State Bank Business Challenge
This Business Challenge is intended to help identify and support high-potential early-stage businesses. With $40,000 in cash prizes, all entrepreneurs who meet the criteria are encouraged to consider entering the competition, especially those who are from rural and Southern Utah.
November 9 and 10, 2026
What You Need To Know
- Must have made significant progress in your business and have less than $150,000 in revenue in the prior year
- Entries require a 90-second video that should include an overview of your product or service, your team, your revenue model, and your marketing and sales strategies.
- Entries must be submitted by Midnight, October 31st.
- This competition is open to legal residents of Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier and Washington County.
- Applicants may enter individually or in groups, but only one entry per person.
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Must be available to attend in person for both Semi-Finals (November 9th) and Finals (November 10th). No remote participation will be allowed.
- Participants will pitch to three separate sets of judges in the semi-finals: Local business leaders, SUU's Entrepreneur Leadership Council, and select leaders from State Bank of Southern Utah.
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The six finalists will be determined by the top two performing semi-finalists by each set of judges, with the following stipulations:
- The Entrepreneur Leadership Council's top-scoring SUU student-entrepreneur will be a finalist
- State Bank of Southern Utah's top-scoring student entrepreneur from SUU or Snow College will be a finalist
Timeline Summary
- Video application deadline: Saturday, October 31st at midnight. Must be a YouTube link.
- Notification of advancement in the competition: Wednesday, November 4th by 5:00 pm.
- Round 1: November 9th at 4:30-7:00 pm in Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business.
- 90 second pitch, approximately 60 seconds for Q & A
- Round 2: November 10th at 11:30 pm in the SUU Church Auditorium (located in the Sharwan Smith Student Center)
- Approximately 6 selected contestants
- 90 second pitch, approximately 3 minutes of Q & A
Rules and Requirements
- This is an early-stage business competition, not a business-idea competition. Businesses must have generated some revenue by the time of submission, but cannot have earned more than $150,000 the prior year.
- This competition is open to legal residents of Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane, Millard, Piute, Sanpete, Sevier and Washington County.
- Applicants must be available for Round 1 (semifinals) on November 9th @ 4:30 pm and Round 2 (finals) on November 10th @ 11:30 pm. All portions of this event take place in person. No Remote participation will be allowed.
- Individuals involved in the administration of the competition and judges are also disallowed from participating. The immediate family of individuals involved in the competition may participate but are ineligible to receive cash prizes.
- Entries must be submitted by Midnight, October 31st.
- Applicants may enter individually or in groups, but only one entry per person. No person may participate in the presentation of more than one business.
- Entries must describe a business that may be lawfully operated in the United States. Entries must be the original work of the entrant, must not infringe any third-party rights, and may not in any other way violate applicable laws and regulations.
- Proprietary concepts and intellectual property may be protected by a provisional patent or copyright, should the contestant desire. Contestants in this contest will not be penalized for withholding key concepts or intellectual property associated with their business.
- Rules are subject to change without prior notice.
- If you have been a previous winner of the State Bank Business Challenge, you are not able to participate in the event.
- SUU Winners will be required to meet with a member of the Entrepreneur Leadership Council (ELC), and all other winners can choose between an ELC or an Officer of State Bank. This will be an opportunity to discuss and advise business winners on how best to utilize their winning funds.
For more information, please contact Kristina Maine.
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