Relationship between Student Competitions and Startup Success

Relationship Between Student Competitions and Startups

When we talk about startups, we talk about a fairly new trend. People leaving conventional jobs to carve their own way in the world have found tremendous support all over. But what one needs to realize is that the zeal and ideas that marked the beginning of a startup need to be constantly stoked for it to survive.

Enter the student/ future employee group.

The interaction between the student body and the corporate one produces the most effective and innovative ideas. And one easy way to encourage this innovation is to invest in student competitions.

As a startup, you must always be on the lookout for fresh ideas. Full-time employees, cooped up in their cubicles, might not always be the best people to consult in this case. A student competition, on the other hand, brings forth a bunch of enthusiastic and capable youngsters putting forward their best ideas which more often than not are amazingly accurate.

Competitions, unlike startups, are not a novel concept, they have existed since time immemorial as a means to find the best in a crowd. The ‘best’ we talk about here could be a person or even an idea.

And when it comes to ideas, what follows is innovation, which is the backbone of success for any organization. A competition could provide fuel to innovation in any startup struggling with the same.

Students realize the importance of relationship building with their prospective employees and this has been the reason behind the surge in the participation rate.

Be it business or engineering, literature or marketing, every student looks forward to such competitions. It’s a chance to enhance their experience and showcase their skills, and for the employer to sort the good apples from the bad if recruitment is the purpose. Meanwhile, the chosen apple brings with him/her the best of the generation.

What are the Benefits of Investing in a Student Competition?

• Consider it an investment for the future, the relationship building through competitions helps spot the candidates best suited for future recruitment.
• The ideas presented by them might actually be an immediate return to the said investment. Form the correct problems and listen to their solutions.
• It’s one of the easiest forms of marketing and employer branding.
• You get a thorough exposure to the youth’s ideas, innovations and preferences, without having to go through the tedious process of asking for feedback.

How to Organize a Student Competition for Your Startup?

• Form the competition around the problem/ stagnant areas of your organization if you require innovative solutions to it. The more specific you are the better answers you will receive.
• Involve the students in your brand. Challenge them with practical exercises that enhance their experience and your value.
• Be involved. Provide a mentor from the organization to look over the proceedings. If that is not possible than hire professionals to take care of it for you.

At Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)we have successfully conceptualized and executed student competitions for various esteemed clients like the Aditya Birla group, Airtel, Aviva Life Insurance, Reliance and Genpact. We study your brand and come up with the best ideas for competitions which forward your requirements in the most successful manner.

As a startup, if you are looking for innovative ideas that are easier to propagate, look towards the youth. For therein lies the solution.