McCloskey New Venture Competition
Notre Dame’s premier venture competition helps aspiring entrepreneurs validate ideas, develop startup skills, connect with mentors, and compete for funding and resources to advance innovative ventures.
The McCloskey New Venture Competition is a signature entrepreneurship program at the IDEA Center and one of the University's premier opportunities for venture creation and startup development.
Participants gain hands-on experience testing business concepts, refining value propositions, developing pitch presentations, and engaging with experienced entrepreneurs, investors, and industry leaders. Through mentorship, feedback, educational programming, and competition rounds, teams strengthen their ability to evaluate market opportunities and build scalable ventures.
The competition supports innovators from a wide range of disciplines and encourages participants to explore solutions with commercial, social, or technological impact while developing skills directly applicable to entrepreneurship and venture leadership.
Eligibility
The competition welcomes undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, and eligible participants from the surrounding region. Ventures must be in the earliest stages of development, with limited revenue, funding, and operating history. Both commercial and social ventures are eligible, and participants may apply individually or as teams. Additional eligibility requirements may apply based on venture type and team composition.
Application Guidelines
Applicants submit venture materials through the competition application process. Requirements may include a venture summary, pitch materials, presentation deck, video submission, and participation in judging and mentorship activities. Competition timelines and application requirements are updated annually.
Funding
Participants may compete for cash awards, venture funding, in-kind resources, and other startup support opportunities. Funding levels and award categories vary by year and competition stage.
Contact
For more information, email Erin Kinzel, the IDEA Center's Student Engagement Coordinator.
[EMBED PHOTO GALLERY]
[gallery:'mccloskey-new-venture-competition-2026-gallery']