The competition is designed to give collegiate entrepreneurs a real world experience to pitch their startups to investors, receive mentoring, network  with the entrepreneurial ecosystem, enhance their startup strategy, and learn what it takes to launch a successful startup.

Benefits 

• They provide an intense, immersive experience over the course three days for student startup founders to pitch to investors receive multiple rounds of feedback and advance their startup.
• There will be over $1.5 million in prizes, and all 42 teams who compete at Rice University in Houston are guaranteed to win cash prizes. Currently, the minimum cash prize is $500 and the grand prize winner receives a $300,000 investment (typically in the form of a convertible debt note, without geographic restrictions)

Eligibility 

Applicants must meet the following eligibility requirements:

Team Composition 

The startups competing at Rice must include at least two degree-seeking students:

• One of these students must be a current or recently-graduated graduate-level student. This includes
  MBA, PhD, MD, JD, and Master’s candidates.
• The other student may be a current or recently –graduated graduate-level student, or current or
  recently-graduated undergraduate-level student.
• “Current” means currently seeking a degree, enrolled on a full- or part-time basis (i.e., in the academic
  year from July 1, 2018 through June 30, 2019).
• “Recently graduated” means students who will graduate any time after July 1, 2018. (For example,
  December 2018 graduates are eligible to compete).
•  Adjustments may possibly be made for teams from non-U.S. universities that have a different academic
  calendar; please contact the RBPC Director if you are from a non-U.S. school and feel this applies to you.
• Teams may be comprised of students from different schools
•  Up to 5 team members will be allowed to compete and present at the RBPC. All of those 5 team
  members must be current or recently-graduated students.
•  At least 2 team members must present in every round on Friday and Saturday, with at least 2 of those
  members meeting the student requirements above. The exception is the Elevator Pitch Competition on
  Thursday night; only one student in the startup will present then.
  Not eligible: Students who graduated before July 1, 2018
  Not eligible: Startups that have competed in prior Rice Business Plan Competitions
  Not eligible: teams or technologies that previously presented or competed in the RBPC

Other Criteria 

All ventures must be seeking outside equity capital, typically early-stage venture capital investment or earlystage angel investment.

• All ventures must be “for profit” entities.
• Startups may have raised ANY level of equity funding AFTER July 1, 2018.
•  Equity funding awarded as part of an accelerator/incubator program does count toward funding limits.
•  Research and other grants; competition winnings; traditional loans; and any friends and family funding
  do not count toward funding limit.

Not eligible: Startups that have raised more than $250,000 in equity capital from sources other than the
students or their friends or families prior to July 1, 2018 are not eligible to compete.
Not eligible: Ventures with more than $100,000 in revenues in prior academic years (meaning before July 1,
2018), are not eligible to compete.