This Fall, Forbes will be hosting its second-annual Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia. A gathering of over 2,000 of America's most important young entrepreneurs, this four-day event will include an incentive challenge for people looking to make a difference worldwide. Known as the Forbes Under 30 $1 Million Change the World Competition, this challenge will award up to $1 million USD to social entrepreneurs under the age of 30 who are currently trying to make a difference.
With an emphasis on scalable ideas that can address the global challenges of education, extreme poverty, sustainability, global health, and other issues, this event will be the world's largest competition for young social entrepreneurs. With the competition closing on August 26th (tomorrow,) there is still time to get your ideas in!
Once all submissions are received and processed, five semi-finalists will be selected and awarded a prize of $100,000 to speed the development of their ideas. In addition, these semi-finalists will have the honor of presenting on the main stage during the Forbes Under 30 Summit, which will be held at the Philadelphia Convention Center from October 4th to 7th.
Once there, they will be speaking to a crowd of over 2000 of the world’s best young entrepreneurs and game-changers - all of whom have been featured on Forbes 30 Under 30 list in the past. After all the presentations are made, one winner will be selected to win the grand prize of $400,000 USD, thus bringing their total winnings up to at least $500,000.
In many respects, the Change The World Competition seeks to build on the success of last year's $400,000 "Pressure Cooker" challenge. In a competition similar to "Shark Tank," young entrepreneurs took the stage to pitch their business ideas to a panel that included venture capitalist Steve Case, Forbes Media CEO Mike Perlis and Atom Factory Founder Troy Carter.
The Philadelphia Convention Center, where the Forbes Under 30 Summit will be taking place. Credit: forbes.com
In total, 117 start-up owners entered the Pressure Cooker for a chance to win the prize, which (in exchange for a small equity stake) included $100,000 provided by Case, $50,000 from Forbes and Carter, and $250,000 in advertising and services from Forbes. From these, the list was vetted down to five finalists, all of whom presented at the Summit in Philadelphia.
In the end, the prize went to Enrou, the socially-conscious online marketplace whose name derives from the start-up’s mission to be "en route" toward change. Founded by Jessica Willison and Ann Wang, two UCLA alumni, this company offers apparel, jewelry and accessories that are made by independent retailers from developing communities.
This year's competition will be slightly different. Sponsored by the Schusterman Family Foundation, Case Foundation, Pratt Foundation, Keywell Foundation, and Bob Duggan, the Change the World Competition will be open to non-profit and for-profit enterprises that are already up and running. And with a total of $1 million UDS in prizes, it will be the largest global social impact competition to date, with grants being made to accelerate the efforts of those that are considered to be the most promising.
Since the competition was announced this past July, over 2100 competitors have joined. There's one day left in the challenge, and still time to get your ideas in!
Are you a social entrepreneur who is working to make an impact worldwide? Then head on over to the Forbes Under 30 $1 Million Change The World Competition and submit your idea!
