A better tool for early-stage cancer detection. A patient advocacy organization focused on streamlining the provision of health care. A device that guides drivers to their vehicle in a crowded parking lot. These are just some of the winning "Big Ideas" that Pitt students have submitted to the annual Big Idea Competition. Hosted by Pitt's Institute for Entrepreneurial Excellence, the competition seeks to turn the best business ideas from students into competitive business plans and businesses. Many of these projects focus on areas of social entrepreneurial ventures and environmental sustainability. While there are many business competitions across the country requiring students to submit fully developed business plans, the Big Idea Competition is unusual in that it does not require entrants to include a structured business plan, thus opening the competition to student innovators with varying levels of business experience and encouraging submissions from students of all disciplines. Winners have the opportunity to work with teams of professional business consultants, industry experts, and entrepreneurs to build strong business plans that they can present at local, regional, and national business plan competitions for a chance to earn significant startup capital.