UWM Student Startup Challenge

The Contest:
Innovative ideas for startup companies and products are sought. Winning ideas will form the basis for new companies launched as part of the program. The program will help student-entrepreneurs build a team, develop working prototypes and launch a company based on their concepts. Winning ideas will be judged on their novelty, viability as a new business or product and their appropriateness for prototyping.

Two Tracks:
This year, we will sponsor teams and ideas in two distinct categories:

• Product Innovation (Hardware)
• Software Innovation (Mobile Apps)

How to Enter:
On-line entries can be in any form: images, documents, presentations, videos or other media and must include the following:

• Clear articulation of the idea.
• What problem does it solve?
• How does it work?

Sponsorship:
The contest is sponsored by the National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA), College of Engineering and Applied Science, School of Information Studies, Peck School of the Arts and the UWM Research Foundation. Up to eight selected teams will each have access to $5,000 (mobile apps) or $10,000 (products) in operational budget.

Who Can Apply:
The contest is open to all current UWM students in all schools and colleges and UWM alumni who have graduated within the last two years. Students do not need to be engineering or business students to apply – idea are sought from all disciplines.

Timeline:
Students can apply immediately, and early entries will benefit from more discussion and brainstorming. The deadline to be considered is May 31.

The Outcome:
The winning ideas will be developed over a 12 month period starting in the fall of 2013 with the objective to develop the following:

• Prototype – a working prototype device or a mobile app will be developed by students using CEAS/SOIS design classes. (Students do not need to be enrolled to apply; however, winning applications must be willing to act as advisors to student design teams);
• Entrepreneurial Team – A student lead team will be developed to advance the business;
• Business Mentorship – local successful entrepreneurs and business leaders will help guide the student teams in developing their businesses;
• Business Launch – the team will launch a business, including legal formation; and
• Investor-Ready Business Plan – working with business mentors, the team will develop a business plan that will be ready to present to investors.
• Top two mobile app teams will have an opportunity to present at the next South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference.

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Protection:
The contest is designed to foster better decision making by involving a variety of players. Initial submissions can be treated as confidential upon request; however, the project sponsors reserve the right to share a non-confidential summary of all ideas. Intellectual Property remains the property of the disclosing party.

Advisory Board:
An advisory board, consisting of deans, faculty members, industry partners, serial entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, will select three projects to be launched and will help shape the program.

More Information:
For more information, contact: Dr. Ilya Avdeev (CEAS), avdeev@uwm.edu