Verge Challenge is a global online pitch competition for high school students. No prior business experience needed. Just a strong concept and the drive to communicate it.
Verge Challenge is built for students who are already thinking about the world differently. The ones who see a problem and immediately start thinking about how to fix it. The ones who cannot stop coming up with ideas.
We give you a fully online platform to pitch that idea in front of a panel of real judges and compete for up to $10,000 in cash prizes. No launched product, no prior experience, no connections required. Just a well-thought-out idea and the ability to put it on paper.
Everything you need to know about participating in Verge Challenge, from submission to winner announcement.
Verge Challenge is a fully online pitch competition open to high school students worldwide. Participants pitch an original business idea to a panel of judges and compete for cash prizes and recognition.
This is not a business plan competition. You do not need financial projections, a slide deck, or a launched product. You need a clear problem, a credible solution, an understanding of your customer, and a basic sense of how the business makes money.
The competition runs in two rounds. In the first round, every applicant submits a written concept. Top submissions from Round 1 are invited to advance to Round 2, where they record and submit a short video pitch. Winners are selected from Round 2 finalists.
The competition is entirely online. There are no in-person requirements at any stage.
Verge Challenge runs in two rounds. All applicants participate in Round 1. Only teams selected by judges advance to Round 2.
Every applicant submits a written concept describing their business idea. This is your chance to clearly lay out the problem you are solving, your proposed solution, your target customer, and how the business makes money.
What to submit: A written concept narrative of 400 to 800 words. No pitch deck or video is required at this stage. Focus entirely on the strength and clarity of your idea.
What happens next: Judges review all written submissions and select the strongest concepts to advance to Round 2. All applicants are notified of their Round 1 result by email.
Teams selected from Round 1 are invited to record and submit a video pitch of up to 5 minutes. This is your opportunity to bring your idea to life, demonstrate your conviction behind it, and make the case directly to the judges.
What to submit: A video pitch up to 5 minutes long, uploaded to YouTube as an unlisted link and submitted through the Verge portal. You may use slides, but they are not required. Judges are evaluating your idea and how well you communicate it, not your production quality.
Video pitch tips: Start with the problem. State it clearly in the first 30 seconds. Walk through your solution, your customer, and your business model in a way that makes each piece feel inevitable. End with why you are the right person to build this.
What happens next: Round 2 video pitches are reviewed by the full judging panel. First, second, and third place winners are selected from Round 2 finalists and publicly announced.
To participate in Verge Challenge, applicants must meet the following requirements at the time of submission.
The same six criteria are used across both rounds. In Round 1, judges evaluate your written concept. In Round 2, the same criteria are applied to your video pitch. Scores are assigned independently by each judge and averaged across the panel.
| Criteria | What Judges Look For |
|---|---|
| Problem Clarity | Is the problem real, specific, and clearly worth solving? Does the applicant understand it at a deep level? |
| Solution Strength | Is the proposed solution credible, original, and a direct response to the problem described? |
| Market Understanding | Does the applicant know who their customer is and have a reasonable read on whether there are enough of them? |
| Business Model | Is there a logical, clear way this business makes money? Simple and direct beats complicated every time. |
| Communication | Is the pitch well-organized, confident, and easy to follow from beginning to end? |
| Wow Factor | Does the idea genuinely excite the reader? Is this something you could see actually working in the real world? |
The top three finishers each receive a cash prize and an official Verge Challenge certificate. Here is the full breakdown.
Every finalist receives an official Verge Challenge certificate recognizing their performance in the competition. It is a real credential. The kind that holds up on a college application, scholarship materials, and LinkedIn.
Winners are also featured directly on the Verge Challenge website with their name, school, and the idea they pitched. That kind of public recognition has a way of opening doors.
Applications open April 1, 2026. Here is what a strong submission looks like so you can start preparing now.
Vague ideas lose. "An app to help students study better" tells a judge nothing. "A spaced-repetition tool for AP Chemistry students the week before the exam" tells them everything. Specificity is what makes a judge lean in.
If your monetization takes three paragraphs, simplify it. The best business models fit in one sentence. Clarity is not a sign of a simple idea. It is a sign of a sharp thinker.
Applications open April 1, 2026. Start putting your pitch together now.