Mesa Future Founders Challenge

A national startup competition for students in Grades 10 to 12. Students apply in teams of three from the same school. The best teams go through the online Semifinals, building a real product and pitching to investors, and the top 30 compete at the National Finals at Mesa School of Business, Bengaluru.

Students in Grades 10, 11 and 12 at any school in India, from any board. You apply as a team of three from the same school, and team members can be from different grades.

No. It doesn’t cost anything to take part at any stage of the Challenge. For the top 30 finalist teams, Mesa covers accommodation and food at the National Finals.

Three students who bring different strengths: someone who can build, someone who can sell and someone who keeps things moving. We look for curiosity, initiative and a record of getting things done, whether that’s starting a project, leading a club or captaining a team.

No. The three students who apply in Round 1 stay the same team all the way through to the National Finals.

Yes. Every team applies with an idea it wants to build. It doesn’t need to be a live business yet: the Semifinals help you test it, build a first version and find your first customers.

Registrations open on 26 October 2026, and Round 1 applications close on 13 November. Round 1 results are announced on 20 November. Semifinal submissions are due on 18 December, followed by live investor pitches from 21 to 24 December. The top 30 finalists are announced on 28 December, and the National Finals take place at Mesa from 22 to 24 January 2027.

In Round 1, teams are judged on their written application and video: initiative, leadership, the strength of the team and the idea. In the Semifinals, teams are judged on the product they build, the customers they win and their live pitch to investors.

A 90-second video, modelled on Y Combinator’s application, in which you tell us who your team is, why you want to build and why you’re the right founders to back.

You’ll join online workshops as you test your idea, build a simple first version of your product, find real customers and plan how to reach more of them. The Semifinals end with a live online pitch to investors from 21 to 24 December.

Three days at Mesa School of Business. Teams compete across four Founder Sprints (AI, D2C, content and an investor pitch), alongside masterclasses and a founder mixer. Scores from all four sprints go onto one leaderboard, and the top 10 teams pitch to the Shark on the final day.

At Mesa School of Business, Bengaluru, from 22 to 24 January 2027.

Yes. All three team members need to be in Bengaluru for the full National Finals, from 22 to 24 January 2027.

Yes. Every finalist team competes in all four Founder Sprints, and every score counts towards the leaderboard.

Mesa provides accommodation and food for all 30 finalist teams. Teams arrange and cover their own travel to Bengaluru.

Scores from all four Founder Sprints go onto one leaderboard, and the top 10 teams pitch to the Shark on the final day. Their Shark pitch decides the final ranking and how the ₹10 lakh grant pool is shared. The school of the highest-ranked team is named National Champion.

The top 10 teams become Mesa Future Founders Fellows, receive certificates and recommendation letters, get direct entry to the Mesa Incubation Program and pitch to the Shark for a share of the ₹10 lakh grant pool. The school of the highest-ranked team is named National Champion.