More than $1 million in total prizes for Rice Business Plan Competition

For the first time in its 10-year history, the Rice Business Plan Competition will have more than $1 million in total prizes.

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship has lined up 42 university teams for this year’s competition. There were nearly 420 entries, a 20 percent increase from last year.

Teams were chosen based on their executive summaries to compete in six categories: Life sciences, information technology, energy, green tech, social and other technologies.

All 42 teams will present 15-minute business plans as well as compete in the elevator pitch competition, where one member has 60 seconds to entice a potential investor. They will also participate in the new TwitPitch Competition where teams post a 140-character Tweet to promote their business.

The top six competitors will go after the grand prize valued at up to $385,000.

The Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship is Rice University’s nationally-recognized initiative devoted to the support of technology commercialization, entrepreneurship education, and the launch of technology companies.

Read more: Rice Business Plan Competition prizes top $1M for first time - Houston Business Journal.