Fitzelerate is a student entrepreneurship competition designed to provide an opportunity for Fitzwilliam students to develop or enhance their skills and experience in an increasingly entrepreneurial world.
Fitzelerate is open to all students from Fitzwilliam College, or to teams of students of which at least one member is a Fitzwilliam student. Competition entries must be for a business venture, in any field, that addresses an unmet need and has the potential to become commercially successful.
Applicants may enter the competition individually or as teams: Each team must include at least one current undergraduate or graduate Fitzwilliam student. Competition participants would be provided with mentorship and training in a range of related areas including but not limited to business planning, market appraisal, leadership, team building and presentation skills. The competition entries will be reviewed by a committee comprising volunteer Fitzwilliam Fellows and invited external judges. The selection process would include two rounds, culminating in a live pitch where one or more teams would be awarded all or a share of the cash prize.
The competition is sponsored by Excelect, a consulting company founded by Prof Kourosh Saeb-Parsy. Cash prizes of up to £5,000 will be available for the winning teams to support the direct costs of further development of the winning proposals. The cash prize cannot be used for personal expenses unrelated to development of the business proposal. After the competition, one or more Fitzwilliam Fellows would be appointed as mentors to support each winning team in developing and actioning their proposal.
Written submission to be received by 1st Tuesday of Lent Term 2023 (17th January 2023). Please address the following Application questions in your entry, with strict adherence to the word limit:
- Project name
- Team
- What is the unmet need? 150 words
- Product: What is your proposed solution/product? 150 words
- Development stage: What is the current development stage of your product/solution? 150 words
- Competition: What are the existing products/solutions and why is yours superior? 150 words
- Market: What is your estimated market size? 150 words
- Strategy: How do you plan to commercialise your product/solution? 150 words
- Use of proceeds: What would you use the prize money for? 150 words
Please submit your entries by email to bursar@fitz.cam.ac.uk or through this online form by 17:00 on Tuesday 17th of January 2023.
- 10+5 min presentation; no written application
- Winner announced following the presentation event on Tuesday 7th March 2023
- Monday Nov 21st 2022: Competition advertised
- Thursday Nov 24th 2022: Open event for potential applicants
- Tuesday Jan 17th 2023: Deadline for Stage 1 written proposals
- Tuesday Jan 26th 2023: Notification of applicants for Stage 2
- TBC Feb 2023 : ‘How to Pitch’ Workshop for Finalists and introduction to mentors
- TBC Feb 2023: Pitch ‘Clinic’ for Finalists
- Tuesday March 7th 2023: Competition Pitch Final and Announcement of 2023 Winner