Join us on Wednesday, April 23, at Rawls 3rd floor atrium to witness the finalist student teams compete for the Top 3 Prizes ($10K for 1st, $7K for 2nd, $5K for 3rd).
56 teams and 125 students from all corners of Purdue have been working hard over 9 weeks to refine and improve their business concepts. The Final Event is an opportunity to celebrate their effort and achievement! The agenda for the event is as follows:
9:30am-10:00am | Student finalists and judges check-in
10:00am-12:00pm | Presentations from the finalist student teams
12:00pm-1:00pm | Lunch and judge deliberations
1:00 pm | Announcement of Top 3 winners, celebration, networking
The finalists will have an opportunity to present and engage with an incredible lineup of judges who will select the Top 3 for this year’s Competition. Our sincere gratitude to the following group of experts in early stage venture building who will be joining us at the Final Event to be our judges.
Student teams have been working hard framing and validating their concepts through customer discovery, identifying opportunities for differentiation, and assessing market potential. At the Final Event, concepts will be assessed according to the following criteria:
This year, the Burton D. Morgan Competition is back with a twist — it's all about creating new business concepts.
If any of these resonate, this competition is your chance to turn that inspiration into action! Submit your preliminary draft venture concept by February 24, 2025, to enter the competition and embark on this exciting journey of business creation.
The Burton D. Morgan Business Concept Competition is an active learning journey designed to help you take the first step toward developing a business concept. It will guide you through answering the critical question: "Is there something here?" You'll gain the confidence to decide whether to move forward. You'll consider designing a prototype and testing for traction.
Participants will start by submitting basic information about the problem or opportunity they've identified. Over the course of a couple of months, you will:
The ultimate goal? To confidently answer the question: "Do people want this?"
Success in this competition depends on your proactive engagement with the market. You'll conduct customer and stakeholder discovery interviews and seek insights from experts. To support your journey, we'll provide workshops, tools, and feedback to help you refine and develop your business concept. Workshops will be held virtually on February 18, February 25, March 4, March 11, March 25, and April 8. All entered participants will have access to a Brightspace competition page to submit assignments, access workshops, and receive feedback.
The competition culminates in a final event on April 23, 2025, where approximately 10 teams with the most promising concepts will compete for:
The top three winners will be chosen by a panel of judges experienced in early stage venture building.
Additionally, 7-8 other teams with standout concepts will each receive a $3,000 "You need to build this!" prize meant to encourage (but not require) you to develop a prototype for your business concept.
To qualify for the final event, you'll need to:
The competition is open to all Purdue students. However, your concept must meet these criteria:
Join our upcoming information session to learn more. Submit your preliminary draft venture concept by February 24 to embark on this exciting journey of business creation!
