Hospitality Business Plan Competition

The Cornell Hospitality Business Plan Competition is an annual entrepreneurship event that begins at the start of the academic year when students form teams and deliver five-minute pitches for their hospitality business concepts. The competition ends in early spring during Hotel Ezra Cornell (HEC), when the student teams submit their final business plans and semi-finalist teams present to a judging panel that selects the top three concepts as winners.

Prizes for the top three finishers total more than $37,000 (All prizes subject to tax withholdings as required by IRS regulations). The Business Plan Competition is a meaningful learning experience for students interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial venture whose ideas could launch new independent ventures in the seed, start-up or early growth stages.

Congratulations to our 2026 winner!

First place: Purvis Fish & Chips
Team member: Avery Sheppard, MMH ’26

Read about the competition in the Cornell Chronicle.

Past competition results by academic year

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