First Pitch
PITCH YOUR RICE UNIVERSITY STARTUP FOR CASH PRIZES
Started in 2018 at the Rice Alliance, First Pitch is an opportunity to quickly promote your startup, business idea, technology innovation or research application in front of the Rice entrepreneurial ecosystem—your classmates, potential mentors and supporters.
Any startup is able to give a 60-second pitch, designed to generate interest, share your vision, find founders, gain support and impress funders. Winners are determined by a panel of judges and cash prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd top-scoring pitches!
The 2021 First Pitch was held virtually in September, in partnership with Lilie Lab. We encourage you to stay tuned into the Rice Alliance to learn about the next fall event in 2022—when we'll be back in person!
FIRST PITCH HAS GROWN OVER THE YEARS
Each year First Pitch looks a little bit different, starting in 2019 the event was hosted with the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and Jones Student Association (JSA) and focused on kicking off the Rice Business Plan Competition.
Students were able to mix and mingle with like-minded grad students who are interested in launching a business; find someone who may be the key to their missing business link (computer scientist? marketer?); talk about research and its potential commercial applications—and of course meet some new people and have a taco.