Welcome to the 2025–2026 Iovine and Young Academy’s Innovation Quest!

The Academy’s Innovation Quest is a yearlong set of experiences designed to accelerate, cultivate, and support student-led ventures at the intersection of business, technology, and creative practice. Rooted in the Academy’s challenge-based learning approach, Innovation Quest equips founders with the tools, networks, and resources needed to transform ideas into ventures, strengthen innovation capacity, and prepare for impact at scale.

The Innovation Quest is co-led by Business of Innovation faculty Tina Sharkey, Chris Swain, and Thomas Dadourian. Join us and Fight On, Founders!

The Venture Showcase is the capstone event of Innovation Quest. Student founders pitch their ventures to a panel of world-class judges, investors, and industry leaders. Categories include Innovation, Social Impact, Gen AI & Society, and Alumni Ventures. Winning teams receive funding and continued mentorship to accelerate their startups.

📌 The 2026 Call for Submissions is currently closed.

Watch the highlight video from last year:

2025 Venture Showcase

Fall 2024 IYA Founders Bootcamp: A Day of Bold Ideas and Transformative Mentorship

📖 Read the recap of last year’s Founder's Bootcamp

When: October 17, 2025 | 11 AM – 4 PM | Iovine and Young Hall

The year kicks off with our annual Founder Bootcamp, a high-energy day designed to build your founder toolkit. Students gain insights from industry experts, explore case studies, unlock Trojan resources, and connect with fellow founders and the founder-curious. Sessions include marketing, venture finance, legal basics, Gen AI updates, and candid stories from serial entrepreneurs.

One intense day for current and future founders that find themselves enrolled at the Iovine and Young Academy.

2024 Founders Bootcamp at the Iovine and Young Academy

Fuel your venture with an Ignite Grant. These 10 awards provide funding and mentorship to support Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) across three tracks: Innovation, Social Impact, and Gen AI & Society. Each grantee is matched with an industry mentor to help accelerate progress and deliver real milestones.


📌 Call for applications launches in October in Slideroom. Stay tuned for submission details.

Co-hosted by Innovation Quest colleagues Dr. David Gerber (Viterbi faculty), Thomas Dadourian, and Tina Sharkey (Academy faculty), this Vibe Coding Hackathon will take place Friday, February 20th, from 11:00am to 4:00pm at Iovine and Young Hall. You’ll join a team, spend the day building a real product using GenAI tools, and collaborate from idea to MVP. The day will wrap with a final showcase and prizes. No experience required — beginners will have plenty of support, and experienced builders will have space to push their skills and experiment.

📌 Applications required. Interested students can email iyaiq@usc.edu [subject line: Hackathon].

Through Microsoft for Startups, eligible student ventures gain access to exclusive resources including:

GitHub Enterprise, LinkedIn benefits, and Visual Studio Enterprise

📌 Apply here via the IQ Venture Support Form

Always-On Community: Fight On Founders Club

The Fight On Founders Club is a student-led, always-on community open to all Trojan entrepreneurs. This is your year-round hub to connect, collaborate, share ideas, and learn from peers, alumni, investors, and visiting speakers.

Tell Us About Your Startup: Complete the [IQ Venture Support Form] to be matched with mentors, resources, and opportunities.

Innovation Quest Resource Hub: Visit our Notion page for guides, pitch decks, and event replays.

Student Founder Resources Hub: Explore USC’s curated list of tools and programs.

Mentorship & Office Hours: Access our faculty and industry mentors for venture coaching, legal advising, and office hours.

Year-long programming at the Iovine and Young Academy to foster our student founders and entrepreneurs.

Iovine and Young Academy's Innovation Quest

Student Founder Resources

Iovine and Young Academy Ignite Grants Fall 2024 Overview and FAQs

The Iovine and Young Academy Venture Showcase

The USC Iovine and Young Academy's Innovation Quest offers a series of dynamic experiences that aim to accelerate, cultivate, and support qualified student-led ventures at the intersection of business, technology, and creative practice.