
Crossroads
idea competitionTwo prizes! $2,500 Flywheel Fund investment for the overall winner
$1,000 stand-alone cash prize for the Climate Resiliency Award from Duke Energy Foundation
Spotlight Sponsor

Every great business starts with a great idea. Before there’s a minimum viable product, before customers and revenue, before investors, there’s a spark of innovation, a flash of insight, a moment of inspiration.
The Crossroads Idea Competition is your chance to showcase that idea and get feedback from expert judges. After that, you can take your idea into a pre-accelerator like B-Start, then into Mill Cohorts, then on to gBETA! Who knows, maybe you’ll even find yourself pitching at Crossroads Pitch Competition someday.
And if you win the Crossroads Idea Competition, you’ll take home $2,500 from Flywheel Fund! (Psst: you’ll need to set up a business entity, but no worries, we’ll help.)
This year we also have a $1,000 cash prize for the Climate Resiliency Award, courtesy of Duke Energy Foundation. All contestants will be considered for both awards, and yes, it’s possible someone could win both!
Need some inspiration on what makes a great idea? Check out this blog post. Then take the plunge and apply!
OCTOBER 30
applications open
DECEMBER 6
deadline to apply–NO EXTENSIONS!
DECEMBER 11-15
semifinals (asynchronous)
DECEMBER 20
finals live over Zoom
Supporting Sponsors







Fueling early-stage innovation is especially important for increasing access to entrepreneurial opportunity. Your sponsorship of the Crossroads Idea Competition opens the door to opportunity a little wider!
2023 Judges
Entries were reviewed by a respected panel of Indiana entrepreneurs and investors.

Emily Atkinson
IU Ventures | Venture Analyst

Dave Bittner
West Central Indiana Small Business Development Center | Rural Business Advisor

Liz Cook Irwin
Duke Energy | Government & Community Relations Manager

Brooke Deram
Tomato Fish Marketing / redMAP | CEO & Founder

Christopher Emge
Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce | Director of Advocacy & Public Policy

Kate Evinger
IU Ventures | Associate Director of the IU Angel Network & Senior Venture Analyst

Samantha Ginther
High Alpha | Associate

Adam Gross
Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington | Vice Chancellor

Blake Mathias
Indiana University, Kelley School of Business | Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship

Neil Metzger
BC Forward | Business Consultant

Joyce Poling
Gayle and Bill Cook Center for Entrepreneurship| Asst to the Chancellor

Cerwin Rush
Data Enablement Leader | Crush Corporation

Ellie Symes
The Bee Corp | CEO

Michael Waterford
Ivy Tech Community College | Talent Connection Manager & Adjunct Faculty

Audrey Wessel
Gutwein Law | Attorney

Logan White
gener8tor | Program Manager