University’s Cottrell Entrepreneurship Center Seeks “Big Ideas” for 2026 Idea Challenge
Let your big idea become a reality: Enter the 14th Annual Business Idea Challenge
at West Chester University and jumpstart your business.
The WCU Business Idea Challenge is now open and all ideas are welcome. Ideas that have not yet been commercialized and can be used as the foundation for a new business are eligible.
The goals of the competition are to foster idea generation and to facilitate commercialization of business ideas. Submissions are due on February 28. Competitors will vie for $11,500 in prize money.
Co-Hosted by the University’s Cottrell Entrepreneurship Center, the Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic, and The Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce, the WCU Business Idea Competition promotes creativity and idea generation by recognizing innovative ideas for new products, services, and technology.
Once again the Presenting Sponsor of the competition is Meridian Bank.
WCU Business Idea Competition partners are SCORE of Chester & Delaware County and i2n, an initiative of Chester County Economic Development Council.
Ideas will be reviewed by business angels and business advisors. The top ideas will move on to the Round 2 Fast Pitch video submission and the top two submissions in each track will move on to final round in-person pitch competition, which will take place on Wednesday, April 15.
Business experts, Keiretsu Forum Mid-Atlantic Angel Investors, and members of the Greater West Chester Chamber of Commerce will judge the idea pitch. Winners will be announced and awards will be presented at the conclusion of the in-person competition.
There are four tracks in this competition:
- WCU Undergraduates
- WCU Graduate Students, Alumni, Faculty, and Staff
- Early-stage Startups
- Chester County High School Students
Competitors will be asked to explain their ideas for a product, service, or technology that can be used as the foundation for a new business, focusing on description, uniqueness, and target market.
Prizes include:
- Grand Prize: $2,500
- First Place Prize in each track: $1,500
- Second Place Prize in each track: $750
Pattie Diggin M’96, executive director of the Cottrell Entrepreneurship Center, organizes the Business Idea Challenge. She says it “provides an opportunity for early-stage businesses to test out the market and fine tune their messaging at the final phase of the competition [the in-person pitch].”
Diggin reports that Charles Mbata, founder of MyMonitor and a finalist in the 2025 competition reached out to her in January to update his company’s progress and said that “The Business Idea Challenge played a formative role in helping shape both my confidence as a founder and the direction of the company.”
Click here to submit an entry.
For more information, e-mail cottrellcenter@wcupa.edu or visit www.wcubizidea.com.
Meridian Bank’s Patrick Hart with the 2025 Overall Competition Winner, the Jover Walker Cover Team