Seton Hall University has been selected to be a host for the South by Southwest Student Startup Madness Competition. Seton Hall has been selected as one of 16 expected collegiate hosts in eight regions for the competition. The final competition takes place in Austin, Texas.
The Student Startup Madness Competition is a nationwide tournament-style competition for college student digital media startups, culminating with the “Entrepreneurial Eight” national finals at South By Southwest (SXSW) Interactive. The first and regional rounds of the competition are conducted online, beginning with a selected field of 64 teams, narrowing to 32 semi-finalists and ending with the announcement of the “Entrepreneurial Eight” finalists in January.
Hosting the competition allows Seton Hall to join the ranks of the national leaders in digital-media startup and to showcase the University’s nationally recognized entrepreneurship program and to display innovative student ideas. Seton Hall will also encourage regional teams to apply to the competition, promote the activities of the competition, organize a social media campaign and recommend corporate sponsors, judges and team coaches.
All college student teams with digital media startups, either in concept, development or operation were eligible to apply for the competition. Teams will be judged on the uniqueness and status of their startup, the quality of the team, the size of the target market, any market traction they have thus far generated and the overall merit of their venture as an investment.
The host universities are leading universities with nationally recognized entrepreneurship programs provide a national footprint for the Student Startup Madness tournament. Each university anchors its respective region to promote and facilitate the national student startup tournament, leading to the finals at South By Southwest Interactive in Austin, Texas, in March.