The Arizona Collegiate Venture Competition (ACVC), where startups from the top three universities compete against each other for cash prizes, kicks off Friday, March 28 in Tucson.
The top 12 startups from Arizona State University (ASU), Northern Arizona University (NAU), and the University of Arizona (UA) will battle it out in the hopes of being awarded the grand prize of $10,000 and the Startup Territorial Cup. The winner will have bragging rights throughout the state for one full year.
The prizes will be distributed like this:
- The grand prize: $10,000 and the Startup Territorial Cup
- Two first runners-up: $7,000 each
- Three second runners-up: $2,000 each
The competition is sponsored by Hool Law Group and MAC6 and in collaboration with ASU’s Edson Student Entrepreneur Initiative, NAU’s NACET LaunchBox, and UA’s McGuire Entrepreneurship Program. “Hool Law Group and MAC6 enthusiastically support the ACVC and the effort to launch ventures from the best entrepreneurial minds from within our own state universities,” said Michael Hool, managing partner at Hool Law Group. “We look forward to crowning the winner of this year’s Territorial Cup!”
The teams will pitch their startups to a panel of judges that includes entrepreneurs and investors. Each startup is evaluated on seven criterias: problem and proposed solution, strength of team and advisors, market opportunity, go-to-market strategy, budget, progress made toward launch, and overall quality.
“The ACVC is a great opportunity for student startups to gain experience pitching their new ventures in a business plan competition and to win prize money,” said McGuire Entrepreneurship Program Director, Patty Sias. “It also gives us the chance to highlight our outstanding entrepreneurship education programs and Arizona’s thriving startup community.”
The location of the ACVC rotates. Last year’s inaugural event, then called the Arizona Student Startup Demo Day, was held at ASU. This year, the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship will host the event at Crowder Hall on the UA campus. A hosted reception will follow the pitch competition.
Arizona Collegiate Venture Competition
When: Noon – 7 p.m. Friday, March 28
Where: Crowder Hall, 1017 N. Olive Road, Tucson.
Who: Free and open to the public
More information: entrepreneurship.arizona.edu/events/acvc.asp
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