Founded and hosted by ASIC, the Willow Canyon Wildcat Tank Competition challenges competitors of all levels to think and pitch like startup founders.
Teams pitch to a panel of judges. Top team from each of 4 panels advances to finals.
Finalists re-pitch and face curveball questions designed to test strategic thinking.
Winners are announced and choose from a prize pool of gift cards and other prizes from local businesses.
Your presentation will be given live. Do not send a video presentation. Additionally, your presentation should be under 6 minutes total. Upon entry, participants will be assigned to 1 of the 4 judging panels, and must find their way to the queue and wait to present.
Assemble a team consisting of 1–3 students and create a team name. Ensure that your team name is recorded in the registration form.
Students create an original product concept (this is just a concept, not a real product you have to launch) and build a slideshow presentation (4–6 slides) before the competition date.
Teams present their slideshow to a panel of real-world finance professionals. 5 minutes for your presentation, 1 minute for Judge Q&A — 6 minutes total per team.
A drawing, diagram, 3D model, or physical model worth 10 automatic rubric points if included, so don't skip this.
The top team from each panel advances to finals. Only one team per panel moves on, so make your panel presentation count.
Pitch your product to the panel of judges with your slideshow once more. This presentation is brief and capped at 5 minutes. It is designed to familiarize judges who did not score you in qualifiers with your product, and does not affect your qualifier score.
Finals consist of answering 2 curveball questions. Each curveball question poses a real-world business scenario, such as a competitor's move, a product failure, or a market shift, and asks for your team's response. Make sure you are prepared to answer all curveball questions before the competition.
Each team gets approximately 3 minutes total to prep and answer each question. Judges expect detailed, well-reasoned responses, so think fast and speak clearly.
You won't know which two questions you'll face until the day of finals. All four possible questions are listed below, so prepare answers for all of them.
Teams that advance to finals will face two of these four questions. You won't know which two until the day of, so prepare answers for all of them.
A major competitor launches a copycat product that has the same function as yours. What do you change in your product to defend value?
Let's say AI can provide the same service as your company for nearly free. What are the incentives for using your product over the AI solution?
Investors say that integrating AI into your product is necessary to keep up with the industry. How would you integrate AI technology into your product's function?
You must remove one key feature of your product to curb production costs. Which one would you remove, and why?
Scoring spans two rounds for a total of 100 points. The qualifier is worth 62 points across three categories. Finalists earn up to 38 additional points on their curveball responses.
Your product must be original and should be accompanied by a visually appealing, eloquent, and clear presentation. A product that already exists won't impress judges, and even a great idea can fail with a poorly-organized slideshow. A great presentation is the perfect complement to a creative product.
Your product should effectively solve a real-world problem that is meaningful and practical. For example, a self-stirring coffee mug or an umbrella with a built-in fan aren't solving problems people actually struggle with. Judges want to see that your product has a genuine purpose and that real people would actually benefit from it. Make sure to clearly state your product's function and how it solves the targeted problem.
Know your customer and your competition. Judges want to see that you've clearly defined who your customers are and that your team is aware of competitors in the space. Think about who specifically would buy your product and why they would choose it over what already exists.
Judges evaluate how realistic and effective your proposed solution is. A poor or unrealistic solution scores low; a realistic and optimally efficient response earns full marks.
Judges assess how well you defend your reasoning under follow-up questions. Shallow or vague responses score low; an optimal, well-defended response earns full marks.
Judges score how clearly and eloquently you communicate your solution. A poorly presented or unclear response scores low; a clear, concise, and eloquent answer earns full marks.
Fill out the form to secure your spot.
For competition inquiries, contact the organizers below.