Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition
The winning team will receive the $50,000 grand prize to continue their project and launch their business!
The Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition (MEPC) was established through a generous gift from Fariborz Maseeh, to inspire our innovators and turn their ideas into real products, companies, and solutions.
MEPC selects concepts that are rooted in deep technology, have market viability, and have the highest potential for growth and impact. Beyond acting as a seed fund, MEPC places a strong priority on teaching entrepreneurial education and instilling in our engineers the entrepreneurial spirit.
Admitted teams will be paired with mentors to provide guidance in their MEPC journey, will be required to attend a series of workshops that will explore your market, customers, the commercial readiness of your technology, and will be given funding to test and refine your business ideas. These MEPC resources are intended to empower USC innovators and to create lasting impact whether on this venture or the next
View the MEPC Info Session Slide Deck from October 1, 2021.
Listen to the Viterbi Voices podcast to hear the Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition episode. Tune in for a fantastic episode about how Viterbi Students use their passions to tackle some of the most pressing issues of the world!
For further information, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions.
The 2023-2024 Maseeh Entrepreneurship Prize Competition (MEPC) season has officially begun. The application deadline was November 12, 2023 and is now closed.
All USC students are invited to participate, although each team must have at least one current Viterbi student (undergrad or grad). The maximum number of team members is 5.
Each team will participate in educational sessions, workshops, and meetings with mentors throughout the academic year. This year's MEPC programming will begin with a Kickoff on December 7, 2023.
Prizes 2023-2024
Key Program Dates 2023-2024
2023 Winner
About Fariborz Maseeh
The Massiah Foundation’s founder and president, Fariborz Maseeh is at heart both a scientist and an entrepreneur. His undergraduate and graduate studies in the fields of mechanical engineering and applied mathematics inspired him to pursue the field of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). In 1991, he founded IntelliSense with the vision to reduce the time and expense of creating next-generation MEMS devices that had broad industrial and humanitarian applications, from airplane landing gear to pacemakers. As his company grew, so did his desire to give back to the community. Ever grateful to his inspiring teachers and educational institutions that nurtured his skills and dreams his philanthropy is inclined towards education, youth, scientific innovation, healthcare and culture.
Mr. Maseeh founded the Massiah Foundation in 2001 on the concept of venture philanthropy. This means that the Massiah Foundation targets unique opportunities to invest in entities that will have a lasting and broad impact. It also seeks to leverage its resources to attract co-investors from the community so that the goals of impact and longevity will be realized.
The Massiah Foundation mirrors Mr. Maseeh’s entrepreneurial spirit as he applies management principles to improve the value of the Foundation’s social investments. It also applies his solution-based approach toward innovation and finding unique opportunities to serve and unite people and their communities.
The Massiah Foundation
The Massiah Foundation was established to provide charitable financial support to outstanding organizations with the potential to improve the future of humanity. Since its inception, the foundation has made significant contributions to various learning institutions, universities, children’s organizations, hospitals, cultural organizations, the arts, and general welfare organizations in the United States.
The Massiah Foundation seeks opportunities to make innovative, transformational or charitable contributions in areas within its expertise that can result in broad public benefit mainly in education, health, or arts/culture.
Published on June 9th, 2021
Last updated on January 30th, 2024