Big Idea Competition

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 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. *Occurs in the Spring

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

Tracks

Alumni Track

Are you a UT Dallas alumni with the next big idea?

Research Commercialization Track

Are you a UT Dallas staff or faculty member who intends to
commercialize UT Dallas-owned technology or research intellectual
property via a new business venture?

Student Track

Are you a current UT Dallas student (undergraduate, graduate, or P.h.D) with the next big idea?

Application and Eligibility

Alumni Track

Eligibility

The startup team must have a UT Dallas alumni serving as the founder, co-founder, C-suite leader, or significant shareholder (i.e., founder’s shares)
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 $2,000,000 in equity capital prior to March 2024
Startup has not earned more than $1,000,000 in annual revenue prior to March 2024
Startup was founded within the past three years
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)
Begin planning your pitch and create a pitch deck
Prepare a short biography for the founder or person pitching (a paragraph)
Get a high-resolution headshot photograph of the founder or person pitching
Once you have prepared everything above, complete and submit the application

Research Commercialization Track

Eligibility

Any UT Dallas 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 significant shareholder (i.e., founder’s shares) on the team
The startup has not raised more than $1,000,000 in equity capital prior to March 2024
The startup has not earned more than $1,000,000 in annual revenue prior to March 2024
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.
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

Contact Marvin Young and copy Brent Schultze with the UT Dallas Office of Technology Commercialization to identify and lock down your 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)
Begin planning your pitch and create a pitch deck
Prepare a short biography for the founder or person pitching (a paragraph)
Get a high-resolution headshot photograph of the founder or person pitching
Once you have prepared everything above, complete and submit the application

Student Track

Eligibility

Must be a currently enrolled UT Dallas student in a degree-seeking program, 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)
Record a 90-second pitch video
Create a pitch deck
Prepare a short biography for the founder or person pitching
Get a high-resolution headshot photograph of the founder or person pitching
Once you have done everything above, complete and submit the application

Important Dates

Alumni Track

Applications Open: November 2nd, 2023
Alumni Track Applications Close: March 10, 2024, at 11:59 PM
Alumni Track Finalists Announced: March 28, 2024
Finals: April 17, 2024

Student Track

Applications Open: November 1, 2023
Student Track Applications Close: February 9, 2024 at 11:59 PM
Student Track Semifinalists Announced: March 20, 2024
Student Track In-Person Semifinals: March 28, 2024
Student Track Finalists Announced: April 3, 2024
Finals: April 17, 2024

Research Commercialization Track

Applications Open: November 10, 2024
Research Commercialization Track Applications Close: March 10, 2024, at 11:59 PM
Research Commercialization Track Finalists Announced: March 17, 2024
Finals: April 5, 2024

Prizes and Awards

Alumni Track

Alumni Track Winner: Up to $25,000

Research Commercialization Track

Research Commercialization Track Winner: $40,000
Research Commercialization Track Runner Up: $10,000
Research Commercialization Track Runner Up: $10,000

Student Track

Student Track Winner: Up to $25,000

Special Award Categories

To be considered for a special award category, you will need to select the special award option in your application.

UTDesign Startup Challenge ($20,000)

The UTDesign Startup Challenge leverages experiential learning through the Erik Jonsson School of Engineering and Computer Science’s UTDesign senior capstone course to help bring high-potential technology startups to life.

Selected ventures will receive $15,000 of engineering services over one or two semesters to complete a presentation-quality prototype, a technical mentor, business coaches, and $5,000 cash to grow the business.

The UTDesign Startup Challenge selection committee will consider proposals using the following evaluation criteria:

Affiliation with UTD
Technological challenges and requirements in line with the standards and capabilities of respective engineering seniors. (software, IoT, robotics, etc).
Clear industry problem, product/company value proposition, and business model.
Market research, customer discovery exercises, business, and product plans, and any operational progress or milestones achieved to date.
Founding team committed to venture success.

UT Dallas RISE Startup Challenge ($5,000)

The RISE Startup Challenge through the Naveen Jindal School of Management’s Center for Retail Innovation and Strategy Excellence (RISE) is designed to help bring innovative retail startups to life.

The RISE Startup Challenge selection committee will identify the top retail startup ideas from the Big Idea Competition applications and invite the founders to interview with the committee in April.

The committee will select the best retail startup idea to be awarded $5,000 at the conclusion of the competition.

APPLICATION & ELIGIBILITY

The RISE Startup Challenge selection committee will consider proposals using the following evaluation criteria:

Affiliation with UT Dallas
Commitment to take CometX accelerator or comparable entrepreneurial training program approved by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship team.
Founder’s startup idea offers a unique solution to a real retail industry challenge with a solid value proposition and business model.
Operational progress or milestones achieved to date such as market research, customer discovery exercises, business, and product plans.
Founding team committed to venture success.

AHT Challenge Award ($5,000)

The Harry W. Bass Jr. School of Arts, Humanities, and Technology is a community of scholars, artists, and creative practitioners defined by their creativity, critical thinking, communication, and cross-cultural understanding. They cultivate skills in critical study and creative practice and foster the generation of new knowledge and new technological experiences.

The selected startup will be awarded $5,000 at the conclusion of the competition.

APPLICATION & ELIGIBILITY

create business solutions that include at least one of the areas of the arts, the humanities, and technology.
All UTD students in good standing and in all majors, undergraduate or graduate, are eligible to apply.

We seek creative thinkers and problem solvers who wish to take their innovative ideas in the arts, the humanities, and technology to the next level. We seek applications for ideas that will make a difference in a globally connected world where creativity and imagination will become the primary determiners of economic value.

Past Winners

SPRING 2023

Student Track Winner, $25,000: Routora, Tom Vazhekatt, BS’24
Student Track Runner Up, $5,000: Manta Systems, Tamara Marshall
Student Track Third Place, $5,000: Buildquota, Xavier Madison
Alumni Track Winner, $25,000: Creator Camp, Jacky Chao, BS’22
Alumni Track Runner Up, $5,000: Ekusso, Karlin
Alumni Track Third Place, $5,000: Catenate, Sameer Ranjan
Research Commercialization Track Winner, $40,000: Neuoptimind, Dr. Chandramallika Basak, PHD’05
Research Commercialization Track Runner Up, $10,000: Stefano
Research Commercialization Track Third Place, $10,000: Joseph Friedman

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