Part of the Student Business Leaders Summit
The MCBA Startup Challenge
Build a venture, pitch it to a board of investors, and walk away with real funding. The headline event of the MCBA Student Business Leaders Summit.
Funding pool, currently
Up to $10K
total funding pool, awarded live to the ventures the board believes in
It may go higher. At the judges' discretion, under official rules published before entries open (Terms, section 6).
- Eligibility
- Active MCBA members
- When
- Date TBDExpected in spring 2027, exact date to be announced
- Decided by
- A board of investors
- Judged on
- Innovation, feasibility, market potential
A real pitch, judged by real investors, for real money
The Startup Challenge is exactly what it sounds like: MCBA members build a venture and pitch it to a board of investors who decide, on the spot, how much to back it with. It's the closest thing to raising a real seed round that a high schooler can do: the stakes, the questions, and the money are genuine.
Every other part of MCBA (the coursework, the competitions, the mentors) exists to get you ready for this room.
How it works
Four steps, from the first idea to the board's decision.
Build your venture
Form a team and develop a real business or startup idea, a product, a service, or a company you actually believe in.
Prepare your pitch
Refine your business model, financials, and deck with guidance from MCBA mentors and the Academy's business-and-finance curriculum.
Pitch the board
Present live to a panel of investors at the Summit, then defend your idea in a real Q&A, the part that separates good ideas from fundable ones.
Win real funding
The board deliberates and decides how much each venture earns; the funding pool is currently up to $10K, and it may go higher. Strong pitches walk away funded.
What the board looks for
Fundable pitches tend to share the same four things.
Feasibility
Can this actually be built and run by your team? Investors back execution, not just ideas.
Market & opportunity
Is there a real customer and a real need? Show you understand who you're serving and why now.
Financial realism
Sensible numbers, a clear use of funds, and an honest path to sustainability beat hockey-stick fantasy.
The pitch itself
Clarity, confidence, and how you handle hard questions. The board is buying the team as much as the plan.
How to enter
Entries open once MCBA publishes the official rules. Here is how to be ready.
Join MCBA
The Startup Challenge is open to active MCBA members. A free account is the first step of every membership, and the membership page shows what each plan includes.
Form a team, with your chapter
Form a team, with a chapter at your school if you have one. Find the one at your school, or start one.
Read the official rules
MCBA publishes them before entries open. They set out who may enter, how entries are judged, and what may be awarded (Terms, section 6).
Bring a team. Pitch the board.
The Startup Challenge is open to MCBA members. Start a chapter at your school or join an existing one, and get to work on the pitch.