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College of Business
Winning students presenting their startup project

Pre-Accelerator Program

Pre-Accelerator Program

Students will complete an application to enter the program, and if accepted, they will appear before a panel of judges who will question them regarding their business idea. A cash award of up to $5000 may be granted to a student in this program. Students should be prepared to elaborate on their business ideas and the information they submitted on the application form.

Who Should Enter

  • Eligibility Requirements

    • All entrants must be at least 18 years of age.
    • The program is open to any full or part-time student currently enrolled in a degree program at Illinois State University. Graduate students may enter.
    • Entrants may be individuals or teams.
    • Student or members of the founding team must hold, in aggregate, a majority ownership stake in the company.
    • Individuals may be a member of only one team.
    • Teams and individuals are limited to one application.
    • The business may not have received more than $20,000 in outside investment. 
    • The spirit of this competition is to support new, independent, seed-stage firms. To that end, the following business types are not eligible:
      • Purchases of franchises (starting a franchise is acceptable)
      • Spin-offs of existing firms
      • Purchase of existing firms
      • Purchase of equity in existing firms
      • Any other business type deemed by the event organizers to be inconsistent with the event's mission

  • General Rules

    • Disqualification: The Means Center reserves the right to disqualify, at its sole discretion, any individual or team for any reason. Reasons for disqualification may include but are not limited to plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty, infringement or misappropriation of the intellectual property of others, failure to comply with competition rules and requirements, violation of established laws and regulations, promotion of illegal, illicit, or unethical ideas. 
    • Confidentiality: No individual associated with the program will sign any non-disclosure agreement and no promises of any kind concerning confidentiality are made by the Means Center or Illinois State University.
    • No Guarantees: No guarantees of funding are expressed or implied. Neither the Means Center, Illinois State University, nor any person or group associated with this program make any claim as to the reliability of information presented by students or their representatives.
    • Use of Materials: The Means Center and Illinois State University may, at their sole discretion, use any materials submitted to the program for publicity or for internal purposes. Application materials will not be returned to participants.

Should you decide to enter the program, please review the following guidelines:

  • Applicants should be ready to provide the following information on the application:
  • A concise but complete description of your business idea to include the product or service
  • What problem the idea solves and/or new market it creates
  • Identification of the market to include the direct and indirect customers and stakeholders
  • Mention of direct and indirect competitive forces
  • The scalability of the idea (Can it be expanded?)
  • Broad statement about financial predictions of break-even or profit potential

The application will be processed, and entrants will be notified whether it has been accepted or rejected. If accepted, the student(s) will be scheduled for a meeting to be held in the Means Center in front of a panel of faculty judges. The student will be questioned about their idea and their application, and a decision will be rendered as to whether funds can be awarded. A maximum amount of $5000 will be considered for in the applicant. (Teams are considered to be one applicant for purposes of monetary awards.)

Timeline of Process

  • 1

    Complete and Submit Application

    Apply to Accelerator Program

  • 2

    Application Reviewed by Accelerator Committee

  • 3

    Prepare a Presentation for Accelerator Committee

    Your informal pitch should include details regarding:

    • What the business has done to date
    • What progressive steps are in the works
    • How will the funding be utilized to accelerate your business growth
    • What (if any) funding has been received to date
  • 4

    Schedule meeting with Committee for Presentation

    Meeting must take place in person, during business hours. Meetings will take place in State Farm Hall of Business building.

  • 5

    Make presentation to Accelerator Committee

  • 6

    Funding Decision Made

    After the presentation, Committee will deliberate to discuss if the funding requested will be approved in full, partial approval, or rejected.

Students who successfuly enter the Pre-Accelerator Program may ne eligible to move onto additional funding through the Accelerator Program described elsewhere on the website.