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Model Entrepreneur® Competition

Published on February 18, 2023

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Model Entrepreneur® Competition

Model Entrepreneur® Competition

Model Entrepreneur® Competition, also known as MEC, is a global competition hosted by Venture For All (VFA), the international entrepreneurship program launched at the Columbia Business School. Each year, students worldwide participate in MEC to learn how to be an entrepreneur and pursue their business dreams. It hopes to inspire youth’s interest in business from an early age and further cultivate students’ business thinking and insights. 

A Global Competition

Model Entrepreneur® Competition

Model Entrepreneur® Competition, also known as MEC, is a global competition hosted by Venture For All (VFA), the international entrepreneurship program launched at the Columbia Business School. Each year, students worldwide participate in MEC to learn how to be an entrepreneur and pursue their business dreams. It hopes to inspire youth’s interest in business from an early age and further cultivate students’ business thinking and insights.

A Global Competition

First Round Submission - 26th March 2023 | Team Size - 2-3 people | Grade 8 -12

Official Competition

The world’s first and only official entrepreneur competition was founded by an ivy league business school.

Total Prize Exceeds $100,000

Seed Funding for startups, scholarships and a Methena college assessment.

Judges from Current Columbia Business School VFA Professors/Instructors

Each year, the judging panel consists of top executives from corporate and current professors and instructors from Columbia Business School and Columbia Business School VFA. All team members will have a chance to consult directly with professors and domain experts.
Your path to Top Business Schools!
MEC is the quintessential entrepreneurship competition. It bridges learnings from the most coveted entrepreneur course in the MBA program at Columbia Business School to students interested in entrepreneurship and business. Students joining the competition will have an opportunity to get exposed to real-world business problems by composing a business plan that consists of product analysis, market analysis, marketing plan, financial planning, and risk management. In addition to the business plan, students also need to produce a promotional video of their products/services and present to the judging panel

Student Testimonials!

A Word From the Judge

Competition Process

MEC will be divided into First and Final rounds. The business plan’s direction will be to address the pain points in the market, develop a solution in a form of products or services, and build a feasible business model. After submitting the business plan, Columbia Business School VFA professors/instructors will evaluate and select the teams that will enter the Final rounds.

Previous Judges

Dr. Jack McGourty

CBS Venture For All® Founder

Jack McGourty Ph.D. is Director of Community and Global Entrepreneurship at the Columbia Business School and a faculty member teaching courses about entrepreneurship, venture creation, and product innovation.

Manoj Pooleery

Current CBS Venture For All® Professor

Manoj Pooleery is the Founder and CEO of M-Phi Innovators, a specialized technology services company that provides full range of innovation services to businesses. He provides end-to-end technology and business strategy definition and implementation to both startups and established businesses. He has helped many companies get started, out of the Columbia Business School as well as outside.

Paul Shih

Current CBS Venture For All® Professor

Paul is expecting his Doctorate in Education from The Johns Hopkins Unviersity. He received his MBA from Columbia University and his BA in Psychology from The Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Joseph Rios

Current CBS Venture For All® Professor

Joseph received his Ph.D. in International Comparative Education: Cultural Anthropology and Linguistics from Stanford University, his MA from Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and his BA from the University of California, San Diego. He is currently a senior consultant at Google.

Tatsuhito Sugaoi

Current CBS Venture For All® Professor

Tatsuhito worked for Philips Japan as Director of the Business Transformation where he led his team to improve the operational efficiency that contributed to the improvement in operating profit. Prior to Philips, Tatsuhito worked at General Electric as the ECLP (Experienced Commercial Leadership Program) and mostly served in the area of new business development. He graduated with a MBA from Hitotsubashi University.

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