🌄PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Blackstone LaunchPad Ideas Competition is designed to provide students with early-stage ideas to compete for various prizes including cash prizes!

More importantly, participating students will gain access to other LaunchPad programs on their campus and additional support as they develop their entrepreneurial skills.

This signature program supports LaunchPad’s goal in promoting innovation skills like – growth mindset, creativity, critical thinking, and leadership; broadening accessibility; and diversifying engagement with a focus on recruiting underrepresented and under-resourced students to participate. 

The competition is virtual and hosted on the StartupTree platform by UC Merced Innovation + Design Hub. Students must have a StartupTree account to participate. You will create your account when you select “Enter Now”.

🚝CHOOSE YOUR TRACK

Participants will need to select 1 of the following 4 tracks. 

• Social and Climate Impact
• Health & Life Science
• Consumer Products & Services
• General 

🏆PRIZES

The four winners of the UC Merced Innovation + Design Hub for each track will take home $1,000. 

👤ELIGIBILITY

The applicant must... 

• be a current student (undergraduate or graduate-level) ​ 
• be a founder/co-founder (i.e., the person with the original idea) 
• be in the earliest stages - have an idea or have just started building on an idea 
• create a profile on Startup Tree and apply as an individual or in teams of  2​

📆IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER

• 08/20/24: Application for Campus Round Open
• 09/27/24: Deadline for Campus Round 
  • All applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM on Septemebr 27th, 2024.
• 09/30/24-10/04/24: Campus Round Deliberation Period
  • Applicants will be evaluated and scored 
• Week of October 7th-11th winners announced 🏆