M West Challenge

West Michigan's Student Entrepreneurship Competition

Welcome to the 2023 MWest Challenge, a student venture competition designed to create cross collaboration between students that span across several universities from West Michigan. Through MWest, entrepreneurially minded students are able to develop and grow new ventures based on their own ideas. MWest involves eight West Michigan colleges and universities, representing 75,000 students from: Grand Valley State University, Kendall College of Art and Design, Davenport University, Aquinas College, Calvin College, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids Community College, Kuyper College, and Hope College.

What Type of Students and Business Ideas May Enter?

All business concept submissions are subject to review, consideration, and acceptance by representatives from the MWest Challenge steering committee and the participating institutions.

The MWest Challenge has two primary missions: (1) to teach students the skills and process of new business concept development and (2) to support students who desire to start a new business through encouragement, mentorship, and early-stage funding.  MWest is designed for business concepts that are in the ideation or early stage of development.

Business Idea Eligibility
The MWest Challenge encourages the widest variety of ideas to enter the competition. However, the steering committee has developed a few eligibility rules that help maintain a level playing field for the competition. Businesses meeting the following criteria are eligible to compete in the MWest Challenge competition:

  • The business or idea must be majority-owned (over 50%) by the student

  • It must be an independent business venture in the start-up ideation or very early growth stage

  • Business concepts can be for-profit or nonprofit

  • Businesses/teams with aggregate sales, investments, grants, or competition awards under $5000 since the LLC was established are eligible to compete.

  • If a legal entity has been formed, the earliest incorporation date must be after April 1, 2023.

  • If you have previously competed and won First Place at an MWest Challenge, you are not eligible to apply.

It is NOT a requirement that students register a legal business entity for the competition!

Student and Team Eligibility
This competition is for current dual-enrollment, undergraduate, or graduate students enrolled at a participating college or university:

  • Aquinas College

  • Calvin University

  • Cornerstone University

  • Davenport University

  • Grand Rapids Community College

  • Ferris State University and Kendall College of Art and Design

  • Kuyper College

Students must be currently enrolled at their respective college or university. Students who have graduated in December of 2023 can participate in the MWest Challenge if they are working with a student currently enrolled at one of the participating institutions.

Students may compete individually or as a team. It is highly encouraged that students work in teams. There are no size restrictions for the teams, but an ideal team should have 3-4 members. Students may create interdisciplinary/inter-collegiate teams that include students from any of the participating institutions.

International Students
International students are not eligible to win prize money from the competition due to restrictions on prize money distribution laws. However, international students may participate on a team with US students for the educational experience.

 

Ownership of the Business Concept
The competition is for student-created, managed, and owned business ventures. Students must have played a significant role in developing the business concept, have key management rolled, and hold supermajority ownership in the (proposed) business for the team and business concept to be eligible for the competition.

 

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Guidelines
Contestants should be aware that neither administrators of the competition nor judges of the business plan will be required, nor should they be asked, to sign non-disclosure agreements (NDA).

Contestants are encouraged to be selective about what they disclose, to label plans and contents with the words CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY, and to seek legal counsel if they have any further questions regarding the legal protection of their ideas.

All public sessions of the MWest Challenge Competition, including but not limited to oral presentations and question/answer sessions, are open to the public at large. Any and all of these public sessions may be broadcast to interested persons through media which may include radio, television, and other internet channels. Any data or information discussed or divulged in public sessions by entrants should be considered information that will likely enter the public realm, and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged, or presented in these sessions.

Event organizers and attendees may make photocopies, photographs, video recordings, and/or audio recordings of the presentations including all materials prepared for use in a pitch presentation, and disseminate said materials in any promotional form.

Student participants retain all proprietary rights to their business concepts and ideas.