2024 Rice Business Plan Competition

The competition, entering its 24th year, gives collegiate entrepreneurs real-world experience to pitch their startups, enhance their business strategy and learn what it takes to launch a successful company. Hosted and organized by the Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship—which is Rice University’s internationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of entrepreneurship—and Rice Business.

The Rice Business Plan Competition exists so that student founders pushing to create new possibilities in technology, energy, healthcare and more can surround themselves with a powerful network; learn what it takes to secure investor funding; hone your pitch; and compete for big money to make the future you’re building possible. After a competitive application season, 42 startups have risen to the top and will be invited to compete on a global stage for more than $1M in prizes at the 2024 RBPC.

Benefits

• Prizes
  • Prizes for Placement in Competition
    • 1st Place Overall – given by the GOOSE Capital – $350,000 investment
    • 2nd Place Overall – given by Rice University – $100,000 investment
    • 3rd Place Overall – given by Rice University $50,000 investment
    • 4th – 7th Place Overall – $5,000 cash each
    • Semi-Final Round Prizes
    • Wildcard Round Prizes
    • Mercury Elevator Pitch Competition Prizes $3,500 divided among winners
    • Anbarci Family Company Showcase Prize – $3,000 cash
  • Individual Prizes Cash (Equity-Free)
    • Pediatric Device Prize by the Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium (SWPDC) – $50,000 cash
    • Pearland Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Spirit of Entrepreneurship Prize $30,000 cash
    • The Eagle Investors Prize – $10,000 cash
    • RBPC Alumni Network Cash Prize, Sponsored by NABACO – $10,000 cash
    • Michael Van Alstine (MVA) Prize – $3,000 cash
    • DK Innovation Prize – $3,000 cash
  • Individual Prizes (Investment)
    • The OWL Investment Prize – $100+ Investment
    • Houston Angel Network (HAN) Prize for Most Investable Startup – $100,000 investment
    • The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Houston Angel Investment Prize – $100,000 investment
    • TMC Innovation Healthcare Investment Prize – $250,000 investment + Health-tech Accelerator bootcamp program invite
    • Softeq Venture Studio Prizes (2) – Accelerator invite with $50,000 investment + $75,000 in-kind
    • nCourage Courageous Women Entrepreneur Prize – $25,000 investment
    • UCN Diversity Award in Partnership with South Loop Venture – $25,000 Investment
    • New Climate Ventures Sustainable Investment Prize – $25,000 Investment
  • Individual Prizes (In-Kind)
    • New York Technology Capital CFO Consulting Prize – $10,000 for 3 months in-kind for 1st Place Overall Winner
    • Baker Botts In-Kind Legal Services Prize – $20,000 in kind for three top startups
  • Prizes for All Competitors (In-Kind)
    • EFN Mentoring In-kind for all competitors
    • Amazon Web Services In-kind for all competitors
• Mentoring
  • In the lead-up to and during the competition, startups will have these mentoring and training sessions:
    • Business Plan Feedback Before the Competition
    • Pre-Competition Mentorship
    • Practice Round
    • Feedback Session
    • Networking Throughout the Event
• Immersive Experience
  • They offer an intense, educational experience over the multi-day event for student startup founders to pitch to investors, receive feedback and advance their startup. There is also significant time designated for interaction with the judges and prize sponsors, the majority of whom are from the investment community.
    • Receive real-time, informative feedback and guidance from sector specialists and entrepreneurs
    • Compete against top-ranked and emerging global student-led startups
    • Networking with potential venture capitalists and other investors

Eligibility Criteria

• You are initially eligible for RBPC 2024 if your startup:
  • is student-driven, student-created and/or student-managed
  • has at least two current student founders or management team members, and at least one of those students is a current graduate degree-seeking student
  • are from a college or university anywhere in the world
  • has not raised more than $250,000 in equity capital prior to July 1, 2023
  • has not generated revenue of more than $100,000 in any 12-month period prior to July 1, 2023
  • is seeking funding or capital (or will be in the next 12 months)
  • is a potentially viable investment opportunity
• If you can answer all those questions with “Yes,” then your startup appears eligible.

For more information, visit Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship.