Fourteen companies have been selected to compete in the Colorado State University Collegiate Challenge April 27 for the chance to win $25,000 in cash and prizes.

The CSU Collegiate Challenge gives companies that are selected the opportunity to pitch their business ideas to high-profile judges, according to an article from SOURCE.

The competitors come from five states in the Mountain West Region. Six companies in this year’s competition come from CSU: The Food Corridor, IgnoreU, SiVEC Biotechnologies, Roar Sport, Bégué Coco and Insecticycle. A full list of competitors is available through SOURCE.

The winner of the CSU Collegiate Challenge will be automatically pre-qualified for the online semifinal application for the Capital Championship, formerly known as the Blue Ocean Enterprise Challenge, where they have the chance to win the grand prize of $250,000.

While this is a competition, the focus is on education and business development. Competitors practice their pitches to several mentors a week before the competition and receive feedback. The night before the competition, there is an Advisor Round Table event, which pairs companies with experts from different areas of business to provide in-depth feedback for their company. Also, after pitching in the Competition Seed Round, businesses are given even more feedback on how to improve their company. 

Jeremy Ostermiller, a CSU alumnus and founder of Altitude Digital, is the keynote speaker at this year’s Collegiate Challenge, which will begin at 5:30 p.m. April 27 in the Lory Student Center Ballroom on campus.

Along with the Business Pitch Competition at the CSU Collegiate Challenge, there will also be the Innovation Symposium, entrepreneurship speakers and networking events.

All CSU Collegiate Challenge events are free and open to the public, but registration is requested on their website. 

Collegian News Editor Sady Swanson can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @sadyswan.