Venkat Maroju, SourceTrace CEO & Social Entrepreneur announced as 2023 Chair of University Pitch Competition
BOSTON — TiE Boston calls for applications to the 2023 University Pitch Competition, for collegiate entrepreneurs. The winning team will go on represent TiE Boston at the global finals of the TiE University Global Pitch Competition.
TiE Boston’s 2023 Chair of the competition, SourceTrace CEO and social entrepreneur Dr. Venkat Maroju said: “I am proud of the work that the TiE Boston University Initiative is doing. It is an excellent opportunity for college students and recent graduates to gain an entrepreneurial mindset and be the next generation of entrepreneurs in New England and beyond. Student teams participating in the pitch competition will gain access to a large network of successful entrepreneurs and corporate business leaders of TiE in a global context.”
Registration to the TiE Boston University Pitch competition is currently open and will close on Feb 17, 2023. It is open to all founders in the New England area who are currently in college or have graduated after Jan 2020, with a start-up less than 5 years old. For non-bio companies, commercially viable product/service with revenues is preferred.
As part of the competition, the startups will be mentored and coached by experienced entrepreneurs at the regional level. Shortlisted semifinalists will present their ideas to a seasoned jury panel that will select the chapter (regional) winner. The winning team will then become part of the global cohort which undergoes extensive mentoring and coaching by international mentors. These mentoring sessions cover many skills from pitching, presentation design, defining value proposition, fundraising, financial models and many other aspects of entrepreneurship.
As they move on to the TiE University Global Pitch Competition, the cohort then presents to an international jury and competes for cash and in-kind prizes of $150,000+, including a grand first prize of $50,000.
Important Dates for the TiE Boston University Pitch Competition
- Applications Close Feb. 17, 2023
- Semi-Final in Boston March 31, 2023
- Global Final on May 4, 2023
Dr. Venkat Maroju is Chief Executive Officer of SourceTrace, a global leader in providing software solutions to agriculture and allied sectors, making the agriculture value chain sustainable, transparent and equitable – empowering more than one million farmers in developing countries. Prior to joining SourceTrace, Maroju had founded Factum Ventures, a holding company in India that set up and promoted new business ventures in sustainable agriculture, microfinance and renewable energy. He was also advisor to venture capital firms investing in social enterprises that supported people at the bottom of the pyramid in developing economies. His earlier experience with technology leadership includes well known global corporations like Bose, where, as Divisional Information Officer, he led the information systems strategy and implementation. He also held a leadership position at ComauPICO (A subsidiary of Fiat). He holds an MBA from MIT Sloan School of Management and a Ph.D. in Engineering from Old Dominion University and M.E. from IISc and B.E. from Osmania University
