Join the Challenge

From left to right: Alaaddin Stumm, Divya Ramachandran, Joey De Leon. Their team’s poster-board explains the details of their business idea: SJSU SmartPark, a parking solution for overcrowded garages.

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Submission Steps

Step 1: Concept Design and Validation

Begin putting your ideas down on paper (observe environmental trends, identify personal problems you could solve, etc.) and familiarize yourself with SVIC judging criteria. Be sure to define your target market and the benefits of your product/service for users in your target market. Think about what problem you propose to solve to add value to your end users, and how your product/service is different from competitors.

Once you have some confidence that your idea is ‘new,’ reach out to your target market to find out if people desire your product/service, and are willing to pay for it. In a typical year, you would have the opportunity to visit the IDEAS Lab (Student Union East) if you needed assistance to validate your idea. Club members would provide many useful tips and valuable initial end-user feedback. This year, we have office hours via Zoom on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30-2:30pm. Students are encouraged to contact us at svic@sjsu.edu or during office hours for any assistance. Also, our judges are seasoned entrepreneurs and industry professionals. They can easily detect claims such as “the product/ service is the only one of its kind on the market” when a quick Google search reveals multiple hits.

Step 2: YouNoodle Registration

Once the submission window is open and you are ready to enter your innovation into SVIC, follow instructions to complete the participant and registration forms in YouNoodle. Only FULLY COMPLETED entries will be considered.

Important Information

TIP: Didn’t advance to the SVIC Finalist Showcase?

Keep innovating and developing your business idea. There are many on-campus (e.g Silicon Valley Business Plan Competition in the spring) and external-SJSU competitions for you to consider. You may also enter SVIC again next year with the same, or fresh new idea. Bottom line: your journey doesn’t end here.

Workshops

Workshops are offered before the SVIC Finalist Showcase to help students prepare for the big day and make a great impression on judges. Workshop topics may include ideation, pitching techniques, and poster board design. Workshop details will be posted on our website and social media channels. If you cannot attend all workshops, visit the IDEA Lab (Student Union East) to speak with an SVIC team member during office hours. Our team will help you.

Ideation: An Ideation Workshop will take place on Wednesday, September 11, 2024 from 3:30-4:45 p.m. in BBC 032. Dr. John Murray, an early-stage technology investor, and SJSU researcher, mentor, and judge will lead this interactive workshop. 

Pitching: Stay tuned for our 2024 Pitching Workshop which helps participants practice their pitches and develop the confidence to present at the SVIC. 

Poster Board Design

All finalists are required to present a visually attractive poster board to judges on the day of the competition.

Posters must clearly explain:

1. Value and benefits of the product/service
2. Target market, and evidence of whether users in the target market desire the product/service are willing to pay for it
3. How the product/service is different from competition
4. Resources (skills/time/money) needed to convert the product/service idea into a viable business

Poster Board Template

Download the poster board template [pdf] and use it only as a guide or starting point rather than a template to exactly copy. Visit any office supply or art store to purchase a free-standing poster board (max. dimensions: 36 x 48 inches) such as  the two-fold Hunt ExecutivePro Display Board shown here:

Make the posters easy for the judges to read. The title, subtitles, body text, and graphics must be LARGE enough for audiences to read from 3 feet away. Keep in mind that 72 point font is only one inch tall. Poster titles visible from a slight distance are often 144 point or greater.

Enhance Poster Board Display

Judges appreciate seeing a prototype of your innovation as it is often hard to visualize the product or service simply based on a verbal description. Consider enhancing your poster board display with one of the following:

1. Model or prototype of the product
2. Design drawings or professional looking sketches
3. Computer display, animation, or short video clip
4. Live product demonstration
5. Any visual aid that will help judges understand the value and utility of the product, process, or service.

Elevator Pitch

In addition to presenting a poster board, all finalists are expected to deliver a brief 90 second elevator pitch succinctly communicating the value of their product/ idea to the judges.

_{Tim McLaughlin (SVIC Leadership Council sponsor) listens to a pitch from team LightStop.}

SVIC Finalist Showcase

In a typical year, the Student Union Ballroom doors will open for participant student teams and it will start at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. All students must proceed to the registration desk to sign up before 10 a.m. to sign in and have sufficient time to set up and prepare before judges arrive.  Power strips will be available under each table for students augmenting their poster displays with electronically driven visual aids.

Dress Code

Participants are expected to dress in business casual attire. No sneakers or jeans, please.

TIP: Participants interested in networking or job opportunities should consider bringing business cards and hardcopies of a well-written one-page resume laser printed on nice paper. Visit the Career Center to polish your resume or brush up on your interviewing skills.

Office Hours

This year, we will hold office hours on Mondays and Wednesdays from 1:30-2:30pm. Students are encouraged to seek help during office hours and to attend recommended workshops which helped them prepare for the SVIC Finalist Showcase. 

Intellectual Property Protection

Visit the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) website to learn the best method of protecting your intellectual property. The website offers a wealth of educational resources for entrepreneurs and independent inventors. You may also schedule a twenty minute 1-on-1 in-person meeting with a USPTO patent prosecution specialist to discuss the patent process or seek answers to your questions. Visit the USPTO website to learn more about the services it offers. Avoid exhibiting content at the SVIC Finalist Showcase that will compromise your right to use or pursue the idea in the future.

Patentable or Copyright Technology, Process, or Software

Avoid revealing too much about your technology or process such that it becomes considered public domain. Do NOT include drawings, diagrams, or descriptions that show the unique nature or inner workings of your product or process. For instance, share product benefits, but safeguard the methods or mechanics behind delivering the benefits. If you have software, DO NOT exhibit any code.

Special Names or Symbols

Use the “™” symbol to indicate your intention to use any special product names or symbols as a brand. Eventually, you must register the brand with the appropriate jurisdictions: states or the federal government, depending on whether you will be doing business across state lines.

Trade Secrets

Be discreet about any trade secrets used to design your business idea and create differentiation. Avoid revealing information in your submission or exhibit that can be copied by competitors and cost you your competitive edge. Review the University's intellectual property policy and check with the SJSU Office of Graduate Studies and Research to determine whether SJSU has an ownership interest in your innovation. The university has the expertise and experience to assist you in assessing commercialization and intellectual property protection.