The Bill Gross Prize for Entrepreneurship
What is the prize, and what is it for?
The Bill Gross Prize for Entrepreneurship awards prizes for undergraduate or graduate students who submit a business plan to launch a product, process, or a novel use for an existing technology. Students may apply as individuals or as members of a team.
Each year, qualifying applications will be reviewed, and chosen applicants will be mentored by OTTCP's Entrepreneurs-in-Residence and other volunteer mentors.
At the end of the mentorship period, each individual or team will present their business plan before a panel of volunteer judges from across the entrepreneurship community. Winning teams will split $60,000 and be considered for internships with Caltech-associated startups.
What is the timeline for the competition?
Info session & application kickoff with speaker Bill Gross
Thursday, November 21, 2024 from 12-1:30 pm
Caltech Innovation Center | 271 S Chester Ave.
RSVP via CALE here
Lunch will be provided for those who RSVP.
Application deadline
The application form opens on November 16, 2024 and closes:
Wednesday January 22, 2025 @ 11:59pm.
Finalists will be selected and announced in early February.
Mentorship program
Finalists will be assigned mentorship and work on business plan during Winter Term.
Final presentation
Date and location TBA
RSVP required – link to be provided here.
How do I apply?
Please fill out the form below with no more than 3 sentences for each question. Submissions with more than three sentences for each section will not be considered. Submissions with incomplete responses will also not be considered. Note that the form does not send you a confirmation email after you've submitted, but you should see "Great! Thanks for filling out my form!" when you've successfully submitted.
Frequently Asked Questions
The competition is open to all current Caltech students (undergraduate and graduate students).
- Teams may also include recent Caltech alumni (graduated June 2022 onward), and students from other institutions, as long as the team lead is a current Caltech student.
- International students should consult with the ISP Office with any questions.
3 winners will receive a financial award: 1st - $30K, 2nd - $20K, 3rd - $10K
There are two funding options: to a company, or to individuals.
To a company:
- Funding will be awarded and paid to the legal business entity. The winning companies will be required to provide W-9 tax documentation for their legal business entity. Funding may be subject to taxation and is the sole responsibility of the entity to which the awards are distributed.
- Awards will be given to the company in the form of a "Simple Agreement for Future Equity" (SAFE) note between Caltech and the startup entity, following a standard SAFE template at a 80% discounted rate (20% discount) and no valuation cap.
- Caltech will pay the price of incorporation for teams who choose this option.
To individuals:
- Teams will decide the division of the prize between individual team members.
- Each team member will be responsible for the income tax of their portion of the award.
Prize money awarded to a company will be provided as an investment into the company in the form of a Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE). When the company has a conversion event (e.g., raising a priced financing round), Caltech receives preferred shares in the company in exchange for its investment, per the terms of the SAFE (the SAFE ‘converts' into equity for Caltech). Stockholder terms and conditions are then governed by the financing documents held between the company and its stockholder(s).
Yes. Other source(s) of funding you or your company has received has no bearing on your participation in this business plan competition.
Caltech patent policy applies – the Student Patent and Copyright Agreement can be found here. If you have questions about your particular situation, please contact us to discuss specifics.
Should your project or idea involve Caltech IP, your startup may need to take a commercial-use license. In this case, Caltech will be happy to consider granting the startup a license, which would be negotiated on a case-by-case basis in accordance with OTTCP's normal licensing practices.
No, neither participation nor winning changes the IP ownership of your company or concept. As long as your initial business idea or technology did not use Caltech resources or workspaces, as laid out in the Student Patent and Copyright Agreement, then there is no implication to your IP ownership.
There is no formal maximum team size, but we suggest teams of 1-5.
Yes, just create separate submissions for each project or idea.
To be considered for an internship, you must apply to either the OTTCP Summer Internship in Entrepreneurship or Timothy D. Ryan Summer Entrepreneurship Program via CALE before their respective posted deadlines.
Yes, there is no limit on the number of submissions from a person or team.
About Bill Gross (BS '81)
A lifetime entrepreneur, Bill Gross (BS '81) started his first business in high school, selling plans and kits for solar energy products. As a Caltech undergraduate, he patented a loudspeaker design and formed GNP Loudspeakers, Inc., to manufacture the product. After earning his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering, Gross and his brother created a natural language product for Lotus 1-2-3 called HAL and established GNP Development, Inc., which was acquired by Lotus Development Corporation in 1985. In 1991, he launched Knowledge Adventure, an educational software publisher that eventually was sold to Havas/Vivendi. Gross founded Idealab, his dream laboratory, in 1996. Now the longest-running technology incubator, Idealab has introduced more than 150 companies with more than 45 IPOs and acquisitions. In 1999, after serving five years as a Young Alumni Trustee, Gross was elected to the Caltech Board of Trustees, where he currently chairs the Technology Transfer and Innovation Committee. He serves on the boards of numerous companies and is also a trustee of Art Center College of Design.
Contact the Team
If you have any questions, please contact Maral Gharib or Brianna Chu.