UA student startups to compete for $40K in prizes at the McGuire New Venture Competition April 28
TUCSON, Ariz., April 28, 2017 – 19 new ventures developed by more than 80 undergraduate and graduate University of Arizona students in the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program will compete for more than $40,000 in cash and prizes at the McGuire New Venture Competition, a rapid-fire rocket pitch competition and interactive trade show on April 28. The McGuire Program is an offering of the top-ranked McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship, at the UA’s Eller College of Management.
Student startups include sensor technology for self-driving cars, virtual reality home tours, socially responsible cosmetics, a treatment for autoimmune diseases, and more. Each team will present a 3-minute pitch before a panel of five judges that includes successful entrepreneurs, angel investors, corporate innovators, and McGuire Program alumni.
The $40,000 in cash and prizes has been generously donated by our event sponsors: Microsoft, StageXchange, Connect Coworking, and The H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation. The grand prize is $10,000 and Microsoft, the McGuire Center’s 2017 Annual Social Impact Partner, is giving a $5,000 Social Impact Award.
The McGuire Program is an intensive experiential education program open to UA undergraduate seniors and graduate students across all fields of study. Students accepted into the competitive entry program spend a year transforming an innovation from an early-stage idea to a sustainable launch-ready venture. Through a combination of classroom instruction, intensive practical work, and close guidance from experienced entrepreneurship mentors in residence, students leave the McGuire Program equipped with the mindset and skills necessary to excel as innovators and entrepreneurs in any career path.
If You Go
McGuire New Venture Competition and Showcase
When:
April 28, 9 a.m. - First Round Rocket Pitches
10:45 a.m. - Business/Law Exchange Presentation
11:30 a.m. - Trade Show & Food Trucks
12:30 p.m. - Finalist Pitches
2:30 p.m. - Awards Ceremony
3:45 p.m. - Reception & Trade Show
Where:
Eller College of Management, McClelland Hall, 1130 E. Helen St., in the Berger Auditorium.
Cost:
Free and open to the public
Top image: WorkSphere, creators of a smartphone app that gives employers the ability to manage communication, accountability and productivity on one device, bested 20 other University of Arizona McGuire Entrepreneurship Program student startup teams to win the grand prize and $10,000 at the McGuire New Venture Competition and Showcase on April 29, 2016.