15 student startups to pitch for prize money at NCSU’s eGames

RALEIGH – NC State sees a wealth of student startup ideas every year. While ideating may come easy to some students, moving from the ideation phase to launching a startup can be time-consuming, challenging, and expensive!

Located on Centennial Campus, NC State Entrepreneurship serves as the central entrepreneurship hub for all students on campus, where students have a safe sandbox to test ideas, tinker with prototypes and get the help and resources they need no matter where they are on their entrepreneurial journey. Not to mention, they get plugged into a community of like-minded students eager to build businesses. And yes, NC State Entrepreneurship offers many resources to help budding entrepreneurs get the funding they need to make their dream a reality!

About eGames

Our biggest, most competitive, and most lucrative competition of the year is the eGames (short for entrepreneurship games). Originating in 2009, the eGames is NC State’s largest entrepreneurship competition awarding over $100,000 in seed funding and additional in-kind gifts to NC State entrepreneurs. Besides the financial benefits available to winning competitors, participating in entrepreneurship competitions helps students improve their pitching skills, create business plans, receive valuable feedback, and gain greater exposure for their innovations or ventures.

How the Competition Works

The student segment of eGames is split into two categories, the “Think” category, where teams can compete with an idea or business in the early stages, or the “Do” category where they compete with an established startup. The Daugherty Endowment Track is open for officially registered startup companies who have licensed NC State intellectual property in the past three years.

Out of nearly 60 competing student teams this year, a wonderful panel of preliminary judges selected 10 student teams to move forward to the final round – five from each category. As an added bonus, every competing team could also unlock additional $2,000 Impact award prizes in 4 different categories.

Available Cash Prizes

“Think” Awards – $20,000 Total

“Do” Awards – $25,000 Available

Daugherty Awards – $50,000 Available

“Impact” Awards – $16,000 Available

Audience and Judge’s Choice Award – Additional $2,000

2022 eGames Finalists

Below is a list of Think and Do finalists that will be pitching live on April 18 at Stewart Theater in Talley Student Union at 5:30 p.m. The live pitch competition and award ceremony are open to the public and your vote can help the team with the most votes win an additional $1,000 audience choice award. Grab a ticket to secure your spot!