Published
August 15, 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Forbes – Laura Daunis, [email protected], 212.367.4874
PAN Communications (Local Boston Press Contact) – Ashley Waters, [email protected] 617.502.4322
Forbes Partners with Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary of Sound Ventures, and Rough Draft Ventures (Powered by General Catalyst) as Part of $1 Million Change the World Competitions for Entrepreneurs
Schusterman Foundation and Forbes Will Host Nonprofit Entrepreneur Component
For profit competition to include $500,000 in prizes for entrepreneurs from around the world with disruptive and scaleable business ideas; Nonprofit competition to include $500,000 in prizes for U.S.-based education entrepreneurs
Eight finalists, four for the for profit and four for the nonprofit competitions, will compete on stage at the Forbes Under 30 Summit, Oct. 16-19 in Boston. Boston College will screen applicants for both competitions
#Under30Summit
BOSTON (August 15, 2016) – Forbes announced today that it will host two $500,000 Global Change the World competitions for entrepreneurs under the age of 30 as part of the Forbes Under 30 Summit taking place October 16-19 in Boston.
"At an event that celebrates some of the world's best young entrepreneurs, we're proud to again host the world's largest competition for young entrepreneurs of all types. The partners we have in this endeavor are fittingly world-class,” said Forbes magazine editor Randall Lane.
In one competition, Forbes is partnering with Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary, Co-Founders of Sound Ventures, as well as Boston-based Rough Draft Ventures (powered by General Catalyst), to host a $500,000 global competition for early stage for profit entrepreneurs who have disruptive and scalable ideas with the potential to change the world.
"We launched Sound Ventures last March with a mission to seek out great ideas and back transformative companies at different stages of their growth” said Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary, Co-Founders of Sound Ventures. “We’re proud to be a part of the Forbes Under 30 Summit and are very much looking forward to this competition as it gives us yet another avenue to find, fund and help young founders of disruptive tech startups.”
“We are psyched to celebrate the talent, innovation and ideas from the Forbes Under 30 Summit through a global Change The World competition,” said Peter Boyce, II, principal at General Catalyst and co-founder of Rough Draft Ventures. “Rough Draft Ventures, our student-led team dedicated to backing the best and brightest university entrepreneurs, together with Sound Ventures and Forbes, will provide founder with invaluable feedback and opportunity. I can’t think of a better combination to spearhead this competition.”
Forbes is also partnering with the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation to host a $500,000 competition for U.S.-based social entrepreneurs who are advancing solutions that will improve educational outcomes for PreK-12 students nationwide, with particular focus on low-income and urban communities.
“Our foundation is excited to partner with Forbes to identify and invest in young entrepreneurs seeking to create positive change in education and society,” said Stacy Schusterman, Co-Chair of the Schusterman Family Foundation. “We believe this generation of rising leaders has the potential to develop new models for tackling serious social and civic challenges.”
Eight finalists, four from the for profit competition and four from the nonprofit competition, will each pitch their companies at the Forbes Under 30 Summit on October 17 and 18. One winner will be selected from each competition. Boston College faculty and students will screen applicants for both competitions.
“Boston College’s Shea Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carroll School of Management and the university’s Center for Social Innovation at the School of Social Work are pleased to be the academic partner for the 2016 Forbes Under 30 Summit Global Change the World Competitions,” said Jere Doyle, Executive Director, Shea Center for Entrepreneurship, Boston College. “The Shea Center and the Center for Social Innovation will manage the initial review and assessment of applications, with final decisions to be made by the official Forbes Under 30 Summit judging team. The Boston College team is excited to be a part of this effort, building upon its entrepreneurship work in Boston and around the world.”
About the Forbes Change the World For Profit Competition
Rough Draft Ventures (powered by General Catalyst) and Sound Ventures may each invest up to $100,000 towards the winning for profit company, for a total of $200,000 for the top startup. In addition, Rough Draft Ventures may award $25,000 to each of the three runners up. Forbes will offer $225,000 in an in-kind media grant, bringing the total prize to $500,000.
Ashton Kutcher, Guy Oseary and Forbes have committed to a three-year partnership (through 2018) to host for profit competitions for entrepreneurs under the age of 30. In 2014, Forbes hosted a similar competition as part of its first Under 30 Summit.
About the Forbes Change the World Nonprofit Competition
The Schusterman Family Foundation and Forbes are partnering to host their second nonprofit competition. The competition will be open to U.S-based education entrepreneurs who are running innovative initiatives designed to close the education gap in PreK-12, transform school systems, and dramatically improve teacher development and student outcomes. Schusterman will give cash grants of $125,000 – $25,000 to each of the three runners up and $50,000 to the winner. Forbes will offer a $375,000 in-kind media grant to the winner.
“When we won Forbes’ nonprofit competition in the Fall last year, we had redistributed about $4.8 million’s worth of medications,” said Kiah Williams, co-founder of SIRUM, a non-profit social enterprise that provides unused medications to patients in need. “We just recently surpassed the $7 million mark. So our growth has definitely accelerated since winning the Forbes Under 30 Summit Change the World competition!”
How to Apply for the two $500,000 Forbes Change the World Global Competitions:
Submissions will be accepted beginning August 15– September 6, 2016. To qualify for the competitions, one of the co-founders must be under the age of 30 (born after October 20, 1986).
To submit for the two Forbes Change the World for profit and nonprofit competitions, please visit: yndl.co/forbes_under30.
About the Forbes Under 30 Summit
The Forbes Under 30 Summit is expected to convene more than 5,000 global entrepreneurs and game changers of all ages and will take place at different venues in Boston, including Faneuil Hall, Harvard Business School, Emerson College and Northeastern University. Other university partners include MIT and Berklee College of Music. The summit will comprise five themed interconnected stages – All Access at Faneuil Hall, Tech at Emerson College, Create at Harvard Business School, Impact at Northeastern University and Capital at Faneuil Hall. Each stage will feature panels, TED-style presentations, keynote speeches, live demos and fireside chats. Two hundred speakers are expected to participate, including Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Alba, Deepak Chopra, Chrissy Teigen, Bobby Flay, Maria Sharapova, Adam Neumann and many more.
For additional details on the 2016 Forbes Under 30 Summit in Boston, please visit www.under30summit.com. On Twitter, follow #Under30Summit.
Forbes’ Under 30 franchise is a global multichannel platform, which comprises 30 Under 30 lists featuring young global game changers published in print and online all over the world; live summits in the U.S., Asia and Israel; an Under 30 channel on Forbes.com; and a Forbes Under 30 app. To access Forbes magazine’s 2016 30 Under 30 list, please visit: http://www.forbes.com/30under30.
About Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation
The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation (Schusterman) is a global organization that seeks to ignite the passion and unleash the power in young people to create positive change. Schusterman pursues its mission by working collaboratively with others to support and operate high-quality education, identity development, leadership training and service programs designed to help young people cultivate their growth as individuals and as leaders. Schusterman's work emphasizes efforts to improve public education in the United States and strengthen the global Jewish community and Israel. For more information, visit www.schusterman.org and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
About Boston College’s Shea Center for Entrepreneurship and Center for Social Innovation
The Shea Center for Entrepreneurship at the Carroll School of Management integrates entrepreneurial thinking into the educational and formational experience of undergraduate and graduate students throughout Boston College. Students are engaged and challenged by rigorous academic coursework, co-curricular activities, and experiential opportunities in the entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Center for Social Innovation at the School of Social Work promotes “innovation from within" with the mission to foster effective, sustainable social innovations that enhance social justice. For more information, visit bc.edu/sheacenter and bc.edu/csi.