The Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneur Competition is an entirely virtual pitch contest for high school students anywhere in the world. It is run by Blue Ocean Student Entrepreneurs Corporation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in the State of Maryland, USA, which started the contest in 2014 as a county-level event and took it global by 2019. Entrants build a business concept using the frameworks from Blue Ocean Strategy, record a video pitch of 3 to 5 minutes, post it on YouTube and submit it before the annual deadline. Judges drawn from entrepreneurs and business professionals score every pitch against a five-part rubric, and the field narrows through a Top 100, Top 30 and Top 10 before an online finale. The 2026 edition drew more than 23,000 students from 173 countries. Renée Mauborgne, co-author of Blue Ocean Strategy, sits on the board, and sponsors include Harvard Business Review, INSEAD and Morgan Stanley.
Benefits & funding
- Global awards: US$1,000 for 1st place, US$750 for 2nd, US$500 for 3rd.
- People’s Choice Award of US$750 for the pitch with the most likes and comments on YouTube.
- Regional awards of US$500 in each of six regions: North America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania, Latin America, and the Middle East.
- Certificate of Participation for everyone who submits a pitch; Certificate of Outstanding Achievement for the Top 10.
- Access on registration to the Blue Ocean Mini-Course (under 35 minutes), pitch templates and the strategy tools, with a completion certificate.
- Teachers who take part receive a Certificate of Recognition, and three selected Blue Ocean Teacher Champions each receive US$500.
Eligibility
- Open to high school students aged 14 to 18 at the time of registration.
- Open to students in any country; no nationality or residency requirement, and the contest runs online end to end.
- Enter alone or in a team of up to 5 students, who may come from the same school or different schools; each pitch counts as one entry, and individual and team pitches are judged equally.
- Every participant must register and complete the online Blue Ocean Mini-Course before submitting a pitch.
- Children of competition judges may not take part.
- No prior business experience, working prototype or existing product is needed; the concept may be invented or already on the market, as long as it meets the Blue Ocean criteria.
Can you apply?
Worth a closer look
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Education required
High School
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Age requirement
14–18 yrs
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We only check the criteria we have data for. Always confirm full eligibility on the official page before applying.
Application process
- 1Register on the competition site; registration for the 2027 edition is open. Use a personal email address if a school account blocks external mail.
- 2Complete the Blue Ocean Mini-Course and work through the tools it covers: the Strategy Canvas, the Three Tiers of Noncustomers, the Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create Grid and the Buyer Utility Map.
- 3Develop the business concept and structure the pitch with the template supplied to registrants.
- 4Record the pitch at normal playback speed, 3 to 5 minutes long and never over 5, as a file under 1 GB in mp4, mov, qt, webm, wmv or flv, named after the product or offering.
- 5Upload the video to YouTube with the hashtag #blueoceancompetition.
- 6Submit the YouTube link together with the video file by 21 February 2027, 23:59 local time. Pitches arriving after the deadline are not accepted.
- 7Follow the results rounds: Top 100 on 5 April 2027, Top 30 on 22 April, Top 10 on 4 May, and the winners at the online finale on 13 May.
Program timeline
open
Registration for the 2027 competition
Pitch submission deadline
21 February 2027, 23:59 local time
Top 100 announced
5 April 2027
Top 30 announced
22 April 2027
Top 10 announced
4 May 2027
Winners announced at the online finale
13 May 2027