Big Idea Competition

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 Judges 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

Presenting Sponsor of the 2020 Big Idea Competition and Research 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 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

*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 Judges 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

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, applications are due September 20, 2020.For the alumni and research tracks, applications are due TBA.

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 tracks, the seed fund committee will complete due diligence on all applications. 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: TBA

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, then 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.

Fall 2020

All applications open: July 1, 2020

Student Track Applications close: September 20, 2020

Alumni Track Applications close: TBA

Research Track Applications close: TBA

Student Track Semi-finalists Announced: September 25, 2020

Student Track Semi-finals: October 8, 2020

Student Track Finalists Announced: Immediately following semi-finals on October 8, 2020

Alumni Track Finalists Announced: TBA

Research Track Finalists Announced: TBA

Finals: November 2020 (specific date to be announced)

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

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

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.

PRINT PARKING PASS

View Campus Maps

Parking Venue Map

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

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

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

2019

2018

2017

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

Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship

OVERVIEW

Sponsors

Become a sponsor

OVERVIEW

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS