Last year alone, USC students, faculty and alumni created 40 new ventures affiliated with the university.
And the university’s Proving Ground entrepreneurial competition is hoping to make that number even higher as it enters its fifth year of competition.
Individuals or teams submit a business proposal, and then endure a three-month, three-round competition. Those that make it through present their plan and are grilled by judges Shark Tank-style.
It’s a lengthy process, but the last team or individual standing in each category wins a large sum of prize money — and an opportunity to make a difference.
“It’s definitely not for everyone,” 2012 winner Ryan Nielsen said, “but if you’re the kind of student who wants to go and make a change in the world then I can’t think of a better way to start that then going out there and [getting] someone to believe in your idea.”
The competition had less than 25 participants when it was created in 2010, but more than 45 participants competed last year. The first year provided $3,000 in prize money, but a grand total of more than $80,000 of prize money is available this year.
Furthermore, winners have found that it provides their business ideas with credibility as they work to make their entrepreneurial dream a reality.
Competitors also are able to develop their plan in a unique way, and all participants are able to benefit from the competition, regardless of the end result.
“It’s a really cool chance for students to work on refining ideas more than you would in class typically,” said 2011 winner Stephen Bateman, who proposed the creation of The Garnet Report at the competition. “Regardless of winning or not, I think it’s really helpful in terms of thinking critically.”
Nielsen’s project, myBuddy, is a web platform that provides English-language tutoring to Korean students. He attributes its success to what he learned through Proving Ground, and said he also gained a strong bullet point for his resume and good contacts he can use in the future.
“I think [Proving Ground]’s beneficial because it gives you the opportunity to operate in a business environment. You go out there and pitch an actual idea that you actually care about to people who actually care about,” Nielsen said. “There are a lot of people who watch and a lot of people who say ‘what if,’ but just go for it.”
Many other competitors have experienced similar success, and five out of six winning business proposals from last year have actually become a reality.
With the growth the competition has seen, it will be open to recent graduates of USC for the first year. Alumni can participate as part of a team that is at least 50 percent undergraduate students, and teams with recent graduates may only compete in one of the three categories.
“What we’re trying to do as much as anything else is inspire and promote the entrepreneurial spirit in the USC community. It’s a chance for them to be rewarded for their entrepreneurship and their creativity,” co-director of Proving Ground Dean Kress said. “I hope they learn that in order to have an idea that turns into an opportunity, you have to create value for the opportunity. I hope they realize having a business is a viable opportunity.”