Launch Competition

Launch is the third and final stage of the UVA Entrepreneurship Cup. 

The goal of launch is to showcase and provide seed capital to the most compelling student ventures. Upwards of $50,000 in total prize and in-kind resources will be awarded.

This stage of the competition is about commitment, sustainability, and scale. Are the students committed to the venture? Is it likely that that the venture, whether a for-profit or nonprofit, could be sustainable (i.e., financially and operationally viable)? Could this venture grow to have the impact and/or the upside imagined by the founders?

Students at this point are able to provide evidence of real customer and/or stakeholder demand, and can provide a vision for how the venture could become a sustainable business or non-profit. Furthermore, these student ventures have often also begun the process of assembling the team and resources to deliver their product or service to new customers.

The Final Event

• Thursday PM, April 17th, 2025
  • 5:00pm
  • Tom Tom Festival Event & Reception
    • Finalists will give their pitch to the audience and the audience will vote for audience award.
    • Announcement of winners and reception to follow.
  • Location: The Code Building Theater - 240 West Main Street, Charlottesville, VA 22902

DEADLINES

• Friday, March 28th, 2025 – Submissions due by 12PM (noon/lunch time) Eastern Time
• Monday, April 7th, 2025 - Finalists are selected and notified by 5:00 p.m. ET via email
• Thursday AM, April 17th, 2025 - Finalist pitches for judging panel.
  • (Schedule TBD)
  • 20-minute interview total per team: 4-minute presentation followed by Q&A

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS FOR MARCH 28th DEADLINE

The Launch! Competition reflects the practices and requirements of investors today. As such, a traditional “plan” is not required. Your submission should include the following:

One-page executive summary (see Resources section for examples)

10 – 15 page Slide Deck, including:

• Clear description of the product or service being offered
• Discussion of the market for this product or service
• Outline of the business model and value proposition
• Discussion of what you’ve done to de-risk your business, and an outline of the next steps for you and your team
• Overview of the management team
• Optional: Projected financials
• Optional: Video “elevator” pitch (2 – 5 minutes)
  • Video pitches will be required for all finalists

Participants should be able to speak to the sales cycle, price point, product distribution, competitive advantages, and barriers to entry. 

Please Upload your submissions via YouNoodle using the following format for labeling your documents: VentureName_LastName_Launch.pdf.;

THE SLIDES YOU SUBMIT DO NOT HAVE TO BE THE SLIDES YOU USE FOR THE 4 MINUTE FINAL PRESENTATION. 

Click Here to Watch a Pitch Prep Workshop Recording with Prof. Les Alexander

FINAL COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS

If you are selected as a finalist for the Launch Competition, you will be notified via email on Monday, April 7th, 2025 by 5PM Eastern Time. 

20-minute interviews (4-minute pitch with Q&A to follow) will take place during the day of competition day. 

Finalists will be contacted via email to determine their preferred time slot for interviews. 

You do not need to be incorporated to enter into the Launch! Competition, but winners of the competition MUST be incorporated to receive funds. 

All prize money will be paid directly to the company. Winners have up to one year to claim the funds.

Interview Expectations:

• 20 minutes total per team: 4-minute presentation followed by Q&A
• Presentation requirements:
  • 4 minutes answering the judging criteria;
  • Bring your own slides on a USB drive or on laptop that can plugged into an HDMI cable.
  • Please ensure that any presentations that will be on Macbooks HDMI ports or adapters.
  • We do not have Mac HDMI adapters available.
• You will be given a time slot based on your availability. You will be notified of your time slot by Tuesday, April 16th
• Your entire team does NOT have to be present
• Only current UVA students are able to present during presentation and Q&A

E-Cup Launch Timeline:

March 28th, 2025 - 

Noon ET - Online submission deadline.

April 7, 2025 - 

Finalists are selected and notified by 5:00PM ET via email

April 17, 2025 - 

Time TBD: Interview with Judges - 20 minutes total per team: 4-minute presentation followed by Q&A

5:00PM ET: Winners will be announced as part of ECup event at Tom Tom Festival, followed up reception. Finalists will present pitches, followed by audience voting, and announcement of winners.

Eligibility

TEAM MEMBERS

i. Any team with an undergraduate or graduate student currently enrolled in a degree program at UVA, or post-doctoral trainees at the University, may enter the competition. Faculty, staff, and alumni are encouraged to participate by providing advice or mentoring and can be listed as team members.

ii.    A maximum 6 people are allowed on each team.

iii.    At least one UVA team member has to be physically present to be in the finals. Video conferencing is not allowed for in person competitions. 

iv.    If an entrant is in the finals for more than one submission, that entrant can only present for ONE presentation in the final competition.

v.    Only current UVA students may participate in the team’s presentation including Q&A.

PREVIOUS PARTICIPATION

i.    Projects can be entered into the UVA E-Cup at any stage.  To enter a project in the Launch! Competition, it does not have to be entered in the Concept or Discovery Competition.

ii.   Business projects that have been awarded prize money by placing in the Launch! competition in previous academic years are not eligible to compete. Business projects that have been Finalists are eligible to compete again.

iii.    Projects that have participated in the i.Lab Incubator program are eligible for the Launch! Competition.

FUNDING

i.    Teams must not have received any institutional funding for their project (i.e. the team cannot have outside investors.)

ii.    Teams must not have received non-institutional funding greater than $150,000. (Non-institutional funding includes contests, grants, friends and family, etc.)

ii.    Concepts based entirely on externally funded research may not compete but new applications of UVA funded research may compete.  In order to compete, participants must have legal access to, ownership of, or written permission from the owners of the technology they are presenting.

PRIZE DISTRIBUTION

You do not need to be incorporated to enter into the Launch! Competition, but winners of the competition MUST be incorporated to receive funds. All prize money will be paid directly to the company. Winners have up to one year to claim the funds.

Awards

From the pool of submissions, projects will be selected to present at the final event. From these chosen projects, the top three will receive the following awards:

First Place – $20,000

Second Place – $15,000

Third Place – $10,000

The winners of the Launch! Competition MUST be incorporated to receive funds. Winners have up to one year to claim the funds. All funds will be paid to the incorporated company. The UVA Entrepreneurship Group has various resources to help incorporate your project and provide any legal advice. Please, contact your competition manager for assistance. A one-of-a-kind bronze trophy was designed and created at UVA in the first year of the competition (2009), through collaboration between engineering and the arts (sculpture). This trophy sits in the school of the winning team for a year and is passed forward annually following the event.

Finalists MUST complete the Competition Company Payment Form