Submit your venture to e-Fest 2027
The national pitch competition built only for undergraduate founders. Every team gets rubric-based feedback. The Top 25 compete for $250,000.
Submissions open in November and close at the end of January. You’ll finish your entry and upload your files on our submission partner’s site, Reviewr.
e-Fest 2027 Timeline
Nov 11 – Jan 31
February
Feb 25 / Mar 2
Apr 22 – 24
What you need to know to submit to e-Fest 2027
From your pitch video to the finals in Minneapolis, here’s how the season runs.
Advisor note: This year’s Development Awards are fully funded. Sign up for e-Fest emails to be the first to know when applications open next fall.
What you’ll submit
The online submission is a pitch video and a slide deck, the same materials you need to pitch your venture anywhere. Have these ready before you open Reviewr.
- Pitch video: up to 7 minutes, in .MOV, .WMV or .MP4
- Pitch deck: a PDF of up to 15 slides, not counting the title slide
- Your team: up to five undergraduate founders and one point of contact
- Your advisor: name and email for one faculty member or entrepreneurship center director, who validates your entry
Judges score every entry against the same published rubric. Read it before you build your deck, so you know exactly what they look for.
Eligibility & rules · Judging rubric · Submission format · Submission checklist
Four competitions. $250,000 in cash prizes.
The Top 25 teams come to Minneapolis each April to compete in Pitch Slam!, the Innovation Challenge, the Schulze Entrepreneurship Challenge and the Special Recognition Awards. Every finalist pitches to judges from the entrepreneurial, business and investment communities.
