Students Invited to Register Now for the 2016 UK Venture Challenge

Students take their ideas to the next level and gain entrepreneurial experience and contacts at the UK Venture Challenge, Saturday, Feb. 20, William T. Young Library, UK Athletic Association Auditorium. Registration is now open for the annual, university-wide competition.

Venture Challenge is open to all UK undergraduate and graduate students with an innovative idea for a startup, existing business, or nonprofit venture. Teams develop their idea into a business concept, prepare a written proposal, and make a presentation to judges from the Lexington entrepreneurial community who evaluate the team much as potential investors would.

It is easy for student teams to participate in Venture Challenge.

  1. Register HERE.
  2. Write a 3-5-page proposal by Feb. 8.
  3. Present their business concept to judges from the Lexington entrepreneurial community on Feb. 20.

The three winning teams share $3,000 in scholarship prizes, and will represent UK at the state competition, Idea State U, sponsored by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development.

A popular feature of Venture Challenge is online voting. The public is invited to vote for their favorite venture (one vote per voter a day!) and the winner receives $50. Last year’s online team winner received 5,443 votes!

Sponsors of Venture Challenge include the Bluegrass Business Development Partnership, an economic development partnership between UK, the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, and Commerce Lexington; the Gatton College of Business and Economics; and the College of Communication and Information.

UK Venture Challenge is organized by iNET, the Innovation Network for Entrepreneurial Thinking, in the College of Communication and Information, with the Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship & the Lexington Office of the Kentucky Innovation Network in the Gatton College of Business and Economics. Contact Deb Weis for more information.