Boise Entrepreneur Week Marks 10 Years With $100K+ in Prizes

Boise Entrepreneur Week's 10th edition will distribute more than $100,000 in cash prizes across six pitch competitions, with 80 events running across 15 tracks and more than 100 speakers. The anniversary gathering, sponsored by Boise State University, has attracted more than 15,000 attendees over five years and awarded nearly $1.2 million in early stage capital to Idaho startups.

The week opened Tuesday with founders and local entrepreneurs, moved Wednesday into technology and innovation, shifted Thursday to capital and scaling, and closes Friday on youth entrepreneurship.

How much money is on the table?

The largest purse belongs to the Main Pitch Competition, where six finalists will compete for a $50,000 grand prize. Those finalists advanced from a record 43 applicants following a semifinal round in August. Two $5,000 sponsored awards, a $1,000 health-focused award and a new Audience Choice Award round out the package.

Wednesday's Trailmix competition matched seven Idaho food and beverage companies for $25,000 in total prizes, with the grand-prize winner receiving $20,000 and shelf placement at Broadway Albertsons and Boise Co-op. The Military Pitch Competition offered $10,000 to veteran and military-connected entrepreneurs. The Youth Innovation Challenge will award $3,000 to its winning high school team and $1,000 to that team's school; video submissions are due Nov. 13.

Who is competing, and why?

Cory Ramsay, owner of Pasidia Farms, pitched Tuesday in the Military Pitch Competition. He runs a USDA-certified organic mushroom farm in Boise producing functional mushroom tinctures, sold through Amazon and several Treasure Valley retailers.

"Most businesses fail after like six months, right? We're almost two years old," Ramsay said. "We're still here. We're doing it and being taken more seriously too."

For Ramsay, exposure outweighed prize money.

"Networking is a good way to bypass [retail middlemen], and get your product in front of the right people," Ramsay said.

Why is Boise State deepening its role?

The university is expanding its sponsorship, embedding faculty, students and programs into more panels and competitions. Cara Van Sant, director of Boise State's Venture College, said the week's networking hour gives students rare access to CEOs and investors.

"It's overwhelming," Van Sant said. "It's a lot to take on a business, and to think through all the steps from not just coming up with the idea, but then validating the idea."

Boise State's The Junction now consolidates the school's previously scattered entrepreneurship programs into a "front door to community," Van Sant said, offering mentorship, pitch coaching and business incubators.

"You're going to have the least amount of risk at that time," Van Sant said. "We have these services here and these programs and the community."

What does the new Sports Track cover?

For the first time, Entrepreneur Week added a Sports Track covering athlete branding, name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities, financial education and career development. Gianna Barber, a Boise State graduate student, organized the track after seeing no comparable space in prior programming.

"I really felt like there was no one track for people that came out of my industry, so I wanted to fill that gap," Barber said.

Boise State athletics staff and student-athletes staffed the panels, with sessions tied to NIL rules that now let college athletes earn from endorsements and sponsorships. Willie Wright, assistant director of student-athlete development for BroncoLife, said the university pairs athletes with financial, career and branding support.

"Being able to work on that brand earlier, so once [student athletes] get to the next level, whether [they're] playing sports or whatever that looks like for [them], [they] can keep the ball rolling," Wright said.

Barber framed the track as a template with broader ambitions.

"The vision that we created for the sports track is to be a nationwide model for sports entrepreneurship," Barber said.

With the 10th edition wrapping Friday, organizers expect Boise Entrepreneur Week to return for an 11th year in 2027, though dates have not been announced.