Health Tech Challenge

Reverse Pitch Competition

The Health Tech Challenge is a statewide competition offered in partnership by Health Tech Idaho and Boise State University’s Venture College.

Problem and Solution

This is a ‘reverse pitch’ competition, which means you don’t have to bring your own idea. Participants will choose a problem provided by industry partners and propose a solution in the form of a new venture. Participants refine their solutions into ventures through research, customer discovery, and idea validation.

Cash Awards

College and university students from across Idaho will compete for cash prizes as they generate innovative solutions within the health, med & bio tech industries.

Who Can Apply?

Open to higher education students across the state of Idaho.

If applying as a team, at least one member of your team must be a registered student at a college or university in Idaho.

We encourage participants to work on interdisciplinary teams, and to look beyond their own institution to find the right partners for their team.

If you are applying as an individual, Venture College will help match students to teams when the program begins.

Three Phases of the Competition

1. Sprint

Tuesday, September 10 –  Wednesday, September 25

During the first phase of Health Tech Challenge, participants:

• Learn more about the problem they are solving, work with mentors assigned to their teams, develop an idea for a solution, and build and test their prototype.

While the majority of the sprint is done outside of the classroom, including reviewing on-demand entrepreneur and start-up content, participants can expect the following meetings:

Kick-Off + Mentor Introductions (1 hour)

• Tuesday, September 10 | 5 – 6 PM (MT) via Zoom

Interview Problem Sponsors (1.5 hours)

• Wednesday, September 11 | 5 – 6:30 PM (MT) via Zoom

Pitch Practice (1.5 hours)

• Tuesday, September 24 | 5 – 7 PM (MT) via Zoom

2. Virtual Preliminary Pitch Competition

Wednesday, September 25

9 AM to 1:30 PM (timeframe TBD) via Zoom

Teams will compete for their spot in the final competition and chance to win cash prizes by pitching their solutions to industry experts, community leaders, and experienced entrepreneurs. The top teams will advance to the final pitch competition.

3. Final Pitch Competition

Tuesday, October 1

1:30 PM to 1:30 PM In-person at Jack’s Urban Meeting Place (JUMP)

Health Tech Challenge will culminate with a pitch competition at Boise Entrepreneur Week (BEW). The top teams  will pitch to judges made up of industry experts, entrepreneurs, and investors, providing connections to a network that will last well beyond this competition.

BEW is Idaho’s largest community-driven, entrepreneur-focused event. Each year, thousands of people come together to learn, support, and celebrate Idaho’s growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.