Hosted by the Center for Leadership Education, HopStart: Hopkins New Venture Challenge (formerly the JHU Business Plan Competition) is an annual startup competition that challenges Johns Hopkins students to develop a business plan around a novel idea and pitch their plan to industry leaders.
Throughout two stages of competition held during the spring of each year, students build an understanding of their target market and competitors, craft an effective market entry strategy, and present their plans to industry professionals on competition day.
HopStart Eligibility Requirements
Student Enrollment & Team Composition
For all categories, teams may include both Johns Hopkins University students (undergraduate, graduate and/or post-docs) and non-JHU affiliates; however, at least one team member must meet BOTH of the following requirements:
- Be a current part-time, full-time, or Postdoctoral student of any of the nine divisions of Johns Hopkins University at any point during the current academic year.
- Be a member of the venture’s startup management team.
All categories are open to entries from any division of Johns Hopkins and members of teams can span more than one division of the university.
Team Size
Teams may be any size, but must include at least one student that meets the requirements outlined above. Only eight members of a team may register for the event, though additional team members can assist with preparing the business plan in Stage 1 of the competition. Please email us at [email protected] if you wish to provide individuals with access to your LivePlan template who do not plan to attend competition day.
Participation
Non-students may be members of the venture’s management team and may participate in planning the venture. Non-student team members are welcome to participate in all rounds of HopStart. Faculty advisers or other team mentors are encouraged to attend, but cannot participate in pitching their team’s venture.
Complete eligibility and registration requirements found here.
Timeline:
- February 12, 2025 – Registration Closes
- February 18, 2025 – Stage 1, Round 1 Submission Deadline
- February 24 – March 7, 2025 – Round 1 Mentorship Window
- March 27, 2025 – Stage 1, Round 2 Submission Deadline
- March 31 – April 11, 2025 – Round 2 Mentorship Window
- April 14-22, 2025 – Pitch Mentorship Window
- April 25, 2025 – Competition Day