Deadline: January 15, 2026
The Diamond Challenge 2026, organized by Horn Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware, invites high school students aged 14-18 from any country to develop and submit original business or social venture concepts, providing a platform to transform their ideas into real-world solutions and compete for a $100K prize pool.
The competition focuses on turning passions into business or social venture concepts, offering a philanthropic education initiative that provides free resources for students, educators, and entrepreneurship practitioners. Participants are expected to learn from new ideas, create, submit, and present original concepts, develop problem-solving skills, demonstrate unique value, explore revenue or social impact sustainability, and advance entrepreneurial potential.
The Diamond Challenge is a global entrepreneurship competition designed specifically for high school students to bring their innovative ideas to life. Participants can compete individually or in teams of 2-4 students with the guidance of at least one adult advisor. Each team must select a competition track, either business innovation or social innovation, and decide on a pitch round format—live or virtual—at the time of submission.
Teams in the business innovation track aim to solve a customer problem that generates revenue and profit, while those in the social innovation track focus on addressing social problems to positively impact people or the environment. The competition provides structured opportunities for concept development, pitching, and networking, guiding students through the process of refining their ideas, presenting solutions, and gaining feedback.
The competition begins with the submission round, requiring a written concept narrative of 3-5 pages and a 60-second introductory video presenting the team and concept. Concepts must be original, not previously generating more than $100,000 in revenue, and each student may only submit one concept per year. Successful submissions are evaluated by judges, and teams meeting minimum criteria advance to the pitching round.
In the pitching round, teams may present live using a 5-minute pitch with a recommended 15-slide deck or submit a pre-recorded video pitch of the same duration. Creativity is encouraged, including the use of prototypes, visuals, motion graphics, and multimedia. Judges engage in a 3-minute question-and-answer session, with only participating team members eligible to respond.
Finalists advance to the Limitless World Summit, where at least one team member must attend in-person. Teams may update their pitch decks prior to final presentations, and all materials presented—including prototypes and visuals—count within the 5-minute pitch. Prize funds are awarded to winning teams either directly to their registered venture or divided equally among team members.
The Diamond Challenge offers substantial prizes, including grand prizes of $12,000 for first place, $8,000 for second, and $4,500 for third in each competition track. Topical prizes recognize excellence in areas such as waste and recycling innovation, technological application, community resource access, and global entrepreneurship leadership. The competition fosters creativity, problem-solving, and entrepreneurial skills while providing students with exposure to a global network, expert feedback, and potential future collaborations.
For more information, visit Diamond Challenge.
