Put Forth a Strong Application for the President's Innovation Challenge

Understand the PIC and Why You Should Apply

The President's Innovation Challenge is months-long startup competition designed to support student innovators across all 13 Harvard schools in turning their ideas into impact.

Applying to the PIC is more than just a chance to win significant financial support (up to $75,000 in non-dilutive funding for your venture). It's a way to propel your venture forward, get insights and feedback from expert judges, gain significant visibility, and join a community of exceptional innovators.

But don't just take our word for it...

Application Process + Evaluation Criteria

A strong PIC application requires clarity, focus, and a deep understanding of how the evaluators will assess your project throughout the competition.

The competition is divided into three rounds:

1. Application Round: An internal PIC selection committee reviews initial student venture applications and selects 100+ semifinalists.
2. Semifinalist Round: Over 150 online judges review and score semifinalist applications, provide feedback to each venture, and select five finalists in each track. PIC judges represent a variety of industries and experiences as founders, investors, operators, and industry experts.
3. Finalist Round: Finalists in each track pitch online to a panel of judges who evaluate their pitch, ask questions, and help select the $25K and $75K winners.

Applications are scored on four main categories:

1. Problem and Customer Definition: Your problem is clearly identified, your solution aligns with the problem you’ve identified, and your customer is well understood.
2. Solution: Your team has a product, prototype, or MVP that you have tested with your customers.
3. Business Model: You have a business/financial model that appears both achievable and sustainable. If you are a nonprofit venture, you should be clear about how you will build sustainably.
4. High Potential: Your solution, once implemented and scaled, will deliver significant benefit to people's lives.

Student applicants are divided among three student tracks:

1. Health Care + Life Sciences Track: For student-led ventures in biotech and therapeutics, medical devices, and digital health / health IT. These ventures address unmet medical needs, offer differentiated technologies, or improve operational efficiency across the healthcare value chain.
2. Open Track: For student-led B2B and B2C ventures that prioritize revenue potential. B2B ventures are selling to businesses, governments, schools, or other organizations. B2C ventures are selling directly to individuals or through retail channels.
3. Social Impact Track: For student ventures that define success through measurable societal impact and a clear path to scale. Any incorporation structure is acceptable. A frequent business model is when the user is not the payor.

Semifinalist Selection

To become a semifinalist, the PIC selection committee focuses significantly on venture stage, so for the initial application make really clear how you have gained market traction, such as customers, revenue, pilots, partnerships, engaged users, or funding from professional investors or donors. You will not need to pitch live so make sure your written answers and deck make this easy to find.

Finalist Selection

To move from semifinalist to one of the 5 finalists in your track, your application will be sent to multiple external judges. The judges will rate your application on the above criteria and score you on a numerical scale. For this stage of the application focus on making it very easy for judges to find evidence that you excel at each of the criteria. Make this easy to skim for in your written answers and in your deck. The judges are not always experts in your sub-domain so write for a general audience.

Winner Selection

For those who are selected to pitch live as the final five in your track, you will have many coaching sessions with i-lab advisors to prepare you for your pitch, so set aside time in advance to devote to this, and enjoy the process of getting your pitch all polished up with lots of support. You will pitch live for 10-minutes to a room of judges. All five finalists in each track will present a one-minute pitch on stage at the award ceremony.

Hacking the PIC — Key Insights for a Winning Application

In the final stretch, it’s all about the details. From how you frame your pitch to how you convey your passion, this is your moment to shine. Here are some tips on “hacking” the PIC application process:

1. Be concise yet compelling: Judges will be reviewing many applications, so clarity and brevity are your friends. Make sure each sentence adds value.
2. Focus on impact and/or potential: The PIC is all about ideas that create change. Be explicit about the social or economic impact your project will have. Quantify it when possible.
3. Highlight traction: Show us your success so far. Break down how your venture has entered the market, from acquiring customers and building partnerships to launching a pilot and generating revenue.