USC Viterbi’s Office Of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship Managing Director Ralph Lin, MEPC benefactor Fariborz Maseeh, and Vice Dean Ellis Meng attended the 2024-25 MEPC launch event on October 29 at the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience. Photo: Braden Dawson
USC Viterbi’s innovation ecosystem took center stage on October 29 as the long-running and popular Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition (MEPC) launched its 2024-25 campaign with a new round of enthusiastic participants and some very big news.
Gathering in the USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience, many of this year’s 20 participating teams joined the program’s benefactor, Fariborz Maseeh, to hear about the competition’s schedule, review attendance and activity expectations, and network among themselves for the first time.
But the night’s main moment came when Ralph Lin, managing director for the school’s Office of Technology Innovation and Entrepreneurship, announced that Maseeh has pledged to increase support for the competition, raising the grand prize amount from $50,000 to $100,000. This would make it the largest student prize awarded by a school at USC.
The popular Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition features students who combine innovation with ingenuity. Photo: Braden Dawson
This investment is unique among other philanthropic investments I’ve made because it creates a usefulness for society,” Maseeh said. “It is a modest investment for me compared to its impact.”
Maseeh, a technologist, entrepreneur, and member of the USC Viterbi Board of Councilors, established the MEPC to inspire Trojan innovators and turn their ideas into real products, companies, and solutions.
Participants’ ideas are rooted in deep technology, must have market viability, and have high potential for growth and impact. Beyond acting as a seed fund, MEPC places a strong priority on teaching entrepreneurial education; previous winners include sports data company Second Spectrum and orthodonture-focused Comfort Connect (now InBrace).
The new teams will be paired with mentors, will be required to attend a series of workshops that explore market and customer behavior, and will be given opportunities to test and refine their business ideas.
Ellis Meng, USC Viterbi’s vice dean of technology innovation and entrepreneurship, declared that, “this year, we had the most amazing applicants yet” before itemizing some of the impressive statistics since the competition launched 15 years ago: 21 companies that are still operating, 469 total participants, and more than $292 million raised by MEPC companies, which have employed 464 people.
This year’s teams include companies that range in focus from pollution reduction to AI-centered office management to secure communication. Their one common denominator: passion, drive, and the desire not just to build a business plan, but to build a successful business.
“From day one of the first year, I’ve been impressed and amazed with all of the involved students,” said Maseeh.
Published on November 4th, 2024
Last updated on November 4th, 2024
