Got ideas? Gear up for Business Model Competition
At the 2015 competition, John Lewandowski presents the winning business model to judges for Disease Diagnostic Group. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology-based company, which produces a device that can accurately diagnose malaria for one-tenth the cost of current techniques, won a $25,000 grand prize. (Photo by Cheryl Gerber)
Applications are open now for the 2016 Tulane Business Model Competition, which will award over $40,000 in cash prizes to college entrepreneurs with promising startup ventures.
Presented by the Tulane Entrepreneur Association and the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the A. B. Freeman School of Business, the competition seeks early-stage ventures that can demonstrate a market-tested ability to adapt to customers" needs. It is open to teams led by at least two and no more than five students enrolled in a college or university.
To enter, teams must submit a brief summary of the business, its product and its target market by Friday, Jan. 29.
“Tulane University has a rich history of supporting entrepreneurship and promoting an interdisciplinary, market-focused approach to new venture creation,” said Sherif Ebrahim, director of entrepreneurship and innovation education at the Freeman School.
“The Tulane Business Model Competition is a way for us to recognize and foster high-potential ventures that have demonstrated an ability to test their assumptions in the field and then pivot based on that market feedback.”
The competition rewards ventures for breaking down their idea into a key business model hypotheses, testing their assumptions with customers, applying Customer Development/Lean Startup principles to make sure they nail the solution, and changing until they have a customer-validated business model.
Tulane will select six semi-finalists who will get to pitch their ventures, receive mentoring and network with startup experts on Monday, March 14, as part of New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. From those six ventures, three finalists will be selected to present their business models at the Freeman School on Friday, April 15, with a grand prize of $25,000 hanging in the balance.
Participants are encouraged to apply online.
Mark Miester is a senior editor in the A. B. Freeman School of Business.
