The Queens Pitch Competition is a pitch competition open to Queens undergraduate students. The winner(s) will receive up to $5,000 in prize money from Queens and a group of generous community sponsors. Any organization or individual interested in supporting the Queens pitch competition can do so through a donation to the McColl School of Business.
Getting Involved
Queens Pitch Competition
Want to get involved in the Queens Pitch Competition? Here’s all the information you need to know!
Interest Meeting
Check out our video which provides an overview of the competition program.
Who is Eligible?
Current graduate and undergraduate students from any major and class year can participate. All applicants must have:
- 1-4 team members. (Students are allowed to participate without a team if they’d like to pitch individually.)
- A burning passion for what you’re trying to build!
- A desire to prioritize the Pitch Competition this spring!
How to Apply
Complete an application by Friday, January 26, 2024 at 5 p.m.
What you need to know before applying:
- Companies representing any industry or sector, from no-tech to high-tech, are welcome to apply. What’s important is that you can clearly articulate how and why what you want to build meets a real need.
- Applying to the pitch competition means you agree to participate in three weekly educational sessions, as well as meet our expectation that you will make good use of the resources made available to and curated for you.
- Students at any level from any discipline are welcome. We encourage applicants to incorporate a diversity of backgrounds and experience – these tend to be some of the most creative, capable, and resilient founding teams!
- All companies are accepted into the program on a trial basis. However, only those companies who fully participate in the development sessions will be eligible to participate in the competition.
Frequently Asked Questions
The purpose is to support students who are launching or are interested in advancing an innovation, product or service, or accomplishing a significant milestone in getting their big idea off the ground.
Indicate on the application that you need team members and we will match you with a team that has similar interests and needs.
We will teach you! Our entrepreneurial experts will coach you on how to write a business plan and deliver a successful pitch during the workshop series.
Up to four ventures could receive prize money. The decisions will be at the discretion of the judges and the audience.
Each team must include at least one currently enrolled undergraduate Queens student(s). At least one currently enrolled undergraduate Queens student must deliver the pitch and answer questions from the judges.
Teams may compete and win without being incorporated (or, in the case of a limited liability company, organized).
There is no cost! Just your commitment to the competition and the time you will devote to working on your pitch.
The panel of judges will deliberate and decide that evening. We will publicly announce which teams have won prize monies directly following the pitch portion of the program.
External Resources
- 13 tips on how to deliver a pitch investor simply can’t turn down
- Tune in to PitchBreakfast virtually to see live examples of pitches.
Fine Print
Confidentiality and Permissions
Confidentiality of information is not guaranteed and teams should not include any confidential information in their submissions, including trade secrets or other proprietary information that would be at risk for disclosure. Entry into this competition may be considered a public disclosure for patent purposes. If teams plan to file patent protection on an aspect of their business, they should consult with an intellectual property attorney before entering. Intra-team confidentiality is the sole responsibility of team members.
Additional Rules
Teams are subject to the Honor Code. Teams may be disqualified at any time before, during, or after the pitch competition for failing to comply with these general rules or the conditions set forth in the program participation agreement.