📋 Coach's Corner: February 2022
The countdown is on for some of the biggest student entrepreneurship competitions of the year - over $2 million is up for grabs!
Let me be the first to wish you a “Happy February”!
Mainly because it’s still January, and importantly, who says, “Happy February”? …
So, why am I even saying this?
Because there are millions of dollars in student funding opportunities with deadlines in the coming days.
The Rice Business Plan Competition, Dept. of Energy University EnergyTech Prize, TCU Venture & Values Competition, VentureWell E-Team and the Draper Competition for Collegiate Women Entrepreneurs applications all close very soon, and every student startup in the country should be applying to at least one of those opportunities. They are some of the most high-profile and validating opportunities you will get as a student entrepreneur. And the funding that comes along with placing in them can be a game-changer.
The odds are every student entrepreneur around the country is eligible to apply to multiple competitions that are open right now. Don’t miss out on an opportunity that has the potential to catalyze your venture!
In order to receive these e-mails directly to your inbox at the start of each month, just drop in your favorite email below. It’s the best way to keep an eye out for future funding opportunities.
Table of Contents
💰 Student Funding Opportunities
📋 Coach’s Content
🌎 Community Content
💼 Internships/Jobs Board
💰 Student Funding Opportunities
Check out this non-exhaustive list of funding opportunities that are accepting applications RIGHT NOW. These are only the ones that most - if not all - university entrepreneurs are eligible for. Definitely check in with your own university e-ship center to see if there are any specific opportunities available to you.
Eligibility: At least one founder must be affiliated with an institution of higher learning located in the U.S. (i.e. student, faculty, staff at a university). Those taking leaves of absence are welcome.
Grant Funding: $1+ million in total cash and prizes, and the grand prize is a $350,000 convertible note.
Eligibility: Any student team (at least two people) that are currently enrolled in an accredited collegiate institution. Team captain must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.
Grant Funding: $250,000 in total cash prizes
Eligibility: Only currently enrolled undergraduate college students taking classes during the 2021-22 academic school year (August 2021 – May 2022) are eligible. Students who completed their studies and will graduate in December 2021 are also eligible, provided they have not started graduate school or are taking graduate-level courses at the time of the competition.
Grant Funding: Unclear for this year, but last year there was a grand prize of $40,000, along with second/third/honorable mentions.
Eligibility: Currently-enrolled students working on a science or engineering based venture.
Grant Funding: Up to $25,000 in grant funding between Stage 1 & 2.
Eligibility: Each team must have at least one eligible Team Member (see below) who is an undergraduate woman at any accredited not-for-profit college or university located in the United States. An existing business is eligible only if, as of 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2021, it has received less than $25,000 in funding and earned less than $100,000 in gross revenue.
Grant Funding:
Grand Prize: $25,000 + scholarship to Draper University Heroes Training
2nd Place: $15,000 + scholarship to Draper University Heroes Training
3rd Place: $10,000 + scholarship to Draper University Heroes Training
Honorable Mentions: $5,000
Track Pitch Winners: $2,500
Other prizes as determined by Competition Judges
Eligibility: The University of Oregon New Venture Championship is open to university student teams with 2-5 members that have at least one graduate student involved with their venture. Students should be enrolled in a degree program or have finished their studies in the current academic year.
Grant Funding: Students will compete for their share of at least $50K in prizes. Grand prize in 2021 was $20,000.
Eligibility: The competition is for student-created, managed, and owned ventures. Students must play a major role in conceiving the venture by having key management roles and owning significant equity in the venture (50 percent or more of the equity allocated to the management team and key advisers). This is a competition for graduate students; however, teams with a minority of undergraduate students can also compete.
Grant Funding:
1st Place - $50K
2nd Place - $25K
3rd Place - $10K
4th Place - $5K
Elevator Pitch Competition (audience vote)
1st Place - $3K
2nd Place - $2K
Startup Expo Award
$5K
Johns Hopkins Healthcare Design Competition
The flyer sums up eligibility & grant funding pretty well.
📋 Coach’s Content
Last week, I published my interview with Adam Hardej, Co-Founder of OnePager and Open Scout. Both of these student-facing tools stem from experiences he had navigating the funding ecosystem as a recent university graduate with no inroads to traditional VCs. He channeled these frustrations into carving out a new pathway of funding for collegiate entrepreneurs - for both student founders and scouts alike. Read a write-up of my entire conversation with Adam below.
🌎 Community Content
Danny Warshay - the Executive Director & a Professor of Practice at Brown University’s Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship - bringing the famed lessons taught in his classroom to the whole world. Based on one of Brown University’s highest-rated courses—The Entrepreneurial Process—See, Solve, Scale is a practical guide for a three step process that has helped to lay the foundation for some of Brown University’s most successful student entrepreneurs. If you’re looking a hands-on guide, you can get your hands on it March 22nd.
Get connected to opportunities through SportsHi
I wanted to share an opportunity from - SportsHi -a fellow company participating along with EcoMap in the Techstars Equitech Accelerator. They are all about connecting students with resources & opportunities … often in the form of funding. Given our alignment in this space, I wanted to spread the good word about SportsHi! Learn more below.
Every month SportsHi creates thousands of dollars in scholarships for their users.
Not only can you win $$$ for tuition, you can:
Discover countless education and career resources.
Grow your network to increase your chances of finding opportunities.
Find or create student opportunities to share with the SportsHi community of more than 50k students.
Meet athletes like Andre Drummond, and Elizabeth Williams.
Gain exposure to growing orgs like Girls Who Code and eFuse
💼 Internships Board
I’ll be honest, Justine and Olivia Moore (twin sisters at VC firm CRV) do a fantastic job curating internship opportunities through their Accelerated Substack newsletter. Highly recommend you get that coming your way ASAP. The below list is primarily their list with a few ones I’ve heard about sprinkled in.
Ohi - Product Intern (Remote)
Quizlet - PM Intern (Remote)
Coinbase - User Research Intern (Remote)
Contra - Community Intern (Remote)
Lark - Strategy Research Intern (Remote)
Susa Ventures - Summer Fellows (Remote)
Pinterest - Sales Intern (SF)
Snap - Marketing Insights Intern (LA)
Current - Influencer Marketing Intern (NYC)
Create - MBA Venture Studio Intern (NYC)
Outer - Growth Marketing Intern (Remote)
GGV - NextGen Fellows (Remote)
Reddit - PM Intern (Remote)
a16z - Summer Intern (Remote)
Blind - Marketing & Growth Intern (Remote)
Descript - BD Summer Associate (Remote)
Zoom - PM Intern (Remote)
TheRealReal - MBA PM Intern (Remote)
Amplitude - PM Intern (Remote, SF)
Lyft - Content Design Intern (SF)
Uber - MBA Eats for Business Intern (SF)
Disney - Accelerator Intern (LA)
🌯 And that’s a wrap
Thank you to everyone who made it to the not-so-bitter end of this newsletter. I’d love to know what you think of it. If you feel so inclined, please take a minute to submit a (very brief) feedback form to help this take shape.
Till next time.
- Kevin “Coach” Carter