Duke I&E’s Premier Event Celebrating Student Entrepreneurship
The Duke Startup Showcase, launched in 2023, features Duke’s top student ventures from across the university. The Showcase provides a venue for student founders from any Duke degree program or school to connect with potential investors, mentors, and collaborators from the Duke and local startup ecosystems. Student ventures apply to the Showcase and go through multiple rounds of judging for the chance to show off their ventures in the event. The top undergraduate and graduate/professional venture teams are invited to pitch before a virtual judging panel in the weeks leading up to the Showcase. The finalists from that round are invited to make live pitches at the Showcase and have the chance to win more than $110,000 in non-dilutive funding. This year's Startup Showcase is Thursday, April 10, from 4:00-7:00 pm at The Fuqua School of Business. You can learn more and register here.
Student venture applications for the 2025 Duke Startup Showcase are now closed.
2025 Duke Startup Showcase prizes:
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Borchardt Prize for best undergraduate student venture –$30,000
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Borchardt Prize for second-best undergraduate student venture –$10,000
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Best graduate/professional student venture –$30,000
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Second-best graduate/professional student venture –$10,000
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Fuqua Fast Pitch Prize (best Fuqua student venture) –$10,000
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Social Entrepreneurship Prize (best venture whose primary purpose is to solve a social or environmental problem)–$10,000
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Dean Yep, Jr. Prize (Fuqua student venture that uses entrepreneurship to diminish geographic and social boundaries)– $6,500
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Audience Choice/Best in Showcase Award - $5,000
Watch Pitches From the 2024 Duke Startup Showcase
Top Ventures From the 2024 Showcase
Thirty-six student ventures were featured at the 2024 Duke Startup Showcase. Learn about the prize-winning top ventures below, and review the entire list here.
- AHAV produces healthy snacks with simple ingredients and donates a portion of sales to the National Eating Disorder Association and No Kid Hungry - $10k Social Innovation Prize
- Alleviate Health’s platform enhances medical offices and clinical trails through AI-driven scheduling and programs - $30k Borchardt Prize
- Anon ID is a private and verifiable Web3 version of Face ID tailored for the gaming and entertainment ticketing industries - $10k Fuqua Fast Pitch Prize
- Aurganics, a plant-powered solution to skin care, addresses the unique needs of melanin-rich skin - $10k Borchardt Prize
- Betacare is revolutionizing healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa, offering equitable health education, insurance, and medical services - $30k Graduate Student Prize and $6k Dean Yep, Jr. Prize
- Himayat provides a comprehensive HR management and employee benefits platform for domestic workers and their employers in India - $10k Graduate Student Prize
- Styl offers a personalized shopping experience akin to Tinder - $5k “Best in Showcase” Prize (audience choice award)
“The quality of ventures and pitches at the Duke Startup Showcase was unbelievable. I don't see better ventures, traction, or pitches from some of the serial entrepreneurs who we invest in. Seeing that quality in student ventures was incredibly inspiring!”
Tobi Walter, Partner, Cofounders Capital