Raider Demo Day 2024

Energize Your Creativity and Entrepreneurship via Southern Oregon University’s Annual Startup Competition

Innovators, entrepreneurs and inventors at Southern Oregon University and Rogue Community College: are you ready to take your best ideas to the big leagues?

You and your startup team might be eligible to advance to the InventOR Collegiate Challenge, a statewide prototyping competition involving nearly all colleges and universities in Oregon.

SOU and RCC students developed pitches and presented their ideas for innovative solutions at the Southern Oregon Innovation Jam in Nov. 2024/photo by Marvin Walder

Here’s how:

• Come up with a dynamic idea for an invention, technology or creative startup.
• Build a compelling pitch deck for your idea. Your deck should be created in Google Slides, include 8–12 slides, support a spoken presentation of 6–8 minutes, and answer the following questions: what is your invention or idea? What is the name of your proposed product, service or company? What does your idea look like? Who should use your product or service? Who else is on the team that will help you develop your idea?
• By Mar. 15, 2024, submit the link to your deck and provide other information about your pitch via this Google form.
• Block out your calendar and be ready to make your pitch during Raider Demo Day, held in Britt Hall 176 on SOU’s Ashland campus on Mar. 19, 2024 (1:00–2:00pm).

SOU faculty and other experts and advisors from the Rogue Valley will rank the Raider Demo Day pitches, and name overall winners.

For winning teams, InventOR features an entrepreneurship bootcamp in May, 2024, and a statewide invention competition in June, 2024, where participating teams compete for $30,000 in prizes. InventOR qualifiers also receive funding, expert coaching and other resources to prepare for the statewide competition. Finalists get immersive access to a statewide ecosystem of entrepreneurs, advisors and advocates dedicated to turning student ideas into success stories.

Undergraduate students, graduate students and recent graduates from SOU are eligible to participate.

It all starts with your vision. Are you ready to turn your big idea into reality?

For more information or help developing your pitch, contact Professor Erik Palmer in the Communication, Media & Cinema program via email at palmere@sou.edu.