The OpenIDEO BridgeBuilder Challenge was recently announced, offering a share of $1 million in funding for "solutions addressing urgent global challenges at the intersection of peace, prosperity, and planet in radically new ways." Startup competitions, hackathons, and competitions such as BridgeBuilder spur action and provide critical feedback as you refine your ideas. Successful ideas rarely get things right the first time… questions and input from diverse stakeholders helps stress-test your ideas and make them better. Plus, based on networking and relationship-building with attendees, you might even attract funding outside of the official prizes! 

We often get asked by clients what factors most impact getting into business school. It’s an important question, particularly when you consider how you can improve your MBA applicant profile. Examples of leadership, particularly in the community where candidates could have a broad impact, can have a significant impact on whether you get into top-choice schools.  

Great article on the re-branding of the Wharton Business Plan competition into the "Penn-Wharton Startup Challenge". The re-branding acknowledges that successful startups are less about formalized business plans, and more about experimentation, iteration, and advocating ideas to key stakeholders (i.e. investors, key employees) to generate buy-in. More importantly, it acknowledges that potential partners can be drawn from a variety of Penn schools (each with specialized skillsets) rather than relying solely on students at Wharton. Chicago Booth, HBS, Kellogg (through Northwestern) and other top schools host similar competitions, often with specialties (i.e. HBS includes a Social Enterprise Track) that help you benchmark to business models targeting similar problems.

US News and World Report recently released a summary of the business school programs receiving the highest number of applicants in 2015. All of the names are well-known schools, and great programs. The numbers cited by their reporting are particularly helpful as you think about your own applications for next year. The thousands of applicants are already self-selecting themselves into an applicant pool with above-average academic, work, and extracurricular credentials. What will make you different?

The London Business School's latest employment report offers a useful reminder that there are many ways to chart post-MBA success!