The Global Student Entrepreneur Awards (GSEA) is EO’s premier global competition for university and college students who own and operate a business while attending school. For EO members, GSEA creates opportunities to mentor founders, judge competitions, coach presentations, support local events, and help shape the next generation of entrepreneurs through meaningful engagement and shared experience.
It is a high-impact way to support emerging founders while staying connected to new ideas, innovation, and entrepreneurial talent around the world. Join your local chapter board to host a competition
EO members can participate through chapter leadership, judging, mentoring, coaching, and volunteer opportunities throughout the competition season.
GSEA gives EO members a direct way to support early-stage entrepreneurs through mentorship, coaching, judging, and community engagement.
The experience reconnects members with the earliest stages of entrepreneurship: uncertainty, creativity, resilience, and rapid growth. Members often describe GSEA as energizing because it offers a rare opportunity to engage with founders before they become established business leaders.
GSEA also helps introduce emerging founders to EO early in their entrepreneurial journey while strengthening relationships between EO chapters, universities, incubators, investors, and entrepreneurial communities around the world.
Students progress through local and regional competitions before advancing toward the Start it Up Bootcamp and Global Finals. Throughout the process, EO members contribute time, expertise, mentorship, and support across multiple stages of the experience.
Student entrepreneurs apply online and compete through local chapter events supported by EO members and volunteers.
EO chapters organize competitions, coordinate judges, build relationships with universities and incubators, and help create meaningful experiences for participants throughout the season.
Members support students through business mentorship, pitch preparation, presentation coaching, and entrepreneurial guidance before competitions and during advancement phases.
EO members serve as judges during local, regional, and global competitions, providing practical feedback and entrepreneurial perspective based on real business experience.
Finalists participate in the Start it Up Bootcamp and Global Finals experience, culminating in the announcement of the global winner through EO’s Start it Up series.
GSEA is powered by EO member participation.
Members support the experience in many different ways throughout the competition season, from mentoring and judging to organizing local competitions and building relationships within the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
EO members evaluate competitors during local, regional, and global competitions while providing meaningful feedback and entrepreneurial perspective.
Students often identify mentorship as one of the most valuable parts of the experience. EO members help participants strengthen their businesses, improve presentations, and prepare for competition stages through coaching and shared experience.
Members and chapter leaders help organize events, recruit participants, coordinate judges, engage sponsors, and support the overall competition experience within their region.
GSEA creates opportunities to build relationships with universities, incubators, investors, and local entrepreneurial organizations while increasing visibility for entrepreneurship and EO within the broader community.
Many EO members continue relationships with students long after the competition season through mentorship, networking, referrals, and ongoing support.
Unlike many pitch competitions, GSEA focuses not only on business performance, but also on the entrepreneur behind the business.
The experience goes beyond evaluating presentations or polished pitches. The judging process values resilience, adaptability, leadership, and determination alongside business fundamentals.
For EO members, this creates a more meaningful experience because you are not simply selecting the strongest business idea. You are identifying founders with the mindset and persistence required to continue building through uncertainty and setbacks.
GSEA creates direct connection between experienced entrepreneurs and founders at the beginning of their journey.
Many members describe GSEA as a front-row seat to the next generation of entrepreneurship because of the creativity, ambition, and resilience they witness throughout the competition process. The experience also creates meaningful opportunities to give back, strengthen entrepreneurial communities, and support future founders earlier in their journey.
“Judging Start it Up was a front-row seat to the future. I left energized and deeply hopeful about the next generation of entrepreneurs.”
– Miranda Naiman
Whether you want to mentor founders, judge competitions, support your local chapter, or help strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem in your region, GSEA offers meaningful ways to get involved throughout the competition season.
By participating in GSEA, EO members help shape the next generation of entrepreneurs while staying connected to the energy, creativity, and resilience that define early-stage entrepreneurship.
