid for 2 years
  • 1 year of Business Support (up to $1,500)
  • Opportunities to Qualify for Additional Credits
• Explainer Video Marketing Package from Zelaya Productions (valued at $7,000 in video production services)

RESEARCH COMMERCIALIZATION PITCH TRACK

Congratulations to the Research Commercialization Track finalists:

• Doloromics
• X-Nerve
• Regulife Medical

One grand prize winner will receive:

• $100,000 cash
• $10,000 in AWS Credits
  • Promotional Credit valid for 2 years
  • 1 year of Business Support (up to $1,500)
  • Opportunities to Qualify for Additional Credits
• Explainer Video Marketing Package from Zelaya Productions (valued at $7,000 in video production services)

Thank you to the 2021 SPONSORS

Presented By

Presenting Sponsors

Contributing Sponsors

OVERVIEW

The Big Idea Competition (BIC) at The University of Texas at Dallas is one of the most celebrated nights of entrepreneurship in North Texas and recognizes the entrepreneurial progress of UT Dallas students, faculty, and alumni. Hosted annually by the UT Dallas Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the BIC brings the best undergraduate and graduate students together from all disciplines, alongside top research faculty and alumni to pitch the most innovative startups and ideas in front of their peers and a panel of esteemed judges for cash and scholarship awards.
Program highlights include:

• Over 1,000 attendees each year
• $100,000+ in prize money and scholarships
• Past winners have gone on to win other state or national competitions and formed companies that have raised venture capital, generated revenue, and created jobs

Past Big Idea Competition Celebrity Guests have included:

Courtney Caldwell

CoFounder & COO of ShearShare

Mark Cuban

Owner of the Dallas Mavericks

Shark on “Shark Tank”

Tan France

Style Guru on Emmy Award-Winning Netflix Series “Queer Eye”

Guy Kawaski

Venture Capitalist

Best-Selling Author

Former Apple Executive

Bob Metcalfe

Co-Inventor of Ethernet

Shiza Shahid

Co-Founder and CEO of the Malala Fund

Founder of NOW Ventures

ALUMNI PITCH TRACK

Congratulations to the Alumni Track finalists:

• Lazarus 3D
• Vigilant Software
• Skyven Technologies

One grand prize winner will receive:

• $25,000 cash
• $10,000 in AWS Credits
  • Promotional Credit valid for 2 years
  • 1 year of Business Support (up to $1,500)
  • Opportunities to Qualify for Additional Credits
• Explainer Video Marketing Package from Zelaya Productions (valued at $7,000 in video production services)

Sponsors

Become a sponsor

Presenting Sponsor of the 2020 Big Idea Competition and Research Commercialization Track sponsor: $50,000
One Opportunity Available, Benefits Include:

• A 1:1 Match by the Office of Research up to $50,000
• Your company name branded on the grand prize award of $100,000
• Opportunity to give virtual live remarks during the event
• Opportunity to introduce celebrity guest speaker
• Opportunity to interview celebrity guest speaker in live virtual fireside chat format
• Opportunity for company representative to serve as a judge during finals
• Exclusive sponsor of the Research Commercialization Track Award with opportunity to announce winner
• Opportunity for 4 company representatives to attend virtual happy hour with celebrity
• Option for company representative to serve as a judge during semi-finals
• Recognition as “Presenting Sponsor” on all event marketing and promotional collateral

Fall 2020 UT Dallas Seed Fund Sponsor and Alumni Ventures Track: $25,000
One Opportunity Available, Benefits Include:

• Branded prize to Best Alumni Venture of $25,000
• Opportunity to give virtual live remarks during the event
• Recognized as exclusive Track Award sponsor with opportunity to announce winner
• Opportunity for company representative to serve as a judge during finals
• Opportunity for 2 company representatives to attend virtual happy hour with celebrity
• Option for company representative to serve as a judge during semi-finals
• Recognition as “Premier Sponsor” on all event marketing and promotional collateral

Premier Sponsor of the Student Ventures track: $25,000
One Opportunity Available, Benefits Include:

• Branded prize to Best Student Venture of $25,000
• Opportunity to give virtual live remarks during the event
• Recognized as exclusive Track Award sponsor with opportunity to announce winner
• Opportunity for company representative to serve as a judge during finals
• Opportunity for 2 company representatives to attend virtual happy hour with celebrity
• Option for company representative to serve as a judge during semi-finals
• Recognition as “Premier Sponsor” on all event marketing and promotional collateral

Silver Sponsor: $10,000
Three Opportunities Available, Benefits Include:

• Opportunity for 1 company representative to attend virtual happy hour with celebrity
• Option for company representative to serve as a judge during semi-finals
• Recognition as “Silver Sponsor” on all event marketing and promotional collateral

Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Please contact dresden.goldberg@utdallas.edu

OVERVIEW

The Big Idea Competition (BIC) at The University of Texas at Dallas is one of the most celebrated nights of entrepreneurship in North Texas and recognizes the entrepreneurial progress of UT Dallas students, faculty, and alumni. Hosted annually by the UT Dallas Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the 2020 BIC will be held as a marquee virtual event during Global Entrepreneurship Week in November. The BIC brings the best undergraduate and graduate students together from all disciplines, alongside top research faculty and alumni to pitch the most innovative startups and ideas in front of their peers and a panel of esteemed judges for cash and scholarship awards.
*The 2020 competition will be held as virtual event during Global Entrepreneurship Week in November.
Program highlights include:

• Over 1,000 attendees each year
• $100,000+ in prize money and scholarships
• Past winners have gone on to win other state or national competitions and formed companies that have raised venture capital, generated revenue, and created jobs

Past Big Idea Competition Celebrity Guests have included:

• Shiza Shahid, Co-Founder and CEO of the Malala Fund, Founder of NOW Ventures
• Tan France, Style Guru on Emmy Award-Winning Netflix Series “Queer Eye”
• Mark Cuban, Owner of the Dallas Mavericks, Shark on “Shark Tank”
• Guy Kawasaki, Venture Capitalist, Best-Selling Author, Former Apple Executive
• Bob Metcalfe, Co-Inventor of Ethernet

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

APPLICATION AND ELIGIBILITY

Applications for the Fall 2020 competition will open on July 1, 2020.
Apply to pitch your innovative startup idea in front of your peers and a panel of esteemed judges for cash and scholarship awards. Don’t miss this chance to be part of one of the most celebrated nights of entrepreneurship in North Texas, recognizing the entrepreneurial progress of UT Dallas students, staff, faculty, and alumni.
The Fall 2020 competition offers three tracks:

• Student Pitch Competition Track
• Alumni Pitch Competition Track
• Research Pitch Competition Track

Student Pitch Competition Awards

Eligibility

• Currently enrolled UT Dallas students, any major, any classification who are the founders or co-founders of the startup are eligible to apply
• A currently enrolled UT Dallas student from the startup team must be the one to pitch throughout the process

Application
The application requires various information about your startup idea. Please complete as much as possible. The application also requires a video and a pitch deck.

• Applications close September 20, 2020.
• Teams selected for semi-finals will be notified by September 25, 2020.
• Semi-finals will take place on October 8, 2020.

Please save the date. Your team will be required to pitch live on a virtual meeting with the semi-finals judges. Three teams will be selected to participate in the Big Idea Competition finals and will be notified immediately following the semifinals event.
Preview the application link here
*Do not click the link until you are ready to apply*
Apply here

Alumni Pitch Competition Track

Eligibility

• The startup team must have a UT Dallas alumni serving as the founder, co-founder, C-suite leader, or major shareholder
• Only those who have officially graduated from a degree-awarding program will be considered (taking classes but without graduation, certificate programs, extracurricular programs will not be considered)
• Startup has not raised more than $1,000,000 in equity capital prior to September 20, 2020
• Startup has not earned more than $500,000 in annual revenue prior to September 20, 2020
• Startup was founded within the past three years (September 2017- September 2020)
• Startup is seeking funding and is a potentially viable investment opportunity that would be considered by angel investors or venture capitalists
• The UT Dallas alumni from the startup team must be the one to pitch throughout the process
• Past Big Idea Competition award and prize winners are not eligible to compete again

Application
The application requires various information about your startup idea. Please complete as much as possible. The application also requires a video and a pitch deck.

• Applications close TBA.
• Three teams will be selected to participate in the Big Idea Competition finals and will be notified by TBA.

Research Pitch Competition Track

Eligibility

• Any UT Dallas student, staff, or faculty member who intends to commercialize their research by forming a new business venture
• The research startup must have a UT Dallas student, staff, faculty, or alumni serving as the founder, co-founder, C-suite leader, or major shareholder on the team
• Startup has not raised more than $1,000,000 in equity capital prior to September 20, 2020
• Startup has not earned more than $1,000,000 in annual revenue prior to September 20, 2020
• Startup is seeking funding and is a potentially viable investment opportunity that would be considered by angel investors or venture capitalists
• The UT Dallas affiliated team member from the startup team must be the one to pitch throughout the process
• Past Big Idea Competition award and prize winners are not eligible to compete again

Application
The application requires various information about your startup idea. Please complete as much as possible. The application also requires a video and a pitch deck.

• Applications close TBA.
• Three teams will be selected to participate in the Big Idea Competition finals and will be notified by TBA.

Preview the application link here
*Do not click the link until you are ready to apply* Apply here

KEY DATES

Applications Open: August 19, 2019
Applications Close: October 21, 2019 at 12:00 PM noon
Semi-Finals: November 1, 2019
Finals: November 19, 2019 from 4-6 PM

ATTEND

November 19, 2019
4:00-6:00 PM
UT Dallas, ATC Lecture Hall, 1.102

Tickets to the Big Idea Competition are free, but registration is required.

Please print the parking pass, display it on your dashboard, and park in Lot U. Shuttle service will be provided from the parking lot to the venue and back.

CAMPUS MAPS

View Campus Maps
Parking Venue Map

PAST WINNERS

FALL 2021

• Student Track Winner, $25,000: Bonsai, Shashank Vinay Kumar, BS’22
• Student Track Runner Up, $5,000: Forgot of Knot, Jason Hendricks, MS’22
• Student Track Runner Up, $5,000: Food Magnet, Mercedes Johnson, MBA’ 23 
• Student Track Runner Up, $5,000: Bright Owl, Sofia Babool, BS’22 
• Alumni Track Winner, $25,000: Tangible Intelligence, Matthew Coburn, BS’13 and Austin Howard, MS’09, PhD’14 
• Alumni Track Runner Up, $5,000: Nuooly, Rosalie Taylor-Robinson MS’15
• Alumni Track Runner Up, $5,000: Hermtac, Kevin Patel BS’06, MBA’10
• Research Commercialization Track Winner, $100,000: Qualia Oto, Benedict Voit BA’08
• Research Commercialization Track Runner Up, $25,000: Graphene TX, Duck Yang, Bioengineering Department
• Research Commercialization Track Runner Up, $25,000: Phinomics, Massa Shoura BS’10 Molecular Cell Biology and Biophysics, MS’10 Molecular Cell Biology and Biophysics, PhD’13, PhD’15 
• UTDesign Startup Challenge Winner, $20,000: Food Magnet, Mercedes Johnson MBA, BA’19
• UTDesign Startup Challenge Winner, $20,000: Lawn Exec, Rakeen Murtaza BS’22
• Capital Factory Biotech+ and Digital Health Investment Challenge Winner, $50,000: De Oro Medical Devices, Sidney Collin

FALL 2020

• Student Track, $25,000: Glaucomedi, Jacob Akwal, BS Biomedical Engineering, Hebah Abdallah BS’19 Biomedical Engineering, Karanjit Kooner MD,Ph.D., MBA
• Alumni Track, $25,000: Lazarus 3D Mouna Taroua BS’19 Biomedical Engineering, Jacques Zaneveld, Smriti Agrawal Zaneveld Ph.D.
• Research Commercialization Track, $100,000: X-Nerve, Robert Rennaker, Ph.D.,Rohan Hoare, Ph.D.,Jim McGivern MBA, Enrique Vega MBA
• UTSW Biotech+ Track, $50,000: Dr. Vinod Mootha
• UTSW Biotech+ Track, $12,500: Dr. Yang Xie

FALL 2019

• 1^st place, $25,000: Resume Puppy, Anish Hegde, MS Computer Science
• 2^nd, $10,000: Disqualified
• 3^rd place, $5,000: Access My Research, Mehmet Gunal, Ph.D. Cognition and Neuroscience
• Innovate(her), $5,000: Leg Up Legal, Anjie Vichayanonda, BS BA ’08
• Biggest Social Impact, $5,000: Rakkasan Tea Company, Brandon Friedman, MS Public Affairs
• Biggest Idea, $5,000: Access My Research, Mehmet Gunal, Ph.D. Cognition and Neuroscience
• UTDesign Startup Challenge, $20,000: Fluid Impulse, Eddie Bates, BS Mechanical Engineering, Jennifer Kerner, BS Mechanical Engineering, Justin Gaumer, BS Mechanical Engineering, Samantha Aceves, BS Mechanical Engineering, Thomas Ledford, BS Mechanical Engineering
• UTDesign Startup Challenge, $20,000: BeYOUty Tech, Nicole Faraji, MBA ’21

FALL 2018

• 1^st place, $25,000: SurviVR, Brian Hoang, BS Computer Science ’19, Lewis Zhang, BA ATEC ’16, Marwan Kodeih, BS Computer Science ’18
• 2^nd place, $10,000: Cyto PDMS, Kevin Lam, Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering ’19
• 3^rd place, $5,000: Sahai, Maithreya Chakravarthula, BS Information Technology Systems
• Innovate(her), $5,000: Code Blue Jewelry, Ngan Nguyen, MS Healthcare Leadership and Management ’19
• Best Undergraduate Pitch, $5,000: ThreadAI, Pablo Peillard, BS Computer Science ’20
• Biggest Social Impact, $5,000: SeeBoost, Russ Lemberg, BS Electrical and Electronics Engineering ’12
• Biggest Idea, $5,000: Aireal, Kevin Hart
• UTDesign Startup Challenge, $20,000: Sahai, Maithreya Chakravarthula, BS Information Technology Systems
• UTDesign Startup Challenge, $20,000: ThreadAI, Pablo Peillard, BS Computer Science ’20
• UTDesign Startup Challenge, $15,000: Hobo Loco, Rick Tett MS Innovation and Entrepreneurship ‘20

FALL 2017

• 1^st place, $15,000: Neuro Rehab VR, Veena Somareddy, MA Game and Interactive Media Design
• 2^nd place, $10,000: CThrough, Elaine Wang, MS Management Science ’18
• 3^rd place, $5,000: Alta Air, Jason Tran, BS Finance and Economics ’20, Konan Mirza, BS Finance and Economics ’19, Yosias Kassaye, BS Electrical Engineering ’19
• Biggest Idea, $2,500: Brain Performance Institute
• Biggest Social Impact, $2,500: Skyven Technologies, Arun Gupta, Ph.D. Electrical and Electronics Engineering ’12
• Best Undergraduate Pitch $2,500: Alta Air, Jason Tran, BS Finance and Economics, Konan Mirza, BS Finance and Economics, Yosias Kassaye, BS Electrical Engineering
• Diversity & Inclusion Award, $2,500: Neuro Rehab VR, Veena Somareddy, MA Game and Interactive Media Design
• UTDesign Startup Challenge, $20,000: Simple Biomedical, Citlali Barron, BS Computer Science ’18, Emily Huynh, BS Computer Science ’18, Alfin Shibu, BS Computer Science ’18, Paul Parrot, Josh Park, BS Computer Science
• UTDesign Startup Challenge, $20,000: OnPoynt Aerial Solutions, Rebecca Poynter, BS’86

PHOTOS

2021

2020

2019

2018

2017