LaunchPad Programs Blackstone LaunchPad

Syracuse University LaunchPad teams have won almost $4 million in business pitch competitions in the past several years, dominating regional, state and global competitions. The LaunchPad hosts several annual competitions as well as coordinates a number of campus qualifying competitions that lead to larger prestigious events.

Competitions provide critical early-stage seed funding that enables student ventures to work on customer discovery, prototypes, file for patents and business incorporation, meet inventory and supply chain needs and engage in critical business development to progress from concept to commercialization.

Our student teams have competed in large prestigious competitions like 43 North, GENIUS NY, Hustle and 76 West. LaunchPad entrepreneurs have won the $1 million 43 North grand prize and been part of the winning team in GENIUS NY over the years.

Competitions include:

• ACC InVenture Prize, campus qualifier: Applications for the competition are typically due the end of January for the campus qualifier in Bird Library. The top SU team goes on to the ACC finals to compete head-to-head against other campus champions for $30,000 in prizes in a "Battle of the Brains" at a live PBS-televised event. The competition is open to undergraduate students or recent graduates of ACC universities within one year of graduation from their undergraduate program.
• Afropreneurship Celebration and Competition: Held during Black History Month in Bird Library, this competition celebrates entrepreneurs of color. The competition is open to all Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF graduate and undergraduate students with a creative and realistic solution to solve a problem in the community.
• Cuse Tank: Held each fall in Bird Library. Open to Syracuse University undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines who are working on developing new products, services or technologies in all categories, both for-profit and nonprofit ventures.
• Freelance and Small Business Challenge: Typically held in the fall semester, this competition is specifically designed for students who are building a career or side hustle providing services or creating products. Open to all undergraduate and graduate students, participants present their business, previous work and the unique value they bring to their product or service market.
• Global Student Entrepreneurship Awards (EO GSEA): Applications are typically due in October; regionals held in Buffalo, New York are typically in November. Open to undergraduate and graduate students who are business owners, founders or controlling shareholders, either ‘for-profit’ or social enterprise.
• Hult Prize, campus qualifier: Typically held in February in Bird Library. Open to Syracuse University undergraduate and graduate students from all disciplines who are working to solve the world’s most pressing issues by creating innovative social ventures, with a specific focus on one of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals. The top SU team progresses to the semi-finals at one of twelve Hult Prize Summits around the globe to compete for up to $1M in prizes.
• Hunter Brooks Watson Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award: Applications are typically due mid-March for the competition which is typically in early April. Open to undergraduate and graduate students at Syracuse University from all disciplines. This $10,000 competition runs concurrently with the RvD iPrize (see below), with awards to students who best exemplify "The Spirit of Entrepreneurship." Prizes honor the memory of Hunter Brooks Watson, an SU student entrepreneur who died tragically in a distracted driving accident.
• Impact Prize: Applications are due in early November, with the event held during Global Entrepreneurship Week in mid-November. Open to Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF undergraduate and graduate students taking entrepreneurship courses at SU working on ventures with a social impact (such as energy, environment, employment, education and training, health and mental health, community and social networks, social inclusion, poverty and literacy, youth empowerment, food, sustainability, access, etc.) and ventures that support important public policy goals.
• New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC), CNY Regional Qualifier: Applications typically due in early March for the competition which is typically in late March. Open to undergraduate and graduate students for all colleges and universities in the Central New York Region. This is the regional qualifier for the New York Business Plan Competition.
• New York Business Plan Competition (NYBPC): Top teams in the NYBPC regional qualifier progress to the NYBPC finals in Albany, New York in late March. The competition is open to all undergraduate and graduate students at New York State colleges and universities across the state's ten economic development regions. Over the past several years, Syracuse University students have taken home many top divisional awards, as well as awards recognizing women and minority owned businesses. Syracuse student teams twice won grand prizes in the history of the competition.
• Orange Tank: Sponsored and coordinated by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, with applications typically due in September for the competition which is typically held during Orange Central Alumni Weekend. The competition is open to Whitman students and alumni.
• Panasci Business Plan Competition: Sponsored by the Martin J. Whitman School of Management in the spring semester. This campus-wide student business plan competition, hosted by the Falcone Center for Entrepreneurship and made possible by long-time Whitman supporter, the late Henry A. Panasci, founder of Fay’s Drugs.
• Raymond von Dran iPrize (RvD iPrize): Coordinated by the LaunchPad for the School of Information Studies, applications are typically due in late March for the competition which is typically in mid-April in Bird Library. Open to all Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF graduate and undergraduate students working on venture ideas for products, services, technologies and social impact ventures. Prizes honor the memory of Raymond von Dran, beloved and respected Dean of School of Information Studies at Syracuse University.
• Social Impact Prize: Coordinated by the LaunchPad for Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs' Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion, applications are typically due in mid-March for the competition held in early April in Bird Library. Open to all Syracuse University and SUNY-ESF graduate and undergraduate students working on venture ideas for products, services, technologies and social impact ventures which align with the social impact theme of that year’s competition.

The LaunchPad kicks off each academic year with an Ideas Fest and routinely hosts hack-a-thons. The Ideas Fest is an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students from across the university to start their entrepreneurial journey with just AN IDEA. Guest speakers and alumni have historically kicked off the annual event with presentations and mentoring, students are given the opportunity to present their ideas and vie for monetary and other prizes. With hack-a-thons, over the course of an action-packed day or weekend, students learn how to ideate, create a business model, work with mentors, find cofounders and pitch their ideas.

The LaunchPad is the home of the first inclusive design and entrepreneurship program in the country. The  innovative, interdisciplinary program is a partnership of the LaunchPad, the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education (InclusiveU) and the  College of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) through a generous donation by Gianfranco Zaccai ’70 H’09 and the Zaccai Foundation for Augmented Intelligence (Intelligence++).

Intelligence++ includes an inclusive entrepreneurship and design course, DES 400-600, taught in the LaunchPad at Bird Library, available as an elective to both undergraduate and graduate students from any school or college at Syracuse University, with an emphasis on interdisciplinary and collaborative innovation, including students with intellectual disability from InclusiveU.

Throughout the year, the LaunchPad hosts meetups and networking opportunities, including panel conversations, social events, book talks, discussion roundtables, mentor mixers, product demonstrations and launches, ‘Cuse Markets and other pop-up events. Networking events help student entrepreneurs meet others that are interested in being part of their team and journey, build university-wide infrastructure and bring together entrepreneurs, researchers, technical advisors, investors and funders.

The LaunchPad can help you build regional, national and global connections to share best practices, engage with successful entrepreneurs and find strategic partners.

The LaunchPad hosts regular toolkit workshops and Fireside Chats with successful entrepreneurs and subject matter experts to help students build competence through experiential learning. These hands-on sessions and engaging conversations are great opportunities to learn from others, network and connect. For a list of upcoming events, see our Events Calendar.