Fowler Business Concept Challenge Fall 2026

37
Days Left
to Enter

Description

The Fowler Business Concept Challenge (FBCC) energizes the entrepreneurial spirit of students at the University of San Diego — including majors from all schools. At this annual event organized by USD's Knauss School of Business, the sky is the limit on creative ideas and we encourage students to explore their entrepreneurship potential to make a positive impact on the world. Both finalists and semifinalists pitch their ideas to top San Diego business leaders and have the chance to win scholarships totaling $45,000.

Business Concept

Got a business idea you want to explore further? Sign up to pitch your business concept.

Submissions and Judging

The submission deadline is Saturday October 10, 11:59pm. Submissions will be judged according to the scoring rubric in the rules section assisted by Gemini / Notebook LM, with a human-in-the-loop audit. The human audit will manually review those submissions ranked #13 to #20, scores > 950 and < 200 and any of the top 16 teams with a low viability score.  In the event of a tie between #16 and #17, the team with more "Yes" votes to the following 3 questions wins; (cite primary data, explain mechanism [how it works] of solution, is solution a "pain-killer" or a "vitamin"). 

Workshops & Investor Readiness Coaching

Along the way, you'll get mentored by Knauss School of Business faculty and BRINK Advisors to fine-tune your idea and hone your presentation..

Scholarships

Scholarship prizes totaling $45,000 are awarded to the top four finalists and remaining 12 semifinalists that do not advance to the finals. Winner - $15K, 2nd - $7.5K, 3rd - $4K, 4th - $2.5K, $1K - all16 semi-finalist teams.

Pitch Experience

Each of the 16 semi-finalists will get to pitch at the FBCC award ceremony, giving you visibility and even more support for your idea — whether you make it to the final round or not.

Rules

Participants in the FBCC are a diverse group of students from the University of San Diego (USD), reflecting a wide range of academic disciplines and backgrounds. Here are the key characteristics:

  • Must be a current student during FA25 (FT/PT/in person/online)
  • Can be from any part of USD
  • Can be graduate or undergraduate student
  • Can compete as individual or as team
  • Teams can be up to 3 other (students or non-students) and be a max of 4
  • Only USD student members can present and receive scholarship awards
  • A team with multiple submissions can only be chosen for 1 of the 16 semi-finalists places

Submissions and Judging

The submission deadline is Saturday October 10, 11:59pm. Submissions will be judged according to the scoring rubric in attachments assisted by a Large Language Model (LLM), with a human-in-the-loop audit. The human audit will manually review those submissions ranked #13 to #20, scores > 950 and < 200 and any of the top 16 teams with a low viability score.  In the event of a tie between #16 and #17, the team with more "Yes" votes to the following 3 questions wins; (cite primary data, explain mechanism [how it works] of solution, is solution a "pain-killer" or a "vitamin").