Resources

Our experts are here to help connect you to funding and competition opportunities locally, regionally, and nationally.


Crowdfunding at RIT 

Crowdfunding at RIT is powered by community funding and is a powerful tool for fueling initiatives through philanthropic giving. Through crowdfunding, you can partner with us on a several projects, then share this info with your friends, family, and colleagues. Together, we can provide a dynamic learning environment and embrace community involvement as a fundamental foundation of our mission.

Learn More 

Energy Startup Competitions 

The Energy Startup Competition is hosted by the Society for Petroleum Engineers (SPE) and Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship. 
The SPE ATCE Conference showcases the latest technologies in Oil and Gas. The competition is open to ALL emerging energy technology companies with applications in the Upstream O&G sector. Competitors will receive visibility among leaders in the upstream energy industry, recognition as technology leaders, the opportunity for cash prizes, and networking with leading energy investors, and mentoring.

Finalist companies will receive complimentary admission to ATCE and be eligible to receive a portion of $75,000 or more in cash prizes.

Learn More 

Startup Nations Award 

The efforts of those behind entrepreneur-centric policymaking have a tremendous impact on the economy – enabling startups to scale, create new jobs, and push the entrepreneurship frontier forward. To celebrate their achievements, Startup Nations recognizes innovative policy shapers and policy approaches worldwide through its Startup Nations Awards.

Finalists and winners will be invited to the Startup Nations Summit and the awards ceremony to share their experiences and accept their awards.

Learn More 

VentureWell for STEM Innovators 

VentureWell’s E-Team program is a national competitive grant program that provides early-stage funding of up to $25,000 and cultivates opportunities for student STEM. The multi-stage program provides grant funding, immersive workshops, and coaching to help student teams realize their projects’ full commercial potential.

Learn More 

Create the Future Design Contest 

The Create the Future Design Contest was launched in 2002 by the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs magazine to help stimulate and reward engineering innovation. The annual event has attracted more than 12,000 product design ideas from engineers, entrepreneurs, and students worldwide. The contest's principal sponsors are COMSOL and Mouser Electronics with Analog Devices and Intel as supporting sponsors.

Learn More

MASS Challenge Accelerator 

The MASS accelerators run for three to four months, depending on location. The startups participating receive free office space, intensive training, world-class mentoring, access to in-kind benefits from partners, and much more. Compete for a share of more than $2M in equity-free prizes globally. Participating in MassChallenge more than doubles a startup's likelihood of raising significant funding and reaching 15 employees according to an MIT study.

Learn More 

Lightspeed Summer Fellowship 

Lightspeed Venture Partners offers summer fellowships to support entrepreneurship and innovation among highly motivated engineering and CS students. Each selected team will receive $5,000 per team and $15,000 per team member, mentoring by one of Lightspeed’s investment professionals, as well as office space in Menlo Park, CA throughout the summer. 

Lightspeed also conducts a Venture Series “course” throughout the summer with the explicit goal of providing young founders practical knowledge on topics such as Hiring and Compensation, Venture Capital Economics, Pitching Investors, Initial Selling Strategies, and Career Advice. 

Learn More 

TCU Richards Barrentine Values and Ventures® Competition 

A unique annual competition for undergraduate students around the world to pitch plans for businesses, products or services that make a profit while also benefiting the environment, the community or a specific population. Presented by the Neeley Entrepreneurship Center.

Learn More 

Challenge.gov 

Challenge.gov is a listing of challenge and prize competitions, all of which are run by more than 100 agencies across federal government. 

These problem-solving events include idea, creative, technical and scientific competitions in which U.S. federal agencies invite the public’s help to solve perplexing mission-centric problems. 

More than 740 challenges have been run in the federal government since Challenge.gov launched in 2010, but competitions date back several centuries. 

Learn More 

F6S 

F6S helps to connect you with accelerators, funds and investors along with providing help with free stuff, talent search and exposure. It also provides a huge network and resources to help grow your startup in the #1 global community.

Learn More 

Rocgrowth 

Business is booming in our nine county region with an active startup culture, hundreds of advanced growth businesses and a healthy local company scene. RocGrowth was created to help entrepreneurs quickly find the right resources to grow their Upstate businesses, whether it's a Finger Lakes winery, a software startup, or a rapidly growing clean tech company.

Learn More 

Draper Competition 

The annual Draper Competition for Collegiate Women Entrepreneurs is hosted and organized by the Center for Women and Financial Independence.

The goal of the Draper Competition is to provide the best educational and entrepreneurial experience of any undergraduate business competition.

Learn More

eMerge Americas 

With a clear mission of establishing Miami as the tech hub of the Americas, eMerge Americas has made its mark on the technology scene in a short amount of time. Now in its fourth year, Miami’s homegrown tech conference is building momentum, attracting a global audience, and connecting investors with innovators.

Learn More 

Trend Hunter's Future Festival 

Trend Hunter's Future Festival is specifically designed to be the world's best innovation conference — a place for the world's top innovators to prototype their future. You'll experience next year's trends from the #1 trend firm, while prototyping 5 - 10 disruptive ideas using the same award-winning innovation workshops we've used to help NASA prototype the journey to Mars.

Learn More