The Big Bang! Business Competition provides a forum for innovators across California to collaborate, develop and test business ideas.

These challenging times call on us to create new solutions to our world's complex problems. 

Grow your venture.

Join the UC Davis StartupTree community to learn about events, competitions, resources and programs on campus and beyond to help you launch your entrepreneurial journey and grow your venture.

The Big Bang! Business Competition helps you to grow as an entrepreneur and as a leader. You'll find opportunities to connect with fellow innovators, learn and apply business concepts in interactive educational workshops, build your team, grow your network—and compete for cash prizes.

The 23rd annual Big Bang! Business Competition will award more than $100,000 in prize money and in-kind prizes.

Fast Facts

• The Big Bang! runs October through May.
• The competition is designed for aspiring and early-stage entrepreneurs.
• Our Ideas into Action Workshop Series is a powerful complement to the business competition. Build your skillset, grow your network.
• You don’t have to enter the competition to participate in the workshops, which are free and open to everyone.
• Teams must have at least one founder affiliated with an institution of higher education within the State of California. 
• Competition finalists compete for cash prizes.
• You may participate in the Little Bang! Poster + Pitch Competition concurrent with the Big Bang! 

Meet the 2022 Big Bang! Winners

As a researcher, I have always considered technical and engineering points of view in all projects. The Big Bang! competition helped develop the business perspective in my ventures.
—Kourosh Vali | Ph.D. Candidate, Computer Engineering 

• Nourish Your Entrepreneurial Mindset | Ideas into Action Workshop Series
• 
  The Ideas into Action Workshops Series will give you the knowledge and skills you need to move from concept to company—and to effectively compete in the Big Bang! Business Competition.
  You’ll learn to:
  
  > Define your problem and solution
  > Develop an elevator pitch
  > Evaluate the potential market
  > Develop a business model
  > Create a pitch presentation
  > Write a business summary
  
  Join us to grow through discussions, collaborative activities, and the energy and experience of meeting fellow innovators from across the UC Davis campus and throughout California. While participation in the workshops is not required to enter the Big Bang! competition, we encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to grow your entrepreneurial skillset and your network—and to help your venture thrive.
  
  Ideas into Action workshops are open, free of charge, to everyone.
  
   Discover the Ideas into Action Workshop Series >

• Put It into Practice: The Business Competition
• 

  The Big Bang! Business Competition runs from November to May and is held in conjunction with the Ideas into Action Workshop Series, where you can gain the knowledge and skills to move your idea or venture forward and successfully participate in the competition.
  
  Events and competition deadlines are noted below. The Big Bang! culminates with the annual Awards Ceremony, where we announce the winners and award prizes in the following categories:
  
  > Top innovation in the competition
  > People's Choice
  > Animal Health + Industry Sector
  > Human Health + Industry Sector
  > Food + Agriculture Sector
  > Energy + Sustainability Sector
  > Social Entrepreneurship Sector

  To participate in the Big Bang! Business Competition, at least one of your team or venture's founders must be affiliated with an institution of higher education within the State of California. Refer to competition guidelines on the competition’s Rules and Tools page for details.

  For Big Bang! details and specifics, please download the Competition Overview and Guidelines.

  All Big Bang! teams must register and submit deliverables through the competition platform, Startup Tree, by the designated deadlines. We cannot accept emailed submissions.

• Ready. Set. Go. | Big Bang! Events and Timeline
• • Note: All Big Bang! teams must register and submit deliverables through the Startup Tree platform by the designated deadlines. We cannot accept emailed submissions.
     

  • Event/Deadline	Date/Time	Link to RSVP / Details
    23rd Annual Big Bang! and Little Bang! Launch	10.18.22 5:30 p.m.
    Early Registration Deadline (Round 1)	01.11.23 Noon	Optional: Submit executive summary and team bios for feedback from experts in our network.
    Final Registration Deadline (Round 1)	03.01.23 Noon	Deliverables: executive summary and team bios
    Notification sent to teams advancing to Round 2	03.23.23
    Round 2 Submission Deadline	04.06.23 Noon	Deliverables: customer call summary, video pitch and draft pitch deck
    Notification sent to teams advancing to Round 3	04.21.23
    Dry Run Presentations (optional)	05.02.23 4–8 p.m.
    Round 3 Submission Deadline	05.15.23 Noon	Deliverables: additional customer call summary; final pitch deck
    Final Presentations and Judging	05.17.23	16 finalist team
    23rd Annual Big Bang! and Little Bang! Awards Ceremony	05.23.23

   

“It’s amazing to see how far our teams can go. In October many of their ideas are just that: ideas. By May, with a ton of hard work, support and mentorship, many of these ideas are ready for prime-time as companies, licensed technologies or nonprofits.

—Professor Andrew Hargadon