In September, the U.S. News & World Report ranked the San Diego State University College of Business’ undergraduate entrepreneurial program as the eighth best program among public universities and 21st best program overall. And in July, Forbes ranked SDSU as the sixth most entrepreneurial university out of public universities and the 23rd best overall. And that’s just the start of SDSU’s entrepreneurship focus.
The fourth annual Zahn Challenge is set for December 2, 2015. Every year the competition invites students to compete for up to $6,000 and the opportunity to showcase their idea for a startup in front of a large audience of entrepreneurial-minded individuals. And for the first time, SDSU alumni are invited to apply.
Cathy Pucher, the Executive Director of the Zahn Innovation Center spoke about the change to the challenge in a recent press release. “Last year I got quite a few email and phone call from alumni who said, ‘This is so cool. Can I be a part of it?’” said Pucher. “It seemd to me that it would be a really good idea to include our alumni somehow in this event.”
So this year, the challenge will feature three competitions:
- A $6,000 prize for applicants with an idea for a startup or social enterprise
- A $3,000 prize for current Zahn Innovation Center teams
- A $2,000 prize or teams with at least one alumnus who graduated within three years of 2015.
All three competitions will be judged based on how the innovative ideas or technologies for products or services address a large market opportunity with the ability to scale. “It could be a novel idea, it could be novel technology, it could be a novel business model or some combination,” Pucher said. “What we’re not looking for is a small or medium-sized business that’s been done before and you’re doing it again.”
For entrepreneurs looking to attend SDSU College of Business Administration for their MBA or EMBA, you’ll have unparalleled opportunities for entrepreneurial learning.