Submission Requirements

The Be Your Own Boss Bowl® (BYOBB®) Competition started in 1997 at Temple University as the “Business Plan Competition,” and has since evolved into one of the nation’s most lucrative pitch competitions for aspiring entrepreneurs. The Temple University BYOBB® has a total prize package, including cash prizes and in-kind services awards, worth over $125,000.  

The BYOBB® is open to all Temple University students, alumni, faculty, and staff from all 17 schools and colleges within the Temple University community. Participants compete in two tracks – Undergraduate Track (for current Temple U. undergraduate students) and Upper Track (Graduate students, Alumni, Faculty, Staff). 

The objective of the BYOBB® competition is to encourage the formation and launch of new small businesses and scalable entrepreneurial ventures by the Temple University community. Along the journey, participants will learn about all aspects of entrepreneurship, participate in workshops, meet with mentors, and do a deep dive into all aspects of a creating an investor pitch deck and the foundations for a successful new venture! 

Participants submit to the competition with an investor pitch deck, executive summary, and financial forecast.  

Eligibility and Guidelines

The BYOBB® is open to all Temple University students, alumni, faculty, and staff from all 17 schools and colleges within the Temple University community. Participants compete in two tracks - Undergraduate Track (for current Temple U. undergraduate students) and Upper Track (Graduate students, Alumni, Faculty, Staff).  

Participants submit to the competition with an investor pitch deck, executive summary, and financial forecast. 

Eligibility Notice:  

  • Participants can enter the competition as a solopreneur or with a co-founder(s) 
  • A designated team leader should be identified for each submission, and must be a Temple University degree candidate (undergraduate or graduate), alumni, faculty, or staff. The designated team leader must be a founding member of the team!  
  • Submissions may include a new or an existing idea or venture.   
    • Existing ventures must be less than five years old as of January 1, 2023.  
    • Existing ventures should have raised less than $50,000 from institutional funding (includes any funding from accelerator or incubator programs, angel investors, venture groups, foundations, or grants).  
    • Existing ventures should have received less than $20,000 in funding from competitions.   
    • Existing ventures should have gross revenues of less than $100,000 as of January 1, 2023.   
  • Not for profit ventures are not eligible for submission into the Be Your Own Boss Bowl®. 
  • Previous First or Grand Prize BYOBB® winners are not eligible to compete with the same venture or product.  
  • All finalists in the annual Be Your Own Boss Bowl® will receive non-diluted seed funding and most teams are eligible for additional in-kind service awards.  

Diamond Sponsor


Broad Street Sponsor


Angel Investor Sponsor


Crowd Funding Capital Sponsor


Pre-Seed Funder Sponsor

2022
AWARD  PRIZE AMOUNT  WINNER 

Grand Prize 

$40,000 

Agora World 
Ethan Berg 
Fox School of Business ‘20 

1st Place – Undergraduate Track 

$20,000 

C.H.A.T Brace 
Rachel Gouveia, Grace Buckwalter, Lucy Eppert, Elena Poali 
College of Engineering ‘22, ‘23 

2nd Place – Undergraduate Track 

$10,000 

Liquid Limbs 
James Calcagni 
College of Engineering ‘22 

3rd Place – Undergraduate Track  

$5,000 

Agra Watt 
Noah Montierth  
College of Engineering ‘22 

4th Place – Undergraduate Track 

$5,000 

Laminar Media Productions 
Michael Mangraviti  
Fox School of Business ‘25 

1st Place – Upper Track 

$20,000 

Agora World 
Ethan Berg 
Fox School of Business ‘20 

2nd Place – Upper Track 

$10,000 

Abstract Soundz 
Kenneth Carter  
College of Engineering ‘11 

3rd Place – Upper Track 

$5,000 

Sun & Star Collective  
Emily Madara, Caroline O’Keefe 
Fox School of Business ‘22, ‘21 

4th Place – Upper Track 

$5,000 

Lokal Food Hub Philly  
Charisse McGil 
School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management ‘03 

DEI Award 

$1,000 

Lokal Food Hub Philly 
Charisse McGil  
School of Sport, Tourism, and Hospitality Management ‘03 

Crowd Favorite 

$1,000 

Laminar Media Productions 
Michael Mangraviti 
Fox School of Business ‘25 

2021
AWARD  PRIZE AMOUNT  WINNER 

Grand Prize 

$1,500 

Ethan Berg 
Fox School of Business ‘20 

1st Place – Undergraduate Track 

$1,000 

Moo Solutions 
Noah Montierth 
College of Engineering ‘22 

2nd Place – Undergraduate Track 

$500 

Avi I.T. 
Avi Knotts 
College of Science & Technology ‘25 

1st Place – Upper Track 

$1,000 

Rally 
Max Reiff 
Beasley School of Law ‘21 

2nd Place – Upper Track 

$500 

Ace Club 
Opeyemi Oyekanmi 
Fox School of Business ‘04 

Global Innovation  

$500 

Moo Solutions 
Noah Montierth 
College of Engineering ‘22Rally 
Max Reiff 
Beasley School of Law ‘21 

Digital Innovation  

$1,000 

Agora World 
Ethan Berg 
Fox School of Business ‘20LogicCxt 
Nathaniel Sloan 
Fox School of Business ‘22 

Crowd Favorite 

$500 

PetBox 
Ghena Alkhalaf 
Fox School of Business ’22 

2020

GRAND PRIZE 

Healthy RFP 
Eric Friedman – College of Science and Technology 
Jon Vogel – Drexel University 
Garrett Gillin – Drexel University 
Colin Sholes – Beloit College  

 

Upper Track 

FIRST PLACE

ArtFlip 
Jona Shreeves-Taylor – Fox School of Business 

 

SECOND PLACE

My Relief Wear, LLC 
Mary McElya – School of Theater, Film, and Media Arts  

 

Undergraduate Track 

FIRST PLACE

Indicative Absorbing Bandaid (IAB) 
Angeli Sen – College of Engineering 
Vendant Patel – College of Engineering 
Marko Stankovic – College of Engineering 
Michael Kyae Appiagyei – College of Engineering   

 

SECOND PLACE

Koi Charging LLC 
Daniel Cantando – Fox School of Business 
Eric Yu – Fox School of Business   

 

CROWN FAVORITE AWARD

Sanitime 
Chloe Gehret – College of Science and Technology 
Allyson Yu – College of Science and Technology, Tyler School of Art + Architecture 

 

GLOBAL INNOVATION PRIZE

My Relief Wear, LLC 
Mary McElya – School of Theater, Film, and Media Arts