Requirements

College/School Eligibility:

  • Agriculture and Life Sciences
  • Architecture, Art and Planning
  • Arts and Sciences
  • Bowers CIS
  • Continuing Education
  • Engineering
  • Graduate School
  • Human Ecology
  • Industrial and Labor Relations
  • Law
  • SC Johnson Business - Dyson
  • SC Johnson Business - Hotel
  • SC Johnson Business - Johnson
  • Veterinary Medicine

Class Year Eligibility:

  • First Year (undergrad)
  • Second Year (undergrad)
  • Third Year (undergrad)
  • Fourth Year + (undergrad)

Open to:

  • Cornell Undergraduate Students
  • Cornell Graduate/Professional Students

This award recognizes the achievements of a Cornell student launched and operating business that meets the following criteria:

● Business must be operated by a current Cornell student or team of students while at Cornell; if a team, 50% or more of the team members must be registered as current Cornell students. A business that exists prior to the students’ enrollment at Cornell can qualify, but a business that is developed significantly while the student or student team is enrolled at Cornell will be given preference (for example, a student may have started a business prior to entering Cornell and then significantly further developed it while enrolled at Cornell).

● Student(s) in the business may be undergraduate or graduate. 

● Business must be operating at the time of award announcement (preferably legal entity established).

● Success metrics for the business will vary depending on the industry in which the business participates.  Factors could include:

    • - business team’s initiative, character, originality, and persistence
    • - revenue generation (social and environmental outcomes are considered, but revenue generation is the focus)
    • - other indications of customer validation like users and downloads
    • - business creativity/uniqueness
    • - tangible intellectual property position that protects the product or service
    • - scalable business model
    • - size of addressable market
    • - awards, business competition success, or other industry recognition
    • - receipt of grant funding, equity investment or other capital
    • - substance and sustainability of the business (as opposed to pitch performance)