Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship › Events › McGinnis Venture Competition
The McGinnis Venture Competition, a platform exclusively for Carnegie Mellon University's community of student entrepreneurs, brings together Carnegie Mellon's best and brightest student entrepreneurs to compete for $60K in investments. All participants receive crucial interaction with alumni entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, an opportunity to raise capital and valuable feedback about ventures.
This multi-round competition kicks off in early January, starting with two virtual rounds and culminating in a final live round celebration at Carnegie Mellon University.
Direct any questions to Allyson Hince.
The 2024 McGinnis Venture Competition registration opens on Wednesday, November 1, 2023. The Round 1 submission deadline is on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 via our online platform, Pralent. Teams who create a profile, register for the competition and start their submission by Friday, December 1, 2023 are guaranteed to be assigned a coach for the competition; for those who register after December 1, 2023, are not guaranteed a coach assignment.
The final round pitches will be held on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
Congrats to the 2024 McGinnis Venture Competition Winners!
Graduate TrackFirst Place: J.P. Robotics is mapping big problems in small pipes using robotics and AI. Team members include Tina Tian. Second Place: Galen Health is AI for Early Detection of Pancreatic Cancer. Team members include Logan Nye, MD and Kushagra Agarwal. Third Place: Sitewiz is AI-driven iterative optimization for e-Commerce websites. Team members include Ram Potham, Rohit Malhotra and Drake Som. | Undergraduate TrackFirst Place: Assurif.ai boosts efficiency for mortgage underwriters in lower markets, plagued by redundant tasks making up to 75% of workflow. By blending AI with human input, assurif.ai speeds up work, enhance accuracy and slash costs by over 40%. Team members include Alex Chen, Joey Park, Andrew Kang, Erik Wang and Meher Kaky. Second Place: KnitFit custom-fits compression garments using machine knitting. Team members include Pratyay Didwania, Astha Shah, Advika Jayanti and Sreekar Kunaparaju. |
Join Us for the McGinnis Venture Competition Final Round Celebration on March 19!
Help cheer the final round graduate and undergraduate teams to victory! Attend the final round celebration on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. The event will also be live streamed to allow for international and remote community members to attend.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Schedule of Events:
- 1:00 - 5:00 PM - Final Round Team Presentations
- 5:30 - 7:00 PM - Award Ceremony & Networking Reception
Location:
Carnegie Mellon University Swartz Center, Tepper Quad Bldg., 4765 Forbes Avenue, 3rd Level
Find out more on our final round webpage>
Lessons Learned from Jerry McGinnis
Wed, Nov 1, 2023
Registration Opens via Pralent
Fri, Dec 1, 2023
Start your submission to receive a coach
Tues, Jan 16, 2024
Round 1 Submission Deadline @ 11:59 PM EST
- Important Dates and Deadlines
- Requirements and Guidelines
- Prize Allocation
The McGinnis Venture Competition is made possible by a generous endowment from Gerald E. McGinnis, founder ofRespironics. Thank you to the McGinnis family.
Past Winners
Graduate Track
First Place
$25,000
Second Place
$15,000
Third Place
$10,000
Undergraduate Track
First Place
$4,000
Second Place
$2,500
Bonus
Undergraduate track winners are also awarded a place in theCMU Venture Challenge.
*Investments are awarded in the form of a SAFE.The remaining $3,500 will sponsor theCMU Venture Challenge.
Coaching
The competition includes coaches for each team that declares participation in the McGinnis Venture Competition via our online platform. The Swartz Center staff will match the appropriate team with an appropriate coach. If a team is not registered by the deadline the Swartz Center cannot guarantee that a coach will be assigned.
Networking Opportunities
Meet and interact with peers who are also passionate about entrepreneurship, and gain access to Carnegie Mellon’s amazing entrepreneurial alumni network. Teams from all rounds enjoy access to exclusive networking events.
Help Along the Way
CONNECTSevents are held throughout the year to help teams prepare.
Here are a few video resources that we suggest to help with your video pitch:
- The Only 10 Slides You Need in a Pitch
- The 10/20/30 Rule
- 6 Tips for a Good Video Pitch
- Creating a Successful Video Pitch
Intro to CMU Libraries Databases for Market & Competitive Research with Jimmy McKee
Wednesday, December 6, 2023
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. EST
Virtual
All applicants will be sent the virtual invite to attend
Facilitated by CMU's Entrepreneurship Librarian - Jimmy McKee - in this session, attendees will receive a guided overview about the various business resources that the Libraries provides access to. These tools and databases enable you to undertake highly effective secondary market research, which will help McGinnis competitors save time and develop stronger pitches!
Wed, Nov 1, 2023
Registrationopens via Pralent.
Application requirements:Executive summary[pdf] and 5-minute video pitch.
Tues, Nov 14, 2023
Virtual Info Session
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST-Virtual
Fri, Dec 1, 2023
Create a log in via Pralent, register for the Competition via Pralent and start your application to receive a coach
If you create a log in via Pralent, register for the McGinnis Venture Competition and start your submission to include your team name, team description and team members by December 1 you will be guaranteed to be assigned a coach for the competition; for those who do this after December 1, we cannot guarantee that you will be assigned a coach for the competition.
Wed, Dec 6, 2023
Intro to CMU Libraries Databases for Market & Competitive Research with Jimmy McKee
12:30 - 1:30 p.m. EST
-Virtual
All applicants will be sent the virtual invite to attend
Facilitated by CMU's Entrepreneurship Librarian - Jimmy McKee - in this session, attendees will receive a guided overview about the various business resources that the Libraries provides access to. These tools and databases enable you to undertake highly effective secondary market research, which will help McGinnis competitors save time and develop stronger pitches!
Wed, Jan 10, 2024
Virtual Info Session
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. EST-Virtual
Tues, Jan 16, 2024
Round 1 Submission Deadline at 11:59 pm EST.
Round 1executive summary[pdf] and video pitch due via our online platform.
Thurs, Jan 18, 2024
Round 1 judges can view team’s applications at 2 pm EST.
Thurs, Jan 25, 2024
Round 1Team Mixer
5:00 - 6:30 p.m. EST
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship Main Space
Carnegie Mellon University
Tepper Quad
, 3rd Level
4765 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
Tues, Jan 30, 2024
Round 1 judging ends at 11:59 pm EST.
Thurs, Feb 1, 2024
Teams notified. Round 2 begins at 2 pm EST.
Tues, Feb 13, 2024
Round 2 submission deadline at 11:59 pm EST.
Round 2 updatedexecutive summary[pdf] and video pitch due via our online platform.
Thurs, Feb 15, 2024
Round 2 judges can view team’s applications at 2 pm EST.
Tues, Feb 27, 2024
Round 2 judging ends at 11:59 pm EST.
Thurs, Feb 29, 2024
Teams notified. Round 3 Begins at 2 pm EST.
Tues, March 12, 2024
Round 3Mini-Business Plan[pdf] due at 11:59 pm EST via our online platform.
Thurs, March 14, 2024
Round 3 judges can view team’s applications at 2 pm EST.
Tues, March 19, 2024
1:00 - 5:00 p.m. Final Round Team Presentations
5:30 - 7:00 p.m. Award Ceremony & Networking Reception
Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship
Carnegie Mellon University
Tepper Quad
, 3rd Level
4765 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
View full schedule and final round teams on our events page.
Visitor parking available at the East Campus Garage.
Eligibility Details
The McGinnis Venture Competition is open to all current Carnegie Mellon University undergraduate and graduate students who have created, managed and owned ventures.
A CMU student should be CEO, CTO or COO. Members of the student team should also own a significant majority of the equity allocated to all parties. Non-CMU students may be members of the venture’s management team and may participate; however, current CMU students should deliver the majority of the content in all of the rounds.
Track Details
How to determine which track you are competing in:
- If you haveall undergraduate studentson your team you will be considered in theundergraduate track.
- If you haveall graduate studentson your team you will be considered in thegraduate track.
- If your team is made up ofboth graduate and undergraduate studentsyou will be considered in the graduate track. You willnot be eligibleto compete in the undergraduate track.
Requirements & Guidelines: Round 1
**Please note that you will upload your Executive Summary and Video Pitch on our online platform.**
Deliverable:Executive Summary and Video Pitch*
The Executive Summary must be3-5 pagesin length. Please use theExecutive Summary/Mini-Business Plan[pdf] for guidance.
A 5-minute Video Pitch targeted to investors is also required. You should pretend you are pitching to real investors and include all pertinent information. Record your Video Pitch and insert a link on our online platform.
The Executive Summary and Video Pitch must be submitted on our online platform.
The application submission deadline is Tuesday, January 16, 2024 at 11:59pm EST via our online platform.
*If you need to borrow video equipment to make your video, visitClusters Multimedia Lending.
Requirements & Guidelines: Round 2
**Please note that you will upload your updated Executive Summary and Video Pitch on our online platform as you did in Round 1.**
Deliverables:Updated Executive Summary and Video Pitch*
Submit via our online platform an updated Executive Summary and Video Pitch. Use the feedback that you received from Round 1 to improve.
The Round 2 submission deadline is Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 11:59pm EST via our online platform.
*If you need to borrow video equipment to make your video, visitClusters Multimedia Lending.
Requirements & Guidelines: Round 3
**Please note that you will upload your Mini Business Plan/Expanded Version of Executive Summary on our online platform as you did in Round 1 and 2.**
Deliverables:Mini Business Plan/Expanded Version of Executive Summary and Live Pitch
We suggest that you use theExecutive Summary/Mini-Business Plan[pdf] as guidance when creating your business plan, which should be 5-10 pages. You can add additional information to your business plan.
The mini-business plan submission deadline is Tuesday, March 12, 2024 at 11:59pm EST via our online platform.
The live presentations are varied based on the graduate and undergraduate tracks. Graduate tracks are 6 minutes long followed by 5-minute Q&A from the judges, and undergraduate tracks are 5 minutes long followed by 5-minute Q&A from the judges. Time limits are strictly enforced.The live round will be held on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
Confidentiality & Intellectual Property Guidelines
The authors of the executive summaries and mini business plans will retain all rights to the executive summaries and mini business plans regarding its use at all times prior to and following the competition except as stated below. Due to the nature of the competition, we will not ask judges, reviewers, staff or the audience to agree to or sign non-disclosure statements for any participant.
All public sessions of the competition, including, but not limited to, oral presentations and question/answer sessions, are open to the public at large. Any and all of these public sessions may be broadcast to interested persons through media that may include radio, television and the internet. Any data or information discussed or divulged in public sessions by entrants should be considered information that will likely enter the public realm, and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged or presented in these sessions.
Carnegie Mellon University may make photocopies, photographs, videotapes and/or audiotapes of the presentations including the business plan and other documents, charts or material prepared for use in presentation at the McGinnis Venture Competition. Students retain all proprietary rights. The university may use the materials in any book or other printed materials and any videotape or other medium that it may produce, provided that any profits earned from the sale of such items is used by the university solely to defray the costs of future competitions. The university has non-exclusive world rights in all languages, and in all media, to use or to publish the materials in any book, other printed materials, videotapes or other medium, and to use the materials in future editions thereof and derivative products.
Judging & Coaching Guidelines
View our judging guidelines
View our coaching guidelines
Thank you to our Swartz Center Patrons
