HCC PitchFest Competition

Fall 2021

HCC UST PitchFest Competition & EXPO

HCC/UST Fall 2021 PitchFest competition & Expo is designed for students to share their creative ideas and innovation projects.

EXPO: During the Expo, students will have a table to showcase their projects in person at the University of St. Thomas campus and a chance to promote ideas/projects as student entrepreneurs to the UST college community to gain insights and customers!

PANELS: Learn from expert panels on Startup Resources, and be inspired by stories from local startup entrepreneurs!

PITCHFEST: Where individuals or teams can compete in the competition by delivering a pitch to a panel of judges. Students should pitch a product or service that explores innovative approaches to answering pressing sustainability and societal needs.

The semester's competition is open to all Houston Community College, University of St. Thomas, Junior Achievement Company Program teams, and the Greater Houston-area University Students!

All CREATIVE IDEAS & INNOVATIONS welcomed!

The HCC UST PitchFest Competition for Fall 2021 is a platform for any student to share their creative ideas and innovations.

$3,500 for cash prizes sponsored by the TiE University & University of St. Thomas's McNair Center for Entrepreneurship.

The competition is designed to explore innovative approaches to answering pressing societal needs and to spark an atmosphere of social dialogue and community. Students must complete a simple application regarding their idea that addresses one of the categories listed below:

Categories

  1. Education & Skills
  2. Alleviating Poverty
  3. Economic Advancement
  4. Community Wellbeing
  5. Technology 

HCC PitchFest Competition is accepting student projects from September 15th to November 15th, November 22nd (Extended!) by 5 pm CST!

Competition Finalists Presentation and Awards Ceremony will be held at the University of St. Thomas Campus on Saturday, December 4th, 2021 between 2 pm to 4 pm.

Student Expo will take place from 10 am to 12 pm, Panels from 12 pm to 1:30 pm, and PitchFest Competition from 2 pm to 4 pm. 

The goal of the HCC PitchFest Competition is to provide financial and institutional support for students who want to make an impact on the world through entrepreneurship. HCC is eager to harness the creativity and passion of Houston's student body to catalyze social change.

Note: Click on the ⊕ icon to see more

More about the competition

General information

The HCC PitchFest competition is designed for students to share and showcase their creative ideas and innovation projects. Individuals or teams can compete in the competition by delivering a pitch to a panel of judges. Students should pitch a product or service that explores innovative approaches to answering pressing sustainability and societal needs.

 

 

Schedule of Workshops/Training events

Fall 2021 Live Training Sessions:

1) Appathon@HCC - October 2nd, 9 am to 5 pm

Register Here: https://www.hccs.edu/appathon

2) Pitch Presentation Training - Nov. 19th, 10 am to 11:30 am
by HCC Speech and Communications Department

In-person Training: HCC West Loop Campus, Room C108 at 10 am
To attend virtually, register here: https://bit.ly/HCCPitchSeminar (Watch Recorded Session on YouTube)

 

3) Mock Pitch Training

Session A: November 20th: Breakout Slots: between 10 am - 12 pm
Students/Participants: Register here
Faculty/Judges: Register here

Session B: December 4th, 10 am to 12 pm at University of St. Thomas Campus
Expo Live Practice: Register Here

 

 IDEAS@HCC On-Demand Training Sessions:

YouTube Playlist URL: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQgRmZVfvesswHFipo2SYxEIAJ1N-QlkS

 

Sessions:

IDEATION Training by Accenture's Innovation Director, Summer Reeves! 

Learn:

  • Sources of information and research
  • Process for coming up with great ideas
  • Learn about Design Thinking 

About Speaker: Summer Reeves is the Innovation Center Director for Accenture’s Houston Innovation Hub. Her teams work with clients every day to identify their challenges, provide industry thought leadership, and visualize how cutting-edge technology is being applied, enabling organizations to accelerate their innovation and transformation agendas. Summer has over 13 years of experience in digital product design with a heavy focus on design thinking methods and user experience practices.

PRESENTATION Training by HCC Foundation's Board President, David Regenbaum!

Learn:

  • What is a Pitch?
  • Tips and Suggestions on Pitching an Idea
  • Example of great pitches

About Speaker: David Regenbaum serves as the Entrepreneur in Residence for Houston Community College’s Center for Entrepreneurship and is the Vice President of the Houston Community College Foundation.  He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Silver Fox Advisors and is the Managing Member of AMI Institute, LLC.   He was previously the CEO and Co-Founder (with his wife) of Association Management, Inc. (AMI), a successful community association management company which he sold in 2014, and prior to that practiced as an attorney in South Africa until his immigration to the USA in 1979.

LEAN STARTUP WEBINAR Training by SCORE Education VP, Jim O'Sullivan!

Learn:

  • What is Lean Startup?
  • Tips and Suggestions on its use
  • dos and don’ts of its application

About Speaker: Jim O'Sullivan, SCORE Mentor; VP Education Jim O’Sullivan is a retired CTO from an Energy Fortune 500 company with a broad range of expertise in technology, strategy, product development, marketing, and mentoring/coaching. He is associated with several incubator and accelerator programs in Houston through mentoring and business plan judging. He holds three engineering degrees and an MBA.

SOFT SKILLS Training by University St. Thomas's McNair Center Presenter, Ashley Martin!

Learn about :

  • Personal areas of Improvement
  • People, Productivity, and Programming
  • Productive Leadership in Action

About Speaker: Ashley M. Martin is the principal consultant of Leadership Lady, a training and development company focused on helping people & organizations close their leadership and soft skills gaps to improve operational efficiency. Focusing on 3 areas for improvement - people, productivity, and programming, Leadership Lady works collaboratively with individuals and teams to save money, reduce turnover, and reach goals.

Prior to training and consulting, Ashley served as an educational leader in public education as a teacher and later an administrator. She has a Master’s in Educational Leadership and authored Focus: Productive Leadership in Action and other books. She has a heart for leaders and the next generation and believes you learn something new every day.

 

 

Judging Criteria

The criteria are based on solving the societal need that has high impact (affects many), sustainable (Eco-friendly/Green), creates value or fills a gap, and can (or has) be prototyped, tested, or validated.

Ideas will be judged on the following primary criteria:

  • Social Impact (Number of people impacted or lives affected)
  • Economic Impact (value creation)
  • Environmental Impact (Sustainability/Green Footprint)
  • Completeness/Delivery(Presentation/Team)
  • The originality of Idea (Ownership/IP by the student(s))

 

Student requirements

1. Provide a Pitch Presentation. 
(Download a sample template)

2. Provide a Visual Concept of the idea, if applicable

  • Photo/Drawing/Other
  • 3d Printed Sample or design

 3. Develop a short video* pitch (Optional - but recommended)

  • Post it on YouTube as a public video or an unlisted video

*Need help recording your pitch?

Visit the HCC One Button Studio at any of the following campus libraries:

  • HCC Spring Branch Campus
  • HCC Central Campus Library
  • HCC Alief Hayes - West Houston Insititute Learning Commons

 

Hear from former contestants:

 

 

 

See Past Presentation and Award Ceremony

 

READY? Let's Go

Step 1:

REGISTER FOR EXPO: bit.ly/HCCUSTEXPO

Step 2:

Register for PITCHFEST: bit.ly/HCCUSTPITCH



OR complete the forms below:


STEP ONE: Student EXPO Vendor Form

Fill out my online form.

STEP TWO: PitchFest Competition

Fill out my online form.

Please read the instructions carefully and stay within the guidelines.

HCC reserves the right to disqualify any miscategorized or incomplete entries.

NOTE: If you are selected as a winner and awarded cash prizes and/or an internship and/or access to an accelerator program, please be aware that you are responsible for making the necessary arrangements to commence the opportunity in a timely manner. Once you start your opportunity it is understood that you will abide by the terms and conditions of the program as required by your host organization.

Furthermore, by participating in the competition you agree to release and hold HCC, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and contractors harmless from any and all losses, damages, rights, and actions of any kind (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) in connection with or resulting from, participation in the competition including—without limitation—personal injuries, death, property damages and any claims by third parties or otherwise based on publicity rights, defamation, copyright, trademark, invasion of privacy or other violations of law relating to your participation in the competition or its opportunities.

For more information, call the Office of Student Innovation & Entrepreneurship at 713.718.5269 or email: ravi.brahmbhatt@hccs.edu

HCC IDEAS Competition events schedule, rules, awards, and this page was updated on 10/27/2021.

Check out the Past competitions and winners:

 

Check out the videos/pictures from Inventathon@HCC: