Rice Alliance Business Plan Competition 2025 (More than $1million in Cash and Prizes)

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Applications are open for Rice Business Plan Competition. The competition, having completed 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.

Over 23 years it has grown from nine teams competing for $10,000 in prize money in 2001, to 42 teams from around the world competing for more than $1 million in cash and prizes. It is the largest and richest student startup competition in the world.

Rice Business Plan Competition Sectors

Energy, Cleantech and Sustainability
Hard Tech
Life Sciences and Healthcare Solutions
Digital Enterprise
Consumer Products and Services

Rice Business Plan Competition Prizes

Prizes for Placement in Competition

1st Place Overall – given by the GOOSE Capital – $150,000 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 – $5,000 cash

Individual Prizes (cash, equity-free)

Pearland Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Spirit of Entrepreneurship Prize $40,000 cash
Pediatric Device Prize by the Southwest National Pediatric Device Innovation Consortium (SWPDC) – $25,000 cash
Jacobs – Rising Stars Space Technology and Commercial Aerospace Prize – $25,000 cash
NOV Energy Technology Innovation Prize – $25,000 Cash
Entrepreneur Futures Network (EFN) Mentor Cash Prize – $1,500

Individual Prizes (investment)

Goose Capital Investment Prize – $200,000 Investment
The OWL Investment Prize – $100k+ Investment
Houston Angel Network (HAN) Investment Prize – $100,000 investment
The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) Angels Texas Investment Prize – $100,000 investment
New Climate Ventures Sustainable Investment Prize – $25,000 Investment
nCourage Courageous Women Entrepreneur Prize – $25,000 investment
Dream Big Ventures Latino Entrepreneur Investment Prize – $25,000 Investment
UCN Diversity Award in Partnership with South Loop Venture – $25,000 Investment

Individual Prizes (In-kind)

TMC Innovation Healthcare Accelerator Bootcamp Invite
Baker Botts In-Kind Legal Services Prize – $75,000 in kind for three top startups
Entrepreneur Elevator Pitch Prize
LSA Global/Latinx Startup Alliance Advisory Services for the Top Latino-led Startup(s)
New York Technology Capital Partners CFO Consulting Prize

Prizes for All Competitors (in-kind)

EFN Mentoring In-kind for all competitors
Amazon Web Services In-kind for all competitors

Eligibility Criteria for Rice Business Plan Competition

You are initially eligible for RBPC 2025 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, 2024
has not generated revenue of more than $100,000 in any 12-month period prior to July 1, 2024
is seeking funding or capital (or will be in the next 12 months)
is a potentially viable investment opportunity