2026 Powers Pitch Competition

Any undergraduate student at Clemson is eligible to apply. No graduate students may participate. You can apply as an individual or as a team. Individuals entering must be either a pre-business or business major or pursuing an entrepreneurship minor, and interdisciplinary teams are also encouraged. Teams entering must have at least one member majoring in an area of business or minoring in entrepreneurship. Any additional members can represent diverse majors from throughout the University.

Are early-stage ideas allowed?
Yes, we welcome and encourage early-stage ideas. The most competitive will be able to clearly address each of the questions in the application video.

Are fully formed businesses allowed?
Yes, competing teams will be evaluated on a holistic set of factors intended to put all entrants on an even playing field. In these ways, existing businesses should be neither advantaged nor disadvantaged in the judging. However, whereas early-stage ideas are likely to benefit from greater relative emphasis on making their ideas a "reality," existing businesses are likely to benefit from greater relative emphasis on their growth plans. Both, however, should be able to clearly address each of the questions in the application video.

Please submit a brief video (no more than 3 minutes) describing the business concept you would like to pitch for the competition. This does not need to be a polished or professionally produced video. Simple recordings of yourself responding to the prompts below are perfectly fine.

The purpose of this video is to help the organizing committee understand what you are proposing to pitch and the current status of your venture. In your video, please address the following:

1. The problem and solution: What problem are you trying to solve, and what is your proposed solution?
2. The customer and opportunity: Who is the target customer, and what makes this problem meaningful or worth solving for them? (You may briefly comment on market size or scope if relevant.)
3. Differentiation: What does the competitive landscape look like, and how is your approach meaningfully different?
4. Business model and traction: How do you expect this concept to generate revenue, and what are the major costs involved? What progress have you made so far?
5. Stage and next steps: Please briefly describe the current stage of your venture (early idea, developed but not launched, or existing business) and what you see as the next key steps.

Judging in the competition will be based on:

1. The contents of the pitch, which involves being convincing and knowledgeable in communicating the problem and solution, market, target customer, competition and economics of the offering;
2. The presentation quality, which involves providing an informative, persuasive and professionally delivered presentation—one conveyed with a sense of energy and enthusiasm, appropriate use of eye contact and voice inflections and dress that is professional or appropriate for the business concept;
3. Q&A, which is an evaluation of how well this portion of the pitch is handled; and
4. An intangible or 'wow' factor, which considers the extent to which participants leave a superior, lasting impression.

Prize amounts will be finalized prior to the competition. In 2025, the prizes exceeded $10,000, with the first-place winner earning $4,000, the second-place winner earning $2,500, the third-place winner earning $1,500, and multiple winners earning other substantial sums. An additional $1,000 was awarded as the Sullivan Foundation's Impact Prize to the competitor with the greatest potential for community impact. Though subject to change, we anticipate similar prize totals this year.

• Application deadline: Jan. 30 (Friday at Midnight)
• Competition field announced: Feb. 2 (Monday)
• Initial round pitches: Feb. 11 (Wednesday) & Feb. 12 (Thursday): Everyone selected into the competition field will pitch and get feedback during a scheduled time slot.
• Competition finalists announced: Feb. 13 (Friday): A small handful of finalists (likely 6-8) will be announced.
• Finalists pitch competition: March 11 (Wednesday): Each of the finalists will pitch to a panel of judges at the Brook T. Smith Launchpad for cash prizes and feedback.