Big Idea Competition

 
Overview
Important Dates
Investment Challenge
Eligibility & Applications
Past Winners
Sponsors
Photos
Contact

OVERVIEW

The University of Texas at Dallas’ Big Idea Competition (BIC) is one of the most celebrated events of entrepreneurship in North Texas. Hosted annually by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and presented in partnership with UT Southwestern Medical Center, 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.

This year’s competition will take place over 2 days on November 2nd and 3rd and will culminate with an awards ceremony during Global Entrepreneurship Week on November 9th to recognize the entrepreneurial progress of UT Dallas students and alumni and UT Dallas and UT Southwestern faculty.

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

IMPORTANT DATES

  • Student Track Applications Close: September 26, 2021
  • Alumni Track Applications Close: October 3, 2021
  • Research Commercialization Track Applications Close: October 3, 2021
  • Student Track Semifinalists Announced: September 30, 2021
  • Student Track Semifinals: October 8, 2021
  • Student Track Finalists Announced: October 15, 2021
  • Alumni Track Finalists Announced: October 15, 2021
  • Research Commercialization Track Finalists Announced: October 15, 2021
  • Research Commercialization & UTSW Biotech+ Competition Track Finals: November 2, 2021
  • Student & Alumni Competition Track Finals: November 3, 2021
  • Big Idea Competition Awards Ceremony: November 9, 2021

INVESTMENT CHALLENGE

Digital Health and Biotech Startups in Texas can Pitch for a Fast Track into Capital Factory and a $50,000 Investment

Capital Factory’s Texas Fund, in partnership with The University of Texas at Dallas, the UT Dallas Seed Fund, UT Southwestern Medical Center, LaunchBio, BioLabs Pegasus Park, and Capital Factory Innovation Council members McKesson and BCBSTX C1 Innovation Lab, is excited to announce its first $50,000 digital health and biotech investment challenge.

    On November 5th, five startup finalists will pitch to a panel of advisors and investors, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders. One startup will be awarded a $50,000 cash investment, a fast-track into Capital Factory, and the opportunity to showcase on Nov 9, 2021 at the 15th annual UT Dallas Big Idea Competition awards ceremony presented in partnership with UT Southwestern.

Who Can Apply?

  • Texas startups in healthcare sector whose technology applies to:
    • Digital Health
    • Medical devices/diagnostics
    • Therapeutics

Apply now to be one of five teams selected to pitch for a chance to win $50,000 and a network of entrepreneurs and investors to support your startup! Application deadline is October 10th.

All finalists will receive:

  • A fast track into the Capital Factory portfolio which will include curated introductions and featured visibility for your startup to potential investors, customers and employees
  • Access to the Capital Factory Mentor network as long as Capital Factory operates as a shareholder Eligibility for over $250,000 in hosting credits from AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, IBM, and other major hosting providers
  • Six months of Capital Factory coworking memberships for you and your team

Capital Factory will receive:

  • 1% common stock grant as advisor equity (separate from the convertible note or SAFE that goes to the winner)
  • The right to invest up to $250,000 in your next round of funding

The winner will receive:

  • $50,000 cash investment on a SAFE or Convertible Note using Capital Factory’s term sheet and your most recent funding valuation, or a qualified term sheet provided by the company (see application for more details).
    Apply now to be one of five teams selected to pitch. You could walk away with a $50,000 investment and a network of entrepreneurs and investors to support your startup! deadline is October 10th.

ELIGIBILITY & APPLICATIONS

Student Pitch Competition Track

Eligibility

  • Must be currently enrolled UT Dallas student, any major, any classification as founder or co-founder
  • 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

Steps to Apply

  • Create a user profile on StartupTree if you don’t already have one
  • Create a Venture or Project Profile on StartupTree (any privacy setting is acceptable) On the Venture/Project profile be sure to fill out:
    • Company Name
    • Upload company logo
    • Year Founded (use 2021 if just starting)
    • Company size (number of people working on the idea or employed including yourself)
    • Funding to date (do not leave blank, enter $0.00 if nothing raised yet)
    • Add tag “Big Idea Competition”
    • Website and social links in the “about” section
    • Company description in the “about” section
    • Team – link your StartupTree account and anyone else on your team who has a StartupTree profile
    • Funding rounds if more than $0 raised, please include any individuals who have financially supported like friends and family, grants, awards, and VC dollars
    • Complete the “quarterly update” with revenue and number of employees including yourself – do not leave blank, enter 0 if no revenue yet
  • Record a 90-second pitch video
  • Create a pitch deck
  • Prepare a short biography for the founder or person pitching
  • Get a headshot photograph of the founder or person pitching
  • Once you have done everything above, click this link to complete the application: COMPLETE APPLICATION

Alumni Pitch Competition Track

Eligibility

  • The startup team must have a UT Dallas alumni serving as the founder, co-founder, C-suite leader, or primary 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 was founded within the past five years (September 2016- September 2021)
  • 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

Steps to Apply

  • Create a user profile on StartupTree if you don’t already have one
  • Create a Venture or Project Profile on StartupTree (any privacy setting is acceptable) On the Venture/Project profile besure to fill out:
    • Company Name
    • Upload company logo
    • Year Founded (use 2021 if just starting)
    • Company size (number of people working on the idea or employed including yourself)
    • Funding to date (do not leave blank, enter $0.00 if nothing raised yet)
    • Website and social links in the “about” section
    • Company description in the “about” section
    • Team – link your StartupTree account and anyone else on your team who has a StartupTree profile
    • Funding rounds if more than $0 raised, please include any individuals who have financially supported like friends and family, grants, awards, and VC dollars
    • Complete the “quarterly update” with revenue and number of employees including yourself – do not leave blank, enter 0 if no revenue yet
  • Create a pitch deck
  • Prepare a short biography for the founder or person pitching
  • Get a headshot photograph of the founder or person pitching
  • Once you have done everything above, click this link to complete the application: COMPLETE APPLICATION

Research Commercialization Pitch Competition Track

Eligibility

  • Any UT Dallas student, staff, or faculty member who intends to commercialize UT Dallas-owned technology/research IP via a new business venture
  • The startup must have a UT Dallas student, staff, faculty, or alumni serving as the founder, co-founder, C-suite leader, officer, and/or major shareholder on the team
  • The 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 startup team member must be the one to pitch throughout the process
  • Past Big Idea Competition award and prize winners are not eligible to compete again
  • The UTD Office of Technology Commercialization must have the Technology Disclosure(s) on file for the technology(ies) of interest, and the startup must identify the corresponding UTD Tech ID(s) when applying to the Big Idea Competition
  • If not already licensed, the startup must license the subject technology/research IP from UTD using UTD’s non-negotiable Express Startup License template (which includes a 5% equity grant to UTD) prior to receiving award funding. A copy of the Express Startup License template can be provided upon request
  • Conflict of interest management plans must be in place for all UTD employees affiliated with the startup prior to receiving award funding

Steps to Apply

  • STOP – Before moving forward, contact Marvin Young (Marvin.Young@UTDallas.edu) and copy Brent Schultze (brent.schultze@utdallas.edu) with the Office of Technology Commercialization and send them the following message: “I’m applying for the Research Commercialization track for the Big Idea Competition and need to identify and lock down my Technology ID.”
  • Create a user profile on StartupTree if you don’t already have one
  • Create a Venture or Project Profile on StartupTree (any privacy setting is acceptable) On the Venture/Project profile besure to fill out:
    • Company Name
    • Upload company logo
    • Year Founded (use 2021 if just starting)
    • Company size (number of people working on the idea or employed including yourself)
    • Funding to date (do not leave blank, enter $0.00 if nothing raised yet)
    • Website and social links in the “about” section
    • Company description in the “about” section
    • Team – link your StartupTree account and anyone else on your team who has a StartupTree profile
    • Funding rounds if more than $0 raised, please include any individuals who have financially supported like friends and family, grants, awards, and VC dollars
    • Complete the “quarterly update” with revenue and number of employees including yourself – do not leave blank, enter 0 if no revenue yet
  • Create a pitch deck
  • Prepare a short biography for the founder or person pitching
  • Get a headshot photograph of the founder or person pitching
  • Once you have done everything above, click this link to complete the application: COMPLETE APPLICATION

UT SOUTHWESTERN BIOTECH+ TRACK

Congratulations to the UTSW Biotech+ Track Finalists

  • Dr. Kiyoshi Ariizumi “Development of DC-HIL blockers as cancer immunotherapy”
  • Dr. Yang Xie- HD Staining “An artificial intelligence model for digital staining of pathology images to characterize tumor microenvironment and predict patient clinical outcomes”
  • Dr. Vinod Mootha “Oligonucleotide Therapeutic for Fuchs’ Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy”
  • Dr. Bo Li “Tracking Peripheral Blood T Cell Repertoire Changes to Diagnose Early Stage Cancer”

Our grand prize winner will receive:

  • $50,000 cash grant to advance their research
  • Intellectual Property guidance from UT Southwestern
  • External IP counsel
  • Opportunities to Qualify for Additional Credits
  • Business Support Services
  • Explainer Video Marketing Package from Zelaya Productions (valued at $7,000 in video production services)

Second place awardee will receive:

  • $12,500 cash grant to advance their research
  • Intellectual Property guidance from UT Southwestern
  • External IP counsel
  • Opportunities to Qualify for Additional Credits
  • Business Support Services

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

Thursday, November 19, 2020

1:30 pm – 2:00 pm

Virtual Networking and Virtual Booths

OPENING REMARKS
NETWORKING

2:00 pm – 2:15 pm

Welcome

OPENING REMARKS

2:15 pm – 2:45 pm

UT Dallas Student Pitch Track (3 finalists)

  • Campus Oven
  • Reallos
  • Glaucomedi
STUDENT PITCH TRACK
UT DALLAS

2:45 pm – 3:15 pm

UT Dallas Alumni Pitch Track (3 finalists)

  • Lazarus 3D
  • Vigilant Software
  • Skyven Technologies
ALUMNI PITCH TRACK
UT DALLAS

3:15 pm – 3:45 pm

UT Southwestern Biotech+ Track (4 finalists)

  • Dr. Kiyoshi Ariizumi “Development of DC-HIL blockers as cancer immunotherapy”
  • Dr. Yang Xie- HD Staining “An artificial intelligence model for digital staining of pathology images to characterize tumor microenvironment and predict patient clinical outcomes”
  • Dr. Vinod Mootha “Oligonucleotide Therapeutic for Fuchs’ Endothelial Corneal Dystrophy”
  • Dr. Bo Li “Tracking Peripheral Blood T Cell Repertoire Changes to Diagnose Early Stage Cancer”
BIOTECH TRACK
UT SOUTHWESTERN

3:45 pm – 4:15 pm

UT Dallas Research Commercialization Track (3 finalists)

  • Doloromics
  • X-Nerve
  • Regulife Medical
RESEARCH COMMERCIALIZATION TRACK
UT DALLAS

4:15 pm – 4:30 pm

Remarks & Keynote Introduction

KEYNOTE

4:30 pm – 5:00 pm

Keynote: Mark Cuban

KEYNOTE

5:00 pm – 5:15 pm

Winners Announced

CLOSING REMARKS

5:15 pm – 5:30 pm

Closing remarks

CLOSING REMARKS

5:30 pm – 6:00 pm

Virtual Networking and Virtual Booths

CLOSING REMARKS
NETWORKING

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)

SPONSORS

PRESENTING SPONSOR


CONTRIBUTING SPONSORS

Presented by

Chuck & Stacey Butler

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

The Big Idea Competition (BIC) is a business idea pitch competition.Students, staff, faculty and alumni have an opportunity to compete in different categories to win funding for their business ventures.
The BIC takes place every fall semester, typically in November.
The BIC is usually held in the ATEC Lecture Hall on the UT Dallas campus.
Due to COVID-19, the 2020 BIC will be virtual.
No.
There is no “entry fee” or any other cost associated with participating.
Yes, you can enter by yourself or with a team. It is up to you!
Yes, however, only complete applications will be reviewed, so be sure each individual application is complete.
Each track has different eligibility requirements, please review the “Application & Eligibility” tab for details. All tracks do require at least one person on the team to be affiliated with UT Dallas.
You will be asked for your contact information and several questions about your idea. You will also be required to submit a pitch video and a pitch deck. You can preview the application here: TBA
Yes, just as long as each individual application is complete.
Each track will have 1 Grand Prize winner that will receive a significant cash award.
Exact prize dollar amounts will be announced soon.
UT Dallas is a state government institution and there are several steps required to process and approve an award. Typically, the process will take 3-6 months to complete after the competition.
Yes!
The Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is here to help all throughout the process. We can review your materials before submission, schedule appointments with mentors, schedule practice pitch sessions, and more. Just let us know how we can help you.
For the student track and research commercialization tracks, applications are due September 20, 2020. For the alumni track, applications are due October 4, 2020
After applications close, a committee of staff and faculty will review them using a rubric. The 30 applications with the highest scores overall will be selected to compete in the semifinals. The semifinals will take place on October 8 through live video conference. Each team will pitch in front of a panel of judges. The judges will use the same rubric used to score the applications. The top 3 semifinalists with the highest scores will move on to compete in the student track at the finals. For the alumni and research commercialization tracks, the seed fund committee will complete due diligence on all applicatioz ns. After the applications close, the seed fund committee will select the top 3 alumni applicants and the top 3 research applicants to pitch in their respective tracks at the finals. The finalists will pitch to a panel of esteemed judges. The judges will use a rubric to score the pitches and select the winners of each track.
Yes, funds must be used to advance the business venture.
Please see the funding guidelines here
There is a significant cost for the entrepreneurial programs, resources, and support provided by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship each year, at no charge, free to you — our students and the UTD community. We do this because we believe it will lead to significant economic value, as your venture is able to generate revenues and hire employees. But, in order to continue offering these programs, the “cost” to you is the data about your startup’s progress instead of a financial cost. By providing information about your venture, you help us communicate and demonstrate the impact we are making to our stakeholders. Some of the key factors we need to measure include job creation and revenue.
If you are a student, than the short answer is no – please see Section 6 in the link below for more details. If you are a faculty member, researcher, or are employed by the university, there may be some intellectual property rights to consider.
More information here: https://cms.utsystem.edu/board-of-regents/rules/90101-intellectual-property.
Please contact Dresden Goldberg if you are unsure: dresden.goldberg@utdallas.edu
Yes, but each team must have one person affiliated with UT Dallas. Please review the application and eligibility tab for details.
No, the team does not have to be all students. Just make sure you meet the eligibility requirements detailed on the application and eligibility tab.
You do not have to have a fully developed product at the time of the competition, an idea is fine. Be aware that the farther along you are, or the more fully you have developed the idea, will help you in the scoring process.
The BIC finals are open to the public to attend. Registration information will be shared as we get closer to the date in November.

IMPORTANT DATES

Fall 2020

STUDENT PITCH TRACK

  • Applications Open

  • Applications Close

  • Semi-Finalists announced

  • Semi-Finals

  • Finalists announced

  • Finals

ALUMNI PITCH TRACK

  • Applications Open

  • Applications Close

  • Finalists announced

  • Finals

RESEARCH COMMERCIALIZATION PITCH TRACK

  • Applications Open

  • Applications Close

  • Finalists announced

  • Finals

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.

 
REGISTER
 
 

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.

 
PRINT PARKING PASS
 
 

CAMPUS MAPS

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PAST WINNERS

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

  • 1st place, $25,000: Resume Puppy, Anish Hegde, MS Computer Science
  • 2nd, $10,000: Disqualified
  • 3rd 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

  • 1st place, $25,000: SurviVR, Brian Hoang, BS Computer Science ’19, Lewis Zhang, BA ATEC ’16, Marwan Kodeih, BS Computer Science ’18
  • 2nd place, $10,000: Cyto PDMS, Kevin Lam, Ph.D. Biomedical Engineering ’19
  • 3rd 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

  • 1st place, $15,000: Neuro Rehab VR, Veena Somareddy, MA Game and Interactive Media Design
  • 2nd place, $10,000: CThrough, Elaine Wang, MS Management Science ’18
  • 3rd 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

If you are interested in or have any questions about Big Idea Competition, please contact:

Dresden Goldberg

Director - Programs & Operations

Campus Director - Blackstone LaunchPad