A total of $100,000 in awards are up for grabs in the inaugural Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament, which takes place April 5 at the Pyle Center, event organizers announced this week.

Ten teams of student entrepreneurs from various UW campuses will compete for a chance to represent the state in May at the International Business Model Competition. The top finisher also will have the opportunity to be selected into Stage 1 of the Ideadvance Seed Fund, an organization started for students to apply their knowledge and expertise to the economic development of the state.

“This year’s Wisconsin Big Idea Tournament is a demonstration pilot to introduce the Lean Startup concept and curriculum,” Mark Lange, executive director of Entrepreneurship and Economic Development for UW-Extension, said in a statement. “We encourage UW students, staff and faculty to watch the finals this year and contact us about participating in the fall of 2014.”

The finalists will have 15 minutes to present their business idea to a panel of judges, listed as Lisa Johnson, Vice President, Entrepreneurship and Innovation for the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation; Dan Reed, Director of Business Development, Investments for American Family Insurance; and Troy Vosseller, co-founder of gener8tor.

Campuses represented are UW-Eau Claire, UW-La Crosse, UW-Milwaukee and UW-Oshkosh. According to an event spokesperson, UW-Madison students weren’t eligible as organizers sought to “spark student entrepreneurship at UW campuses outside of UW-Madison.”