UWRF Innovation Challenge

Competing teams should consist of at least one and no more than three undergraduate degree-seeking students who are enrolled part-time (minimum of six credit hours) or full-time at a UW System school (except UW-Madison) in the semester of the Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament (spring semester). Graduate teams interested in applying for the International Business Model Competition at-large category must be degree-seeking and enrolled part-time during one semester of the academic year the competition takes place.

Yes, international students are eligible to participate if they are enrolled as an undergraduate with a minimum of six credits in the spring semester. 

Non-undergraduate students (or graduates) may be part of the venture but cannot participate in the state or international competition (e.g., pitching, Q&A, etc.). The eligibility requirement is any student participating in the state or international finals needs to be an undergraduate enrolled in a minimum of six credits in the spring semester. In general, a member of the student team should be CEO, COO or president of the venture, or members of the student team should occupy 50 percent or more of the functional area management positions that report directly to the CEO, COO or president.

Participants own the IP (Intellectual Property) and can disclose to WiSys or file for a patent on their own if they want. We don't require anyone to sign an NDA or non-compete to participate. This defeats the purpose of this type of format and is becoming a standard practice for accelerators and angels/venture capitalists. At the center of what participants are going to be judged on at the State Final is Lean Startup and customer development which shouldn't require dissemination of proprietary information. Participants should instead be focused on telling their learning journey and how they validated (or invalidated and pivoted) the elements of their business model.

Check out these resources for more information on this topic.

• Lean Startup video
• Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament website

View the 2020 Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament winning team presentation.

You can connect with Sheri Marnell if you need assistance finding a mentor.

We will assist you in finding additional team members if needed. Additionally, feel free to network at the Ideathon event to find other students that may be interested.