High School Pitch Competition

The overall grand prize - to the student whose pitch demonstrates the greatest potential for solving a real-world problem at scale in a novel way

To the student whose pitch showcases the most innovative technical solution, demonstrating creativity and technical excellence

To the student whose pitch is presented most effectively, demonstrating exceptional communication skills, clarity, and persuasiveness

To a student whose pitch shows exceptional promise and innovation

To a student whose pitch shows exceptional promise and innovation

To a student whose pitch shows exceptional promise and innovation

To the finalist whose Round 1 video submission gets the most likes on TikTok

To the team with the biggest social media splash; tag @austinchristianuniversity (Instagram) and @acu_startups (TikTok)

To the team with the most student submissions

To the team of the Most Impactful grand prize winner

• Submissions that don't meet all the rules and deadlines are automatically disqualified
• Applicants must be United States citizens in 9th-12th grade
• Students must not have started building their idea prior to Jan 1, 2026
• Students must register in affiliation with their team (youth group, YoungLife chapter, FCA chapter, etc)
• Students are encouraged to follow @acu_startups on TikTok and @austinchristianuniversity on Instagram

• Students must submit a video pitching their idea via a form to be shared via email on Jan 9th.
• The submission form will also request the following information:
  • The URL(s) of any TikTok and/or Instagram posts of the video submission (optional)
  • A statement of faith
  • Contact info (name, email, phone, team, graduation year, etc)
• Video must be 1-3 minutes in duration
• Video should use a creative storytelling format
• Video must contain the following elements:
  • Customer: Who does your idea serve? Be specific.
  • Problem: What acute problem do they face? Make it tangible.
  • Solution: How is your idea unique? Why is it the right solution? What is it called?
  • Plan: How will you build, launch, and grow? Keep it practical.
  • Revenue: How will you make money? Give a realistic forecast.

• Students must create a Y Combinator style PDF pitch deck
  • Decks must include 1 title page containing their idea's name/brand
  • Decks must contain 6-10 pages in total
• Students must submit a screen-recorded video presenting their pitch deck via a form provided on Feb 5th
  • The video must be between 2-3 minutes in duration
  • The student's face must appear on-screen as a picture-in-picture overlay during the pitch deck presentation
• The submission form will also request the following information:
  • The pitch deck as a PDF file attachment
  • The URL to any MVP tech drafted (website, mobile app, etc) (optional)
  • Contact info (name, email, phone, team, graduation year, etc)

• Overall Pitch: clarity & persuasiveness
  • 0 = Unclear & unconvincing
  • 5 = Somewhat clear
  • 10 = Very clear & compelling
• Problem: significance & acuity
  • 0 = Nonexistent
  • 5 = Trivial or general
  • 10 = Acute and significant
• Solution: novelty & effectiveness
  • 0 = Nonexistent
  • 5 = Functional but unoriginal
  • 10 = Effective and novel
• Plan: clarity & achievability
  • 0 = Nonexistent
  • 5 = Somewhat clear, somewhat achievable
  • 10 = Clear & achievable
• Potential: profitability & scalability
  • 0 = No commercialability
  • 5 = Somewhat profitable, somewhat scalable
  • 10 = Highly profitable and scalable
• Progress: research, prototypes, and revenue
  • 0 = None made
  • 5 = Some market research conducted, solution mocked up
  • 10 = Comprehensive market research conducted, MVP solution launched, 2+ non-family customers