Purdue University Northwest invites aspiring entrepreneurs to present their pitches for its 2026 PNW Big Sell pitch competition.
This year's participants will compete for up to $10,000 in seed money.
Participants should submit a two-minute video highlighting their idea by noon March 22. Ten finalists will present their pitches May 2 at PNW’s Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center in Hammond. They will have six minutes to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges.
“We have had participants from student startups as well as community startups who have gone on to raise millions of dollars of venture capital and have used the PNW Big Sell as their launch pad” said Alexandra Moran, assistant professor of practice in management, in a press release.
Last year, the PNW Big Sell considered more than 100 submissions.
“Over the past 10 years, we have grown the number of participants, but we have also grown the number of students helping make the event a success,” Moran said.
Last year's winners were:
- First Place ($10,000): Scent Seal presented by Nabeel Rabie
- Second Place ($3,000): Frozen Garden presented by Allyson Straka
- Third Place ($1,000): Yuda presented by Paul Walczak
Previous winners are not eligible to participate.
