The new Rhodes College Venture Challenge, a dynamic business pitch competition designed to empower aspiring student entrepreneurs, will be held Thursday, April 25, at 5:30 p.m. on campus in Blount Auditorium of Buckman Hall. Six student teams from Rhodes will vie for a $15,000 Grand Prize. The Rhodes community and Memphis public are invited to the event to cast their votes for their favorite team, which will receive the People’s Choice Award.
Participants have been asked to pitch a business solution to a real-world problem or opportunity that they have identified. They will present their innovative ideas (five-minutes) and gain valuable feedback from a panel of experienced alumni judges including business leaders, entrepreneurs, and investors. From the six teams, three final teams will be selected to each make a final pitch. Judges then will deliberate to determine the Grand Prize winner.
“The Venture Challenge epitomizes our dedication to nurturing the entrepreneurial talents of our students, and it’s an exciting platform for them to showcase their innovative ideas and business acumen. We believe this competition will ignite a passion for entrepreneurship and pave the way for future business leaders,” said Rhodes College President Jennifer Collins.
Venture challenges are held at universities and colleges worldwide, and the Rhodes competition was organized in partnership with Entrepreneurship for All, which is the student entrepreneur club at Rhodes. Eric Mathews, who was hired in 2023 as the college’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence, has been instrumental in restarting the club and developing the framework of the Venture Challenge, ensuring that students not only compete for the Grand Prize, but also engage in a comprehensive learning experience before and after the competition that prepares them for real-world business challenges.
Mathews, a member of the Rhodes Class of 2002 and CEO of Start Co., has two decades of experience launching and supporting more than 1,000 startup businesses. In addition to the competition, he has worked to increase the academic course offerings at Rhodes to take ideas from concept to market, as well as supported the provost’s office in assessing commercialization pathways for novel inventions of faculty.
The Rhodes College Venture Challenge will be held 5:30-6:30 p.m., with a reception immediately following.