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Startup Challenge Application 🚀 - Winter 2026

Startup Challenge Overview:

The Startup Challenge is a hands-on program tailored for aspiring entrepreneurs, providing guidance to develop their own startup that addresses a real-world problem. No prior idea is required to participate, making this program accessible to anyone interested in learning about entrepreneurship and developing their skills. 

The program provides tools and guidance to brainstorm, validate, and refine ideas from the ground up, ensuring a solid foundation for each participant. Each workshop will include interactive activities, group discussions, and hands-on exercises to ensure participants engage deeply with the material and leave with tangible outputs.

The program runs from February 5 to March 19th and includes four in-person workshops held on Thursdays (except Reading Week) from 2:00 to 4:00 PM at the Ronald D. Schmeichel Building for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Each week, participants will also have a brief one-on-one advisor meeting during drop-in hours on Thursdays before the workshops from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM, providing personalized feedback and support to help you refine your ideas and overcome challenges.

The Startup Challenge culminates in an exciting final pitch competition, where the top 10 participants showcase their startups to a panel of judges, competing for a chance to win up to $1,750 from a total prize pool of $4,000. In order to qualify for the final pitch competition, all participants must attend all workshops and advisory sessions, as well as complete deliverables each week and show progress towards developing a start-up.


Key Dates and Structure:

  • Program Duration: February 5 - March 19
  • Workshops: Thursdays, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  • Weekly Drop-in Advisor Meetings: Thursdays, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
  • Deliverables and Attendance: Workshops, drop-in sessions and key deliverables will be tracked, helping to identify the top 10 contestants for the final pitch competition.
  • 5 Hours per Week Commitment: Includes workshops, advisor sessions, and working on deliverables.


Program Schedule:

  1. Problem Definition: Thursday, February 5, 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
  2. Drop-in Advisor Session #1: Thursday, February 12, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
  3. Exploring Solutions: Thursday, February 12, 2:00 - 4:00 PM
  4. Drop-in Advisor Session #2: Thursday, February 26, 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
  5. Interest Validation & Traction: Thursday, February 26, 2:00 - 4:00 PM
  6. Drop-in Advisor Session #3: Thursday, March 5 , 12:00 PM - 2:00 PM
  7. Business Model Development: Thursday, March 5, 2:00 - 4:00 PM
  8. Pitch Workshop (Optional): Thursday, March 12, 2:00 - 4:00 PM
  9. miniPITCH Competition (Optional): Thursday, February 26, 4:00 PM - 6:00 PM
  10. Final Competition: Thursday, March 19, 4:00 - 6:30 PM


Prizes:

  • 1st Place: $1,250
  • 2nd Place: $1,000
  • 3rd Place: $750
  • 4th Place: $50
  • Fan Favourite: $500
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