Seventy-seven startups from Babson College entered Startup Rounds, the business competition created by the Babson Entrepreneurship Club (BEC). Startup Rounds is currently halfway through the second round of competition. The competition was open to all companies founded by Babson students or alumni, as long as the businesses earned less than $1 million in revenue.
“[Startup rounds] is a great way for Babson startups to show off their stuff and gain traction,” said Paul Hammond, the co-president of the Babson Entrepreneurship Club.
The competition is organized differently from most startup competitions. Startup Rounds is divided into four seven-day rounds. During each round, students compete to improve their standing on the competition leaderboard by networking and gaining support for their business on social media. Facebook users can vote for up to three startups per competition round. At the end of each round, a certain number of the competing businesses will be cut, and the remaining businesses’ positions on the leaderboard will reset.
The top 10 businesses will compete for over $30,000 in prizes by pitching to a panel of expert judges at the Microsoft New England Research & Development (NERD) Center on February 27, 2014. The prize pool includes $20,000 in cash and $10,00 in real-estate consultation, and legal resources (from Pierce Atwood and Pepper Hamilton). Winners will also receive BostInno Press, opportunities at the MassChallenge competition, and meetings with Rough Draft Ventures.
A full list of the businesses competing in Start Up Rounds is available at the competition website.