tie business plan competition

• TYE Global Final Competition

San Diego, CA 22-24 June 2023

2023 tye global final competition, tie young entrepreneurs, tye global final competition.

TiE San Diego and TiE Global will host a hybrid competition, and the dates are set for June 23rd and 24th, 2023. June 23rd will be the Semi-finals, and June 24th will be the Finals Round and Award Ceremony. The teams will come from 20+ locations around the world.

Over the past 16 years, more than 30,000 high school students have participated in the TYE Global program. Many have gone on to found their own companies. Instructors, mentors, and industry experts teach design thinking, customer validation, prototyping, and business models through hands-on workshops. Students develop essential life skills, risk-taking mindset, teamwork, innovation, and leadership.

Agenda TYE Finals

Thursday, june 22 (optional).

Early Bird – $ 75/Person | Starting June 15th – $100/Person

Friday, June 23

Keynote Speaker – Arabian Prince of N.W.A., Marty Cooper the “Father of the Cell Phone”, and Arlene Harris the inventor of the Jitterbug

Saturday, June 24

Space is Limited. Fist come, First Serve.

Pitch Format

Elevator Pitch

PPT Presentation

Question & Answer

Judging Criteria

2023 CONTESTANTS

Register New Account

TiE U Season 2023-24 is now open

If your team wishes to apply and doesn’t find your nearest chapter in the dropdown menu during registration, simply click on  ‘More Details’ for assistance.

TiE U is a comprehensive ecosystem that nurtures start-ups run by college/ university students. It achieves this objective by creating events and engagements that bring together start-ups, TiE members, external mentors, coaches, and ecosystem partners. The key outcome is to enable campus ideas/start-ups to transform into viable businesses.

Mentoring – the magic mantra

Our ecosystem centers around the pivotal role of mentoring. All activities of TiE U foster relationship-building between mentors and start-ups.

FLAGSHIP PROGRAMS

GLOBAL PITCH COMPETITION

Is a global business plan competition. It involves a regional round and a global round. It attracts 1500 + Startups from 45 + cities and 400 + Colleges to vie for equity free prize money of $100,000. Participants are locally mentored after which they are provided boot camps, workshops and one on one mentoring by global mentors. read more…

GLOBAL BUSINESS HACKATHON

A program to foster problem solving skills among students. They solve real life business challenges articulated by companies around the world. Technical Boot camps, workshops and mentoring precede the finale. read more…

INVESTOR DEMO DAY

Early stage startups pitch their ideas to a panel of experienced investors to raise equity investments. read more…

FLAGSHIP ACTIVITIES

ALUMNI COMMUNITY

A facebook like platform that provides a meeting ground for 24/7 networking and mentoring opportunity. Student start ups and founders can interact with peers, mentors and thought leaders in a virtual setting. It also acts as a collaborative platform.

Tie-U entrepreneurship conference. A global event held in silicon valley that brings together winning startups and founders from regional events.

CHAPTER EVENTS

Diverse activities as the local chapter (TiE branches in cities) including speaker sessions, networking events, entrepreneurship conferences etc.

TiE U FOOTPRINT

TiE U JOURNEY

Impact so far, colleges involved, worth awards, mentoring hours, audience at events, global board of trustees.

Santosh Huralikoppi

TiE Hubli _

TiE Global East

Ramesh Mirakhur

TiE Pune Co-Chair (East)

TiE Global West

TiE Tampa Co-Chair (West)

Ravi Brahmbhatt

TiE Houston Co-Chair (West)

TiE GLOBAL TEAM

Vijay Menon

TiE Global TiE Global Executive Director

Garima Bhilwara

TiE Global _

OUR SPONSORS & PARTNERS

Annual platinum sponsor.

GOLD PARTNER

SILVER PARTNER

BRONZE PARTNER

ECOSYSTEM PARTNER

Privacy Overview

Global pitch competition: important updates regarding the registration process.

Global Registration Deadline: January 31st, 2024 - All teams intending to participate must complete their registration by this date to ensure eligibility for the upcoming event.

Extension Requests - Some chapters requested more time to complete their registration process, therefore, the registration links for these chapters will remain open until their requested extension date.

Applying Beyond the Deadline - If your team wishes to apply beyond the closing date or does not see your nearest chapter listed in the dropdown menu during registration, please contact us at [email protected] . We are committed to facilitating your participation and will work closely with the relevant chapters to help you with your needs.

How to Reach Us - If you have any questions, assistance, or clarification regarding the registration process, please don't hesitate to contact us at [email protected] . Our team is here to support you every step of the way.

We appreciate your attention to these updates and look forward to your participation in this exciting event. Let's make it a memorable one!

Welcome to TYE @ TiE Dallas

What is TYE? TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) is TiE Global’s International Youth Program, aimed towards the future generation of entrepreneurs. TYE focuses on teaching entrepreneurship to young people and helping them discover the rewards and challenges of becoming an entrepreneur.

TYE’s Mission:

• Offer a business education program, geared toward inspiring young students to be entrepreneurs through mentor-based workshops, taught by established industry leaders, who foster innovation, leadership skills, creativity and self-confidence.
• Offer a business plan competition with cash prizes at the regional level, which is the culmination of the student education program.
•  Students who win their local business plan competition have an opportunity to win a GRAND PRIZE of $10,000 in the Global Competition.

TYE’s Vision:

• Empower our youth to become entrepreneurs
• Develop business acumen and communication skills
• Discover the challenges and rewards of entrepreneurship
• Nurture to be a well rounded personality
• Instill confidence to lead in a global environment

TYE Program Details: Approximately 30 students will be selected to participate in a collaborative, team oriented environment. We are in the sixth year of the program in 2018 which will be conducted between March 4th to May 6th 2018. The first program was conducted in the Fall of 2012, with a regional competition in Nov 2012. The 2013-14 program was conducted between January 2014 and April 2014, with a regional competitions at the end of the program. Dallas also participated in the Global competition in Vancouver in June 2014. Dallas students participated in the Global competitions in later years as well – in Portland, OR (2016) and in Irvine, CA (2017)

Program Structure

• A curriculum consisting of about 4-5 classes and an equal number workshops.
• Classroom instruction includes speeches by successful entrepreneurs, followed by lectures and interactive discussion, exercises on business related topics.
• Workshops designed to help students become aware and knowledgeable of all pertinent aspects of operating a business.
• Students work in teams and brainstorm to generate business ideas. Each team is assigned a mentor who guides them in developing their ideas into a viable business plan.
• Students finally present their business plan to a panel of judges consisting of established Venture Capitalists and Entrepreneurs.
• Winning team, announced at the end of the program, will participate in the TYE Global competition.
• Every individual student who completes the entire Program, including the business plan competition, receives a certificate of recognition from TiE Dallas

Curriculum and Business Plan Topics:

• Curriculum topics would include – What is Entrepreneurship, Product Design, Sales & Marketing, Finance, Operations, Admin/Legal and related topics
• Business plan topics would be whatever interests students the most, and range from Clean Energy, Technology, Consumer Goods, Medicine, and Social Entrepreneurship, to anything the students dream up!

The TYE 2020 Program Schedule:

The TYE 2020 Program will be conducted from March to May 2020 at the University of Texas, Dallas (UTD). Please follow the link below to apply and get additional details

TYE2020 Program

The TYE 2020 Application form

For any further questions and/or clarifications, please contact [email protected] or 214-882-9905.

Here is the the link to the application form ->   2018 Online application form

Here is a fillable PDF version of the 2018 application form if you prefer -> Fillable PDF form

Here is the the link to the Parental Consent and Waiver form 2018 ->   Parental Consent and Waiver

Here is the the link to the TYE 2018 Schedule ->   TYE 2018 Schedule

Here is a promotional brochure for the 2018 program -> Click here for a one page brochure 

References from previous years’ Programs

2017 Online application form 2017 Online application form in PDF 2016 Online application form 2016 Online application form in PDF 2015 Application form in PDF  2015 Online application form 2014 Application form in PDF  2014 Online application form

TYE Dallas – Competition Guidelines TYE 2011 Video

RECENT NEWS

Digital tie tuesday – march 2020, tye2015 demos, tye 2015 dallas finals/demo day – apr 19th, tye 2015 workshop i, blog entry regarding tye by mayor of addison honorable todd meier, tye 2015 – legal, corp gov, tye 2015 – finance, tye 2015 sell and make sessions, 2015 plan session, welcome to the tye 2015 program, one page business plan format, tiecon 2014, tye showcase – reminder, tiecon 2014, tye showcase, tye social, prep for globals, business plan idea competition, tye 2014 press release, tye 2014 dallas final presentations – 13 apr 2014, tye 2013-2014 program conclusion, tye update, countdown to apr 13th finals, tye update mar 23 2014, tye update mar 2, 2014, tye update feb 23, tye update feb 16, tye update feb 9, tye update feb 2 2014, utd will be the venue for the 2013-14 program, tye program 2013-2014, opportunity to present at tiecon 2013, off to the globals, happy holidays , happy thanksgiving, tye social update, tye class 2012 social, conclusion of the tye 2012 program, congratulations tye class of 2012., presentation materials, tye press release – 10-31-12, good luck for sunday, nov 4th, countdown to nov 4th, notes from the 10/7 session, notes from the 9/30 session, coaching teams – for the coaches’ attention, notes from the 9/23 session, notes from 9/16 session, notes from the 9/9 session, outline for program, notes from 9/2 and 8/25, email-notes from 8/20, video clips from classes, hello & welcome.

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6th Annual TyE DC Boot Camp and Business Plan Competition Develops Outstanding New Entrepreneurs

TiE DC celebrated its 2018 cohort of young entrepreneurs at the TiE DC Young Entrepreneurs Business Plan Competition on Saturday, April 28. This year’s outstanding group of 36 high school students representing 20 schools in the greater Washington, DC region marked the completion of two months of intense work in the Boot Camp that they started in February.

Through the Boot Camp, students interacted with those of a similar drive and passion as well as learned from talks and presentations by marketing professionals, patent lawyers, financial experts, and founders and CEOs of startup companies. They were challenged to come up with their own ideas, form friendships and teams, and prepare to present their own business plans.

The program was directed by Dr. Mahesh Joshi, Associate Professor, Global Strategy and Entrepreneurship and Director of Research & Practice, Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at George Mason University and Sundi Natarajan, Co-Founder of Sparksoft, along with Robin Dvorak from TiE DC. TyE Alumni mentors Kavita Priyadarshy and Suryaraj Jain, students at George Mason University, coached students and shared their own learning experiences. Special thanks to our judges, Deepak Hathiramani from Hathi Partners, LLC, Harish Pai from Infinite Solutions, and Manpreet Mattu from Booz Allen Hamilton, who also served as a speaker and coach.

This year marked the highest number of presentations in the history of our TyE Program, with seven teams presenting to the panel of judges. Here is a brief synopsis of each team's business idea:

• Inni. The team created a mobile application for shopping malls that allows individuals to view 3D-rendered maps of the mall as well as connect with friends who are in the mall.
• SwimFitt. The team created a biometric device to help avid swimmers with better fitness tracking for swims.
• Iter. The team developed a user platform that allows travelers to select a country and provides information for a safe and enjoyable journey.
• ReXpress. The team created a subscription-based clothing company that rented out new and lightly used brand name clothes on a monthly basis.
• Unistats. The team created a platform for high school students to view the academic profiles of college students who were admitted to top universities.

• RoBio. The winner of the competition! The team of Sarah Luthra, Joffin Manjaly, Marilyn Pothen, Edgar Garcia, Kirill Usubyan and James Delaney created a programmable bio-medical and sharps container that detects maximum capacity and automatically removes itself from medical rooms to dispose of biohazard contents. RoBio is intended to minimize the risk of needle pricks and infection.

The victor of this competition moves on as the TiE DC representative at the TyE 2018 Global Competition, where they will be competing against TyE chapters from around the world. TiE DC is proud and honored to host this year's event, June 22-23 in Arlington, Virginia! For tickets to attend any part or all of the competition, register here .

We wish our TiE DC Team RoBio great luck in the upcoming competition, understanding that, at the end of the day, it isn’t about who wins or loses. It’s about supporting and fostering entrepreneurship for the generations who will change the future!

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Seattle-Area Teen Entrepreneurs to Compete with Students from Around the World for Best Business Plans at TiE Young Entrepreneurs Global Business Plan Competition

• June 14, 2018
• Comments : 0

A team of Northwest teen entrepreneurs will compete with students from around the world for the best business plans at the TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Global Business Plan Competition in Washington DC on June 23, 2018.

The annual event is organized by TiE, a global nonprofit dedicated to growing and fostering entrepreneurship all over the world and is aimed at guiding the future generation of entrepreneurs.  The team is sponsored by TiE Seattle, its Washington State chapter, after winning this year’s regional TYE Business Plan competition.

The teens, Vignav Ramesh, 14, Tej Singh, 15 and Rishab Mohan, 14, all from Clyde Hill, Wash., will be presenting their plan for Zigantic, a mobile and PC game validation platform connecting developers and high-school students to provide early feedback to game developers to build high-quality games.  Since January 2018, they have been working with TiE Seattle and TiE Seattle charter member and team mentor Vinita Ananth, as part of its TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Seattle Program, to develop their business idea and convert it into a business plan.  During this time, Zigantic has become incorporated and is already generating revenue, with four employees and three interns.  The teens also plan to make diversity a priority in their company.

“We’re delighted to see these young people move to the TYE Global Business Plan Competition, and wish them all the best there,” said Sharmilli Ghosh, president of TiE Seattle. “The team demonstrates the initiative, drive and resourcefulness that TiE hopes to foster as part of the TiE Young Entrepreneurs program.”

In addition to Zigantic, the teens maintain a full schedule of activities including:

• Vignav Ramesh – a STEM student in Bellevue School District’s Gifted Program; codes in Java, HTML and Python; and writes for the Northwest Youth Journal.
• Tej Singh STEM student at the Overlake School in Redmond, Wash.; state and national level debater, varsity water polo player, and is skilled in Python, HTML and CSS.
• Rishab Mohan – a STEM student at the International School in Bellevue, a U.S. National Under-15 Cricket Champion and honors student for AMC 8 and 10.  He can also code in numerous languages such as Java, HTML, Python and more.

About the TYE Seattle Program

TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) Seattle, one of the programs offered by TiE Seattle, focuses on teenagers (9th-12th grade levels) who are interested in exploring the challenges and rewards of becoming an entrepreneur. As part of the TYE educational program, students receive instruction and mentorship from local business leaders. They also have the opportunity to participate in local and global Business Plan competitions.

More information about TiE Young Entrepreneur (TYE) Program can be found  here  and more information about TYE Program in Seattle can be found  here .

Want to hear Zigantic’s pitch? Go  here  to listen to the winning team pitch at 2018 TYE Regional Competition.

Early registration for the 2018-2019 TYE Cohort is now open. Go  here  to sign up!

About TiE Seattle

TiE Seattle is the local chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), a global nonprofit dedicated to growing and fostering entrepreneurship throughout the world.  TiE believes in the power of ideas to change the face of entrepreneurship and growing business through the five pillars of its global mission: mentoring, networking, education, incubating and funding.   TiE Seattle hosts approximately 40 events a year, across all its programs, addressing entrepreneurs, startups, mentors and investors.  TiE events are sponsored by the leading VCs and enterprises in the Seattle ecosystem, including enterprises such as Amazon, law firms such as Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, K&L Gates and Fenwick & West, and leading VCs such as Madrona Venture Group.

Source: http://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2018/06/14/1524856/0/en/Seattle-Area-Teen-Entrepreneurs-to-Compete-with-Students-from-Around-the-World-for-Best-Business-Plans-at-TiE-Young-Entrepreneurs-Global-Business-Plan-Competition.html

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THE TYE PROGRAM

TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) is a global program dedicated to fostering future generations of industry leaders by teaching high school students the rewards and challenges of becoming an entrepreneur. TYE is an “Entrepreneurship Academy,” where student teams utilize modern skills and tools to build a concept using customer feedback, iteration, and lightweight business models.

TYE MISSION

To Inspire, challenge and empower high school students to become the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Entrepreneurship as a concept – rewards & challenges

Interacting with new & established entrepreneurs – through case studies, knowledge sessions & my story sessions.

Exploring diversity in education to entrepreneurship

Challenges of entrepreneurship in family businesses

TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) is a Global Program run by TiE aimed at fostering future generation of entrepreneurs by teaching high school students the rewards and challenges of becoming an entrepreneur

PHASE 1 – Class Room Interaction

(Spread over 4 Months)

• Classes by successful entrepreneurs & professionals
• Learning the key concept of a business plan
• Interactive discussion

PHASE 2 – Business Plan Development

• Mentoring by TiE members

PHASE 3 – Business Plan Competition

• Regional business plan competition
• Global business plan competition
• Judging panel of VC/ Angels/Entrepreneurs

• Cash prizes for top 3 teams at chapter level
• Certificates for participation to all teams
• Cash prizes worth $10,000 for TYE Global winner team.

TiE Nxt is a special initiative of TiE Rajasthan aimed at exploration and understanding of entrepreneurship for the young impressionable minds.

• Icebreaker session – Listen to the success story of a school / national/ international level business plan competition winner from another TiE chapter.
• Classroom sessions on ‘How to Create a Startup’ by TiE experts on Saturdays spread over 4 months.
• Complementary access to knowledge sessions conducted by TiE Rajasthan round the year.
• Certificates to Members

TYE 2022 SNAPSHOT

TYE 2021 SNAPSHOT

MEET THE WINNERS 2021

MENTORS & JURY MEMBERS

Arpit Patni

Arvind Modi

Ashim Bhasim

Ashish Mangal

Chirag Patel

Dhiraj Vijayvargia

Hemant Chauhan

Kailash Gupta

Kshitij Jain

Mahavir Sharma

Munesh Jadoun

Nitesh Agrawal

Prasun Khaitan

Puneet Mittal

Ravi Goenka

Sheenu Jhawar

Smriti Tripathi

Vikram Ahuja

TYE Testimony

“Being my daughter’s number 1 cheerleader, I am here to share my ‘Proud Father’ moment today.

@shreya modani_17 my little one who is in 9th grade recently participated in a business plan competition organized by her school, @jpischool in association with @tierajasthan. For the concluding competition, her team presented a business idea and amongst the 200 participating teams, they secured a spot in the top 3 finalists and will be competing against other regional teams in the India finals. So incredibly proud of her feat!

I am ecstatic to see how schools and educational institutions are undertaking these remarkable initiatives for cultivating entrepreneurial mindset and skills amongst our young ones. Such programs will not only enable innovative thinking but boost their confidence and help to build critical skills for their future.”

– Ashish Modani

Parent of TYE Finalist

“We highly acknowledge the hard work of your team and thank you on behalf of our students, staff and management to provide them an opportunity of endless learning.

Our students always look forward to joining your programe.”

– Ms. Nidhi Jodha & Mr. Abhishek Jain

Faculty Members

India International School, Jaipur

intern-net makes it big at the TYE Global Finals 2020

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TiE University Challenge

• February 23, 2018
• Comments : 0

The TiE University Challenge offers post-graduate university students an opportunity to present their startup ideas, and participate at local and regional TiE Competitions. The winning teams from Asia and Europe have an opportunity to apply to the Rice University’s acclaimed Business Plan Competition, which invests $1.5million and several prizes to the 42 Finalists.

TiE International Startup Competition (TISC) 2017

TISC (TIE International Startup Competition) is a Global Program that offers graduate university students and early stage startups, an opportunity to present their startup ideas, and participate at the local, regional and international Business Plan Competitions. The TISC Europe & Asia Regional Finals took place on February 28th and March 3rd respectively. The Winning teams have an opportunity to present at TiEcon, or at the Rice University’s acclaimed Business Plan Competition, which invests $1.5million each year to the RBPC Finalists.

TISC Europe 2017

TISC Europe Competition took place on February 28th, hosted by TiE London Chapter.

Team Medical Magnesium (cofounder, Florian Coppers) was the Winner for the Rice Track.

Two Award Winners selected for the Investor Track:

Rotaheat A Start Up commercialising patented technology to convert rotational energy directly into thermal energy (heat) without carbon or greenhouse gas emissions.

AYR A beautiful new vaping product that aims to totally disrupt the vaping sector

TISC was a great opportunity for Participants, as the finalists have an opportunity to present to a Charter Member community, full of expertise. An extremely successful group of nearly 100 business owners, they own some of London’s leading restaurants, hotels, banks, travel businesses and pharma companies and are also professionals at leading law firms and investment banks. We even have the Deputy Mayor of London, Rajeev Aggarwal and Lord Karen Bilimoria as some of our high profile members from the political arena.

We would like to thank Sid Narang, TiE London Board Member & TISC London Organiser, who championed TISC Regional Finals in London, for the first time along with Dinesh Dhamija, TiE London President.

A note of thanks to the Judges – George Coelho, and Rajeev Misra, head of Softbank for judging the European first rounds online. The Grand jury comprised of Vikas Shah, Christian Tidona and Dinesh Dhamija.

Next year we expect the competition to get significantly larger as we begin partnering with banks, angel investors in London and crowdfunding platforms to host an amazing TiE International Start Up Competition 2018!

TISC Asia 2017

Rice Track winners from Asia are: Ingenious Designs (Kanpur, UP)

Ingenious Designers, Rural E truck, and Visual EZ!

1st place : Ingenious Designs (Kanpur, UP), cofounder Sunil Bajpai & Naveen Kumar 2nd place: Rural E truck (Chandigarh) 3rd place : Visual EZ (Pune)

Investor track Winners from Asia are:

1st place : Kuai (Hongkong), cofounder Carlos Marco Rider 2nd place: Bulbul Apps (Hyderabad) 3rd place : Ping2Park

Best Elevator Pitch Award : Bulbul Apps (Hyderabad)

International Exposure

After the Regional Competition, Investor track winners will go through a rigorous mentoring program to prepare them for their all-expenses-paid trip to pitch at TiEcon Silicon Valley, the largest Entrepreneurship Conference, that will be held on May 5-6, 2017 in Santa Clara, CA. Once at Silicon Valley they will benefit from great exposure and if successful will secure funding and a route to market in the US for their businesses.

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TiE Women Entrepreneurs Bangalore – 2023 Program LAUNCH

Learning, Mentoring, Funding for Growth and Scale Higher

The most awaited program for women entrepreneurs is back! 

Here’s the best opportunity for you to connect and network with peers, mentors, and investors, and that’s not all !

Get funding and win the TW Global Business Plan Competition!!

Zoom link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMud-CprTgrGN2wvUrQPERNe7McC2heth6b

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TiE UNIVERSITY BUSINESS PLAN COMPETITION

Israel - tie chandigarh - b plan competition, tie university.

The TiE University program enhances college learning with mentoring by real life entrepreneurs, bootcamps, workshops, internships, local and global networking and access to funding sources.

TiE University is a program of TiE Global with the objective of fostering entrepreneurship among college and university students. It brings together college students, entrepreneurs, investors and institutions on one common platform and facilitates learning. It is a comprehensive ecosystem of stakeholders from the entrepreneurial ecosystem which works on enabling campus ideas to transform into viable businesses.

To help university startup founders and teams successfully launch and scale their ventures more rapidly.

Engage with 400+ quality universities by the 2022-23 academic year through 40 TiE chapters Build momentum by engaging with 200+ quality universities by 2021 though 30 TiE chapters

DISCOVER OUR PROGRAMS

Tie university global business hackathon.

A global hackathon for students to solve business problems articulated by global corporations. It is a 3 day intensive event preceded by mentoring and workshops. read more… -->

TIE UNIVERSITY GLOBAL PITCH COMPETITION

A pitch competition for campus based startups. It is open to both idea stage entrepreneurs as well as operational startups based out of colleges and universities. read more… -->

INTERNSHIPS

Did you know – 75% of entrepreneurial ideas are discovered during employment/Internships. Get an internship today – accelerate your startup launch. Program alumni gain auto-entry to our internship pool. read more… -->

BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS

• Gain priceless mentoring from charter members in the TiE Network who are real world entrepreneurs
• Augments the entrepreneurship curriculum at your university
• Receive coaching and access to funding sources
• Have an opportunity for internships with corporations and fast growth companies
• Participate in a local and global competition to win cash and in-kind prizes
• Utilize a worldwide network of TiE and TiE-U alumni

BENEFITS FOR UNIVERSITIES/ COLLEGES/ INSTITUTIONS

• Expand the entrepreneurship development capabilities/cells on campus by using ideas from real world mentors
• Possibilities to brand the college/ university/ institution using the globally accomplished image of TiE
• Give your students a global platform to compete and get exposure
• Opportunity to develop connection with CXOs of corporates

Secretariat Team

Anjum singh, ashu sharma, abhishek mehta, kartik mahajan.

Civic Alert Systems wins Binghamton Business Plan Competition

BINGHAMTON (WBNG) -- Binghamton Mayor Jared Kraham announced the winners of this year’s Binghamton Business Plan Competition on Wednesday morning.

The competition awards funding to individuals and teams planning to develop businesses in the City of Binghamton.

This year’s winners were Vestal residents Ryan Crist and Jason Duda of Civic Alert Systems. They were awarded $5,000 along with other prizes.

“Modern web application that allows counties, municipalities, local governments of any kind to directly text their residents,” Crist said. “This was born out of things like the COVID crisis we had a few years ago or the Buffalo snowstorms or really any public disaster situation you can think of.”

Second place went to Umahari in Binghamton and third place was 2nd Heaven of Vestal.

Copyright 2024 WBNG. All rights reserved.

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• Chat with NCPA

Calling all pharmacists: Graders needed for annual business plan competition!

NCPA May 31, 2024

NCPA is calling on you to volunteer as a grader by Friday, June 7, for the annual Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. Lend us your expertise and time by reviewing and grading two business plans, June 12-27, and help us celebrate 20+ years of this important competition. We’re using the digital platform Award Force, so it’ll be easy to access all materials and work from any screen. Questions? Email [email protected] for more information.

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• Civic Alert Systems wins local Business Plan Competition

B INGHAMTON, N.Y. (WIVT/WBGH) — A new start-up business looking to more efficiently connect local governments with their residents, won the Binghamton Business Plan Competition.

Civic Alert Systems is this year’s winner.

The company allows local governments and municipalities to provide information directly to residents through text messaging. Messages can be sent immediately to notify residents in real-time during emergencies like weather events or water main breaks, or can be scheduled to send at a later time.

Co-Owner Ryan Crist says the business officially incorporated in January, and is hoping to get a PILOT program up and running by the end of summer.

“Just being able to communicate more reliably and more directly with your residents. When you think of what options are available today, you can send things via mail, which might get thrown out, you can put things on social media which might get ignored. And, a lot of those things just aren’t direct enough or effective enough, or timely enough to reach people when it matters,” Crist said.

The winner of the competition is awarded $5,000 plus services from other local businesses. That includes accounting from Davidson Fox, legal counsel through Coughlin and Gerhart, website design from Freshy, sign creation from 3-i Graphics and Signs, branding services from Idea-Kraft, and a three month membership at the Koffman Incubator.

The second place winner, UMAHARI, received a $2,000 prize and third place winner, 2nd Heaven, won $500.

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Money: Why are concert tickets so expensive? Here's who is really responsible

Ticket prices for some concerts have reached astronomical levels in recent years - we've looked at why and who is profiting. Read this and the rest of our Weekend Money content below and join us for live updates again from Monday.

Saturday 1 June 2024 07:51, UK

• Taylor Swift

Weekend Money

• Where is all the money going? Here's who is really responsible for concert tickets going crazy
• Strikes, new bank notes, cat fines and airport disruption: Main June money dates for your calendar
• Your comments: Man Utd WFH crackdown, Sterling's uni pledge, pebble fines and standing charges

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Ask a question or make a comment

By Katie Williams , Money team

Spending a fair chunk on going to see your favourite big artist is not new - but it certainly feels like concert prices have entered a new stratosphere.

Fans of Bruce Springsteen have paid upwards of £120 for "rear pitch" standing tickets for his May 2024 tour, while some expressed disappointment recently over the £145 price tag of standing tickets for Billie Eilish's 2025 UK leg.

And while you could have nabbed Beyonce or Taylor Swift tickets in the UK for £50 (before fees) if you took a "nosebleed" seat, these had limited availability and quickly sold out. General admission standing tickets for Swift's Eras tour - which comes to the UK next week - started at £110.40 and those at the front had to shell out £172.25. It didn't stop there - by the time many fans got to the front of the online ticket queue, the only tickets left cost upwards of £300.

So what's behind rising ticket costs? These are some of the reasons...

Fans willing to pay for big spectacles

Simply put, ticket prices would come down if people voted with their feet.

Matt Hanner, booking agent and operations director at Runway, said prices at the top level had "risen considerably" - but the increase was partly being driven by demand.

"We're seeing a lot more stadium shows, greenfield, outdoor festival-type shows which are now a staple of towns around the country," he said.

"There's a growing number of people that are happy to spend a large chunk of their disposable income on going to a major music event."

Jon Collins, chief executive of LIVE, the trade body representing the UK's live music industry, had a similar view.

He said there were more large-scale shows and tours now than ever, and there was "massive appetite" among music lovers for "bigger spectacles".

Fancy shows mean higher costs - with staffing, the price of the venue, transport, artists' needs, insurance and loads more to factor in.

Of course, all these things are affected by inflation. Collins said ticket prices also factored in the rising costs that had hit every venue from the grassroots scene to major arenas.

"You've got a couple of different factors - you've got the spectacle of the show and the production cost and everything that goes into the ticket price. But then you've also got the fundamentals," he said.

The cost of venue hire has increased "significantly" in the past couple of years due to electricity and gas price rises, he added.

"You've got the increase in the cost of people… very justifiable costs like increases in minimum wage and living wage. At every stage of the process we've got these cost increases that will all push through the pressure on the ticket price."

Are artists being greedy?

How much money artists really earn off live touring is of interest to many - but the music industry is generally reluctant to release details.

The people we spoke to suggested it was not as simple as artist greed because, as we mentioned earlier, there's a lot to pay for before anything reaches their bank accounts.

The Guardian spoke to anonymous insiders about this topic in 2017. Its report suggested that between 50-70% of gross earnings were left for promoters and artists. The piece also cited a commonly quoted figure that the promoter takes 15% of what is left and the act will get 85%.

It all depends on the calibre of the artist and how much work the promoter has had to put in - they could end up with a bigger share if it was a hard push to get the show sold.

The people we spoke to said music acts and their teams would discuss the ticket price, and the bigger the act, the more sway they have - but it's ultimately set by the promoter.

Taylor Swift - arguably the biggest popstar on the planet right now - is personally earning between $10m and $13m (£8m - £10.5m) on every stop of her Eras Tour, according to Forbes. She is reported to take home a whopping 85% of  all revenue  from the tour.

But it's worth pointing out, too, that she's been known to be generous with her cash, having given $100,000 bonuses to the dozens of lorry drivers working on the tour.

What have other artists said? 

Some artists have been critical of the high ticket prices being demanded by others.

Tom Grennan told ITV two years ago that he had seen "loads of artists putting tickets out that are way too expensive for the times that we are in", adding that he wanted people to enjoy shows without worrying if they could pay their bills.

Singer-songwriter Paul Heaton was also praised for capping ticket prices for his tour with Jacqui Heaton at £30 in a bid to tackle music industry "greed" and help people during the cost of living.

British star Yungblud recently announced his own music festival, Bludfest - saying the industry was too expensive and needed to be "shaken up".

"I believe that gigs are too expensive, festivals are too expensive, and I just wanted to work to create something that has been completely done by me," he told Sky News.

Meanwhile, frequent Swift collaborator Jack Antonoff has said "dynamic pricing" by ticket sale sites such as Ticketmaster was also an issue when it came to cost.

He told Stereogum that he wanted artists to be able to opt out of the system - which basically means ticket prices increase when a show is in demand - and be able to sell them at the price they choose.

On its website, Ticketmaster describes its "Platinum" tickets as those that have their price adjusted according to supply and demand.

It says the goal of the dynamic pricing system is to "give fans fair and safe access to the tickets, while enabling artists and other people involved in staging live events to price tickets closer to their true market value".

The company claims it is artists, their teams and promoters who set pricing and choose whether dynamic pricing is used for their shows.

Ticketing website fees

As well as dynamic pricing, "sneaky" fees by online ticket sites are also causing issues for live music lovers, according to the consumer champion Which?.

A report from the group last month said an array of fees that isn't seen until checkout can add around 20% to the cost of concert and festival tickets.

Which? has urged a crackdown on the "bewildering" extra charges, which include booking, "delivery" and "transaction" fees, venue charges and sometimes charges for e-tickets.

The Cure lead singer Robert Smith tweeted that he was "sickened" after fans complained last year about processing fees  on Ticketmaster that wound up costing more than the ticket itself in some cases.

Responding to the Which? findings, Ticketmaster (which was far from the only company named) said: "Fees are typically set by and shared with our clients… who all invest their skill, resource and capital into getting an event off the ground. Ticketmaster supports legislation that requires all-in pricing across the industry."

Live Nation and Ticketmaster sued over 'dominance'

The US government is suing Ticketmaster owner Live Nation over allegations the company is "monopolising" the live events industry.

Justice department officials said it was unfair for the firm to control around 70% of primary ticketing for concerts in America. 

Live Nation has been accused of using lengthy contracts to prevent venues from choosing rival ticket companies, blocking venues from using multiple ticket sellers and threatening venues that they could lose money and support if Ticketmaster wasn't the chosen seller.

Live Nation said the lawsuit reflected a White House that had turned over competition enforcement "to a populist urge that simply rejects how antitrust law works".

"Some call this 'anti-monopoly', but in reality it is just anti-business," it said.

And it said its share of the market had been shrinking and its profit margin of 1.4% was the "opposite of monopoly power".

The lawsuit "won't solve the issues fans care about relating to ticket prices, service fees and access to in-demand shows", the company said.

"We will defend against these baseless allegations, use this opportunity to shed light on the industry and continue to push for reforms that truly protect consumers and artists."

As well as reportedly controlling most of the ticketing market, Live Nation also owns and represents some acts and venues.

Canadian artist Dan Mangan told Moneywise this was enabling the company to take "more and more of the pie".

He said when venue rent, equipment and other costs were taken into account, lesser known artists could take as little as 20% of ticket sales.

Another major cost on tickets in the UK is VAT (value added tax).

At 20%, it's pretty hefty. It was brought down to 5% and then 12.5% as the live music industry was hampered by COVID, but returned to the pre-pandemic level in April 2022.

The charge puts the UK "out of step" with other countries, Collins said.

"In competitive major markets like France, it's 5%. Germany it's 7%, Italy it's 10%. Sales tax in the US is typically 6% or 7%. So we are significantly out of step with other markets when it comes to how much VAT we charge on tickets," he said.

Touring now bigger source of income for major stars

With the decline of physical products and the rise of subscription listening, artists are earning less from making music - and income from live shows has become more important for the biggest stars.

Writer and broadcaster Paul Stokes said major stars who would have toured infrequently in the past were now willing to put on more shows as it becomes increasingly profitable.

Some artists will even pencil in multiple nights at huge venues like Wembley Arena, he said - something that wouldn't have been considered two decades ago.

"When Wembley was built and they said 'we'll be doing regular shows' you'd think 'are there acts big enough to fill this massive stadium?'

"It's become absolutely part of the live calendar that artists will come and play not just one night at Wembley, but two or three every every summer."

Stokes said this demand has also prompted the scale of shows that we've become used to seeing, featuring expensive production and pyrotechnics.

Not being felt evenly

While a night out seeing a platinum-selling artist is likely to be an expensive affair, industry figures are also keen to point out that the escalation in ticket prices isn't necessarily happening at a lower level.

Collins said that while major stars were putting on arena shows, there would be plenty of other live music taking place at the same time, "from the free pub gig to the £10 ticket at the grassroots venue, to the £30 mid-cap".

"There's an absolute range of opportunities for people to experience live music, from free through to experiencing the biggest stars on the planet," he said.

But concertgoers choosing to save their cash for artists they're more familiar with may have led to a "suppression" of prices for lesser-known acts, Hanner noted.

"Everyone's short of disposable income because there's a cost of living crisis. [Artists' and promoters'] core costs are going up as well, so it's more expensive for everyone. That fear of pricing people out is just being compounded," he said.

"I think [that] has definitely led to prices being suppressed [at the lower level], when really they should have been going up."

With May in the rearview mirror, here are the key money dates for your calendar in June. 

1 June onwards - benefit changes

While benefits rose 6.7% from 8 April for many claimants, those who had their last assessment period before then will have had to wait until June to receive the new, higher rate. 

The exact date in June when that payment is made will depend on when you were assessed.

Also from 1 June, all people claiming Housing Benefit alone will be asked to claim Universal Credit instead within three months of receiving the letter.

Failure to do so could result in you losing your entitlement.

1-2 June - Heathrow disruption

Hundreds of border force officers at Heathrow Airport are striking until Sunday in a dispute over rosters.

More than 500 of its members working on passport control at terminals 2, 3, 4 and 5 are taking action.

Disruption is expected over the weekend as families return to the UK at the end of the half-term holiday.

5 June - new banknotes

Banknotes featuring the face of the King will enter circulation across the UK. 

Notes that feature the portrait of the late Queen will remain legal tender and will co-circulate.

The new banknotes will only be printed to replace those that are worn and to meet any overall increase in demand.

10 June - £500 cat fines

All cats over 20 weeks old in England must be microchipped by 10 June.

You could face a £500 if you miss the deadline and don't get your cat microchipped in the following 21 days.

The law does not apply to the rest of the UK.

16 June - Father's Day

As the day dedicated to dads and father figures approaches, it may be worth remembering to put some cash aside to treat them in mid-June.

19 June - inflation data released

We'll get May's inflation data in the monthly drop from the Office for National Statistics. 

This will give us the clearest indication of whether the Bank of England will lower interest rates.

Remember, the Bank's target is 2% (April's headline rate was 2.3%), so the closer we get to that number the better. 

20 June - interest rate decision

Another Monetary Policy Committee meeting at the Bank of England will determine whether we finally get a drop in interest rates. 

Many economists predict a cut from 5.25% will happen in August, but June isn't ruled out.

27 June - doctors' strike

Junior doctors in England will begin a five-day strike at 7am over pay.

The last strike by junior doctors led to 91,048 appointments, operations and procedures being postponed.

30 June - meter readings

Not a fixed date - more of a reminder.

From 1 July, the energy price cap will fall by £122 per year.

Your provider will do most of the work, but you can help keep your bill accurate by submitting meter readings (unless you have a smart meter) ahead of this date. 

The big topics covered in the Money blog this week that got you commenting were...

• Manchester United giving staff who don't want to come into the office a week to resign
• Raheem Sterling offering to pay for 14 people to go to university
• Fines for pebble-taking tourists on beaches
• The standing charge rising despite the energy price cap being cut

Let's start with the two football-related stories. 

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, new part-owner of Manchester United, sent an email round on Tuesday offering all non-playing staff the chance to resign (with their annual bonus paid early) within the week if they do not like his plan to stop working from home ...

Some praised his decision... 

Well done Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Finally, somebody who has the guts to stand up and end this 'working from home' nonsense! edwinbasnett

Sir Jim has got it right, decisions are decisive and provide clear expectations and an option to get out. WFH doesn't work at the levels seen following COVID, I'm sure it does for some but many take advantage and it's far more difficult to manage. Tel

Others not so much...

Thankfully there's not quite so stark an ultimatum from my employer, but I am planning to leave soon. It's a nonsense commuting to an office where I then engage with other colleagues over Teams/Zoom. Jim

Who wants to work for a **** like that anyway with that attitude? No filter

Earlier in the week, we learnt Raheem Sterling will financially support 14 students through university. 

Applications for the Raheem Sterling Foundation Scholarship Programme - which closed on Thursday - were open to students of black, African and Caribbean heritage from socio-economically under-represented backgrounds to help bridge the equality gap.

This will be the second year the Chelsea forward will assist successful applicants at King's College London and the University of Manchester.

Readers said...

Sterling is a credit to sport, football and his heritage. I hope more footballers will join him and his endeavours. Judy

This is brilliant - I have never understood why professionals in many fields do not give more back to their communities. Just a visit to their old primary school could turn a bright light on for so many kids. Why don't many more do it? Old white woman

Well done Raheem Sterling for financially supporting 14 students who would like to attend university. Sometimes professional football players get a negative press but this is amazing, well done. Anthony G

Away from football and to Cumbria - where beach-goers have been warned they could face a fine of up to £1,000 if they remove pebbles or shells across the area.

You said...

Why aren't the same rules applied to stop Southern Water dumping all their s*** into our seas. They take millions of pounds from normal people who trust them to process it correctly. Anti s outhern water

So that means the thrill of going to the beach and collecting a few shells is stopped. What about the scallop shells used in restaurants and supermarkets? What about the sacks of shells sold at garden centres? What about the tonnes of sand used every day etc etc? JR

Has the world gone mad? £1,000 fine for taking pebbles home from a beach? I think most children take a few pebbles home with them.  Bob

Many of you responded to last Friday's announcement that while the energy price cap would fall in July, standing charges - the set amount you pay for gas and electric each day regardless of use - would be going up.

Martin Lewis's explanation of it can be read here...

Here's what you said...

Are there any regulations for energy supplies regarding the standing charge? Every time the unit price drops my supplier raises the standing charge. SianW

Our energy bills have dropped, now the heating is off. However, the high daily standing charge means my bills are off the starting blocks even before the switches are flicked. Come the winter the price cap will rise again - not unlike profiteering in wartime. Porthy

My standing charges are almost three times what they used to be. I've cut back on my usage to the point I pay more a month in standing charges than I do usage so having the unit price drop makes little impact. P hunt

The energy companies have ripped us off for the last two years. The daily standing charge has to go. The shareholders have had real good dividends over the past few years, and therefore must pay for the people that can't pay their bills, because of the bonuses they have received. michael rogers

The Money blog is your place for consumer news, economic analysis and everything you need to know about the cost of living - bookmark news.sky.com/money.

It runs with live updates every weekday - while on Saturdays we scale back and offer you a selection of weekend reads.

Check them out this morning and we'll be back on Monday with rolling news and features.

The Money team is Emily Mee, Bhvishya Patel, Jess Sharp, Katie Williams, Brad Young and Ollie Cooper, with sub-editing by Isobel Souster. The blog is edited by Jimmy Rice.

An investigation has been launched into whether the biggest banking merger since the financial crisis could harm competition.

The Competition and Markets Authority announced the inquiry into Nationwide's £2.9bn takeover of rival Virgin Money this morning.

The move would bring together the fifth and sixth largest retail lenders, creating a combined group with around 24.5 million customers and nearly 700 branches.

It would spell the end of the Virgin Money brand, with Nationwide planning to rebrand the business within six years.

The CMA has invited interested parties to give their views on the deal, as it considers whether it could "result in a substantial lessening of competition" in the market.

Nationwide struck the takeover agreement in March, and last week a clear majority of 89% of Virgin Money shareholders voted in favour, helping to clear the path to complete.

The government has sold £1.24bn of its shares in NatWest, accelerating the process of private ownership.

The Treasury's shareholding in the high street bank has fallen by approximately 3.5 percentage points to 22.5%.

NatWest, formerly Royal Bank of Scotland, received multibillion-pound bailouts during the 2008 financial crisis, leaving the government with an 84% stake.

The government has been selling down its stake in the lender, with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt planning to sell all of its interest in the bank by 2025 or 2026 should the Conservatives be re-elected.

There was supposed to be a public share sale this summer, allowing individuals, not just institutional investors, to purchase stock, but the plans have been shelved due to the election.

In recent years, the sell-off has become more rapid. In 2018, the government owned 62% of the group, but by December of last year that was down to just under 38%.

In March, that fell below 30%, meaning the government was no longer classed as a controlling shareholder in the lender.

Earlier this year, NatWest wrote to shareholders asking them to support an increase in the amount of stock the bank could buy back from the government in a year, from just under 5% to 15%.

The establishment of Great British Energy is among the last remnants of the "green prosperity plan" devised and championed by Ed Miliband, the shadow secretary of state for energy security and net zero, three years ago.

The former Labour leader's vision was to spend £28bn per year in the first five years of an incoming Labour government on decarbonising the UK economy.

However, as the current leader Sir Keir Starmer recognised, the issue was swiftly weaponised by the Conservatives because all the money - as Mr Miliband himself had made clear - would have been borrowed.

More importantly, the plan did not survive contact with Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, who has made fiscal responsibility her priority.

The £28bn-a-year spending pledge was watered down in February this year to one of £23.7bn over the life of the next parliament.

A sizeable chunk of that will be on Great British Energy, described by Mr Miliband as "a new publicly owned clean power company", which Labour has said will be initially capitalised at £8.3bn.

And, instead of the money being borrowed, Labour is now saying "it will be funded by asking the big oil and gas companies to pay their fair share through a proper windfall tax".

Read on  here... 

Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee are joining Glasgow as cities with Low Emission Zones where motorists could face fines up to £480 if they don't comply.

The zones were introduced two years ago, but drivers were given a grace period before charges began.

In Dundee, the grace period ended today - in Edinburgh and Aberdeen it's tomorrow.

A non-compliant vehicle entering the zone can be charged £60, which doubles with each subsequent breach up to a maximum of £480.

If paid within 14 days, the initial fine will be halved to £30.

Despite the warning, only 55% of drivers in Scotland are confident they know where the zones are in operation, according to online marketplace Carwow.

Some 30% of Scottish motorists are not sure if they understand the rules and 24% are not sure if their vehicle is compliant.

"We therefore need to tackle the lack of understanding among motorists about Low Emission Zones in Scotland – where they are and which cars are compliant - because, without better knowledge, millions of drivers are at risk of being fined," said Sally Foote, chief commercial officer at Carwow.

The Low Emission Zones aim to discourage high-polluting vehicles from entering certain areas, just like those in English cities like Sheffield and Bristol.

Unlike English Clean Air Zones, Scottish LEZs apply to all types of vehicles except motorbikes and mopeds.

Non-compliant vehicles are not allowed into those zones whatsoever, unlike English LEZs, which apply a daily charge.

Ultra-low emission vehicles are automatically compliant, but others must conform to certain Euro emission ratings, which can be found in your V5C logbook - or you can check online.

Cars, vans, minibuses, taxis and private hire vehicles with a petrol engine must have at least a Euro 4 rating, while those with diesel engines should have a Euro 6.

Grants are available to people living within 20km of a LEZ who have no other choice but to sell or adapt their vehicles.

Hackers say they have stolen confidential information from all Santander staff and millions of customers, reports the BBC.

A gang going by the name of ShinyHunters posted an advert on a hacking forum claiming to be selling 30 million people's bank account details, six million account numbers and balances, 28 million credit card numbers and HR information for staff.

Earlier this month, the bank said data was accessed belonging to customers in Chile, Spain and Uruguay and all current Santander employees, but nothing that would allow transactions to take place.

As of March, Sandander as a whole employed more than 211,000 people and as of 30 June 2021, 20,900 employees worked for Santander UK.

Santander has declined to comment on the claims beyond a statement released on 14 May.

It read: "Certain information relating to customers of Santander Chile, Spain and Uruguay, as well as all current and some former Santander employees of the group had been accessed.

"No transactional data, nor any credentials that would allow transactions to take place on accounts are contained in the database, including online banking details and passwords. The bank's operations and systems are not affected, so customers can continue to transact securely.

"We apologise for the concern this will understandably cause and are proactively contacting affected customers and employees directly."

ShinyHunters have previously sold data stolen from AT&T and claim to be selling private data hacked from Ticketmaster, the BBC reported.

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