Competition Structure

All participating universities will select one team to send to the competition. Each team creates a short pitch video for their business or invention. The teams then meet virtually online with the judges for ten minutes where their videos are presented followed by a Q&A session.

Approximately a week following the virtual session, students will travel to the host university where they take the stage to field critical follow-up questions by the judges in a live television production to determine which teams will walk away with the trophies and $30,000 in prize money.

Surrounding the finals, the host University will offer programming and networking opportunities for all competing teams to meet fellow student entrepreneurs and forge relationships to support their ventures.

Team Eligibility Requirements

Each team member must meet all of the eligibility requirements listed below.

1. Each university finalist team may only be composed of full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students or recent graduates of the university within one year of graduation from their undergraduate program.

   • A team whose idea or invention qualifies as university-owned IP is not eligible to enter.

2. Entrants should be the original creators, inventors, or owners of the intellectual property (IP) underlying their invention. 

   • If a team member is a recent graduate of the university, the idea for the invention must have been initially conceived while the student was enrolled as an undergraduate.

   • If a team member is a recent graduate of the university and is now attending graduate school at another ACC institution, the student is only eligible to compete for their undergraduate institution.

3. Teams/Ventures cannot have generated revenue or capital funding in excess of $100,000. This includes funding from both institutional and non-institutional sources (contests, grants, friends and family, bank loans, etc.)

4. Teams/Ventures cannot have competed as a university finalist in an ACC InVenture Prize competition in a previous year as an identical entrant. A university may again nominate a team that served as their finalist previously only if the university decides there has been substantive improvement or change to their invention.

Judging Criteria

The judging criteria for the preliminary and the final round will consist of four main categories (all weighted equally):

1. Idea. Idea validity, novelty, and potential social impact.

2. Business Model. Value proposition, cost structure, key resources, customer discovery and validation (marketability, market size), and product or service development strength.

3. Entrepreneurship. Future vision, team commitment and culture, team expertise and knowledge, and pitch delivery.

4. Probability of Becoming a Successful Business. Competitive advantage and probability of receiving future investment.