Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition

The largest and most prestigious virtual pitch competition for high school students around the world

2024 competition is now in the judging phase.

Winners will be announced on April 26. You can now register for 2025 competition.

REGISTER for 2025

Preparing High School Students for the Real World of Entrepreneurship and Empowering Them to Create Blue Ocean Businesses.

Compete Globally, Pitch Virtually

The Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition is a virtual competition that attracts the very best high school-aged entrepreneurs from all over the world.

Every year, thousands of high school students pitch their innovative business concepts to experienced entrepreneurs and business people, receive feedback on their ideas, join a community of like-minded students, and compete for thousands in cash prizes.

Compete Globally, Pitch Virtually

The Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition is a virtual competition that attracts the very best high school aged entrepreneurs from all over the world.

Every year, thousands of high school students pitch their innovative business concepts to experienced entrepreneurs and business-people, receive feedback on their ideas, join a community of like-minded students, and compete for thousands in cash prizes.

Participating is Easy

Register for the competition solo or team up with up to four friends to compete together.
Identify a pressing problem the world faces or a new market space that no one has tapped into.
To address this, create something that the world hasnโ€™t seen before and build a business idea around it.
Check out the scoring criteria to make sure your idea qualifies as a blue ocean business.
Reference the blue ocean pitch template to structure your video pitch.
Record your 5-minute video, upload on YouTube, submit a link and the video file.

How is the Blue Ocean Competition Different from Other Pitch Competitions?

Other Pitch Competitions

Embrace innovation as a random, risky proposition with a high chance of failure.
Primarily focus on differentiation to set business ventures apart.
Often require face-to-face presentations significantly limiting access.
Need to have a running start-up business to participate.
No specific methodology or templates are provided.
Winners are awarded for outstanding achievement.
Prizes for students only.

Blue Ocean Competition

Students learn the methodology to maximize opportunities and minimize risks to drastically decrease the odds of failure for their entrepreneurial ideas.
Students pursue both differentiation and low cost to formulate blue ocean business ideas.
High schools students can all compete, wherever they may be in the world.
High school students with just an idea for a blue ocean business can also participate.
Blue Ocean tools and templates are provided to build your business idea and to structure your pitch.
Students are recognized for their participation and outstanding achievement and also for Blue Ocean online course completion.
Students and teachers have an opportunity to win prizes for their school. Resources are provided for teachers to teach the college-level course materials in their class.

Why Compete

Get real entrepreneurial experience. This is a practical exercise in entrepreneurship.
Make your college applications stand out by participating in a world-class global competition.
Learn about blue ocean strategy โ€“ often required reading in college
Gain valuable experience developing and pitching blue ocean business ideas.
Develop essential skills in communicating ideas, developing a pitch, working in a team or by yourself, and more.
Get feedback from seasoned entrepreneurs and business executives.
Win money for yourself. Win prizes for your school. No constraints on spending.
Have fun challenging and beating high school students from all around the world!

The World's Largest Virtual Entrepreneurship Competition for High School Students

Record-breaking 2023-2024 Blue Ocean Competition participation.

Participants

Countries and territories

Schools

US states

Join high school students from all over the globe

Check if your school has participated here.

161 countries already represented and counting!

๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ซ Afghanistan
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Albania
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Algeria
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ด Angola
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ท Argentina
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡บ Australia
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡น Austria
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ธ Bahamas
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฉ Bangladesh
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฟ Belize
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฏ Benin
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ด Bolivia
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฆ Bosnia and Herzegovina
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ผ Botswana
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ท Brazil
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฌ Bulgaria
๐Ÿ‡ง๐Ÿ‡ฎ Burundi
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ญ Cambodia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Cameroon
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Canada
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ป Cape Verde
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡พ Cayman Islands
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฉ Chad

 

๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Chile
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ณ China
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ด Colombia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ท Costa Rica
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Cote d'Ivoire
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ท Croatia
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ฉ DR Congo
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Djibouti
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ด Dom Republic
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡จ Ecuador
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ฌ Egypt
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ป El Salvador
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡น Ethiopia
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ด Faroe Islands
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฏ Fiji
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Finland
๐Ÿ‡ซ๐Ÿ‡ท France
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Gambia
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ช Georgia
๐Ÿ‡ฉ๐Ÿ‡ช Germany
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ญ Ghana
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ท Greece
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡น Guatemala

๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ณ Guinea
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡พ Guyana
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡น Haiti
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Hong Kong
๐Ÿ‡ญ๐Ÿ‡บ Hungary
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ณ India
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Indonesia
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ถ Iraq
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ช Ireland
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Israel
๐Ÿ‡ฎ๐Ÿ‡น Italy
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Jamaica
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ต Japan
๐Ÿ‡ฏ๐Ÿ‡ด Jordan
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Kazakhstan
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ช Kenya
๐Ÿ‡ฝ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Kosovo
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ง Lebanon
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ธ Lesotho
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ท Liberia
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡พ Libya
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡น Lithuania
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Macedonia

๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Madagascar
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ผ Malawi
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡พ Malaysia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Mali
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡บ Mauritius
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฝ Mexico
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Moldova
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ณ Mongolia
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ช Montenegro
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Morocco
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Mozambique
๐Ÿ‡ฒ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Myanmar
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Namibia
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ต Nepal
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Netherlands Antilles
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฟ New Zealand
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฎ Nicaragua
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ช Niger
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Nigeria
๐Ÿ‡ณ๐Ÿ‡ด Norway
๐Ÿ‡ด๐Ÿ‡ฒ Oman
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฐ Pakistan
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ธ Palestine
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฆ Panama

๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ช Peru
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ญ Philippines
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡ฑ Poland
๐Ÿ‡ต๐Ÿ‡น Portugal
๐Ÿ‡ถ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Qatar
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ด Romania
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡บ Russia
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ผ Rwanda
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ณ Saint Kitts and Nevis
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡จ Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Saudi Arabia
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ณ Senegal
๐Ÿ‡ท๐Ÿ‡ธ Serbia
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฑ Sierra Leone
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Singapore
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Slovakia
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ด Somalia
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฆ South Africa
๐Ÿ‡ฐ๐Ÿ‡ท South Korea
๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡ธ Spain
๐Ÿ‡ฑ๐Ÿ‡ฐ Sri Lanka
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฉ Sudan
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ท Suriname

๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Swaziland
๐Ÿ‡ธ๐Ÿ‡ช Sweden
๐Ÿ‡จ๐Ÿ‡ญ Switzerland
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ผ Taiwan
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฟ Tanzania
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ญ Thailand
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ฌ Togo
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡น Trinidad and Tobago
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ณ Tunisia
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡ท Turkey
๐Ÿ‡น๐Ÿ‡จ Turks and Caicos Islands
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฌ Uganda
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฆ Ukraine
๐Ÿ‡ฆ๐Ÿ‡ช United Arab Emirates
๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡พ Uruguay
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ USA
๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ฟ Uzbekistan
๐Ÿ‡ป๐Ÿ‡ณ Viet Nam
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ฒ Zambia
๐Ÿ‡ฟ๐Ÿ‡ผ Zimbabwe
... + more!

What Inspired the Competition?

The Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition is inspired by Chan Kim and Renรฉe Mauborgneโ€™s global bestseller Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy inspires high school students to:

  • start looking at the world with a new perspective;
  • see possibilities where other see boundaries;
  • see growth where others see constraints;
  • solve problems that have never been solved before;
  • create solutions using systematic tools and frameworks;
  • start businesses that will make this world a better place for all of us!

What Inspired the Competition?

The Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition is inspired by Chan Kim and Renรฉe Mauborgneโ€™s global bestseller Blue Ocean Strategy

Blue Ocean Strategy inspires high school students to:

  • start looking at the world with a new perspective;
  • see possibilities where other see boundaries;
  • see growth where others see constraints;
  • solve problems that have never been solved before;
  • create solutions using systematic tools and frameworks;
  • start businesses that will make this world a better place for all of us!

Why Students Love to Participate

โ€œThe Blue Ocean Competition has been an amazing opportunity to fuel my desire to create my own business with one of my best friends. The competition has gained us attention and opened doors we never could have imagined.โ€

Jeremy Quinn

North County HS '17

โ€œThe Blue Ocean Entrepreneur Competition encourages students to dive deep into their own ideas. It offers a unique opportunity to develop the practical skills necessary to realize any vision.”

Sydney Hough

Saratoga HS โ€˜20

โ€œThe Blue Ocean Pitch Competition was a fantastic platform for us to not just get validation for our idea but also learn about many new innovative products and services created by other high school students like us.”

Riya Gupta and Nishka Ayya

The Harker School - San Jose โ€˜19

Why Teachers Get Involved

โ€œThe competition enriches the marketing curriculum and provides students with essential entrepreneurial, critical thinking, creativity and collaboration skills to prepare them for the future.โ€

Ilene Littman

Business Education Teacher, Ward Melville HS, NY

โ€œThere is an essential curriculum that must be covered in the course, but we also are allowed to add onto that curriculum to enrich the experience for the students. That is what I did through the Blue Ocean competition and the online course.โ€

Kristin Taylor

Business and Marketing Teacher Centennial HS, MD, Pillager HS, MN

Get Involved

Students

Develop entrepreneurial skills and experience that will set you up for success.

Teachers

Prepare your students for the real world of entrepreneurship.

Judges

Share your expertise to help high school students become better entrepreneurs.

Sponsors

Empower high school students to change the world for the better.

Ambassadors

Inspire your peers to create innovative solutions to real-life problems.

Global Partners

Make the competition accessible to all high schoolers around the world.

Recent Winners

More than 5,200 students took part in the 2022 competition. Check out the inspiring winning blue ocean pitches.

More than 2500 students took part in the 2022 competition. Check out the inspiring winning blue ocean pitches.

More than 2000 students took part in the 2022 competition. Check out the inspiring winning blue ocean pitches.

Recent Winners

More than 2500 students took part in the 2022 competition. Check out the inspiring winning blue ocean pitches.

More than 2000 students took part in the 2022 competition. Check out the inspiring winning blue ocean pitches.