Who can apply

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The competition is open to student teams from higher education institutions across Canada, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Japan, Spain, Portugal, Singapore, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and USA.

Eligibility requirements include:

• Teams of 2–15 members
• Current college/university students or graduates within the past five years
• Teams may include members from multiple institutions
• One designated team leader must submit the application
• Participants should generally be under 35 years of age

Projects at both the idea stage and startup stage are welcome.

Prizes:

• First Prize: $3,000 USD
• Second Prize: $2,000 USD
• Third Prize: $1,000 USD

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Timeline (Los Angeles 2026)

• Applications Open: May 7, 2026
• Application Deadline: July 25, 2026
• Finalists Announced: August 10, 2026
• Pitch Event: September 9 to 10, 2026 (Los Angeles)

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HighlineBeta is building a roster of Researchers with various levels of experience who would be interested in working with us on a contract basis when client demand requires to help our corporate clients define and design future businesses through design research practices. If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, please apply below: 

Roster of curious, creative, and driven researchers who are interested in working with us on a contract basis as client demand requires. In this role, you'll work alongside our team to help corporate clients define and design future businesses through design research practices, supporting project delivery during busy periods.

Your time will be split between activities such as generative research, evaluative research, solution prototyping and solution validation. The throughline to all these activities is that you thrive making sense of markets, people, products, and contexts that help inform the design of strategies, products, and new businesses.  

Responsibilities

These will vary based on the project, but sample responsibilities include:

• Conduct qualitative and quantitative user research and early discovery/problem validation/concept testing on new opportunities — interviewing, immersion, observation, early prototyping, surveys and more

• Create materials for user research testing (concepts, prototypes, landing pages, ads) using a variety of AI and digital tools 

• Operationalize research plans – writing screeners, recruiting participants, programming studies, and selecting participants

• Monitor and analyze market, competitive, and secondary research to identify trends, technological advances, and innovation opportunities

• Synthesize and rationalize research findings into actionable insights and recommendations

• Participate in client consulting, helping define the scope and plan for early-stage generative research projects

• Present and facilitate research findings among cross-functional internal and external teams, and train clients on Lean Startup, Design Thinking, and user research concepts

Qualifications

Required Experience & Skills

• Minimum of 2 years experience in design or user research, although we're looking to meet people with a range of experience levels

• Experience formulating and executing research plans

• Generative and evaluative research experience – knowing how to formulate a hypothesis and pick the right method/tool to validate it

• Mixed-methods (qualitative and quantitative) research experience

• Experience creating artifacts for digital user testing (concept tests, prototypes, wireframes)

• Experience with research recruiting methods and tools

• Experience with market research (competitive landscape, industry research)

• Strong written and verbal communication

• Experience building deliverables and translating research findings into product and design roadmaps

Nice-to-haves

• Background in research of digital products

• Experience building high fidelity prototypes such as clickable sites and tools using AI tools

• Experience and comfort working with and presenting to senior corporate stakeholders

• Experience with B2B audiences

Process

Whilst our intent is to build a roster for future projects, we'd like to complete an initial assessment to confirm alignment with the skills required and mutual relationship fit before demand requires it. As such, following a successful application, the process will be:

• Initial screening (c. 15 minute phone call)

• 1 hour interview on experience and methodologies. This stage will also include either a portfolio review or discussion of a brief take home task, which would be discussed during the application interview.

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Stream 1: Non-Profits / Community Partners Serving Underrepresented Communities

• Funding: $10,000 CAD per organization

• Two eligible nonprofit organizations receive funding

• Organizations must provide matching funds equal to the grant amount

• Projects can run for up to 10 months

• Supports programs that foster entrepreneurship and innovation for underrepresented communities

Stream 2: Agri-tech & Clean-tech Startups

• Funding: $10,000 CAD per startup

• Supports early-stage Agri-tech and Clean-tech startups

• Helps founders develop and commercialize innovative technologies

• Open to eligible startups building solutions in the Agri-tech and Clean-tech sectors

Deadline:

Jul 13, 2026 | All Applications Open 

Aug 14, 2026 | All Applications Close

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We are building a venture studio focused on creating and scaling innovative AI-powered companies with focus on entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is massively on the rise. We are looking for a driven cofounder and CTO to help shape the vision, develop products, and launch ventures from concept to market. This is an opportunity to work at the intersection of software development and entrepreneurship.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate on identifying and evaluating new startup opportunities
• Design, develop, and launch AI-powered products and prototypes
• Lead technical architecture, software development, and product engineering
• Build and iterate on MVPs using modern technologies and AI tools
• Work on AI integrations, automation, data solutions, and scalable systems
• Collaborate on product strategy, customer discovery, and go-to-market execution
• Contribute to technical strategy, and venture development

Skills

• Strong software development experience with knowledge of modern programming languages and frameworks
• Experience building web applications, SaaS products, APIs, and scalable software systems
• Familiarity with artificial intelligence, machine learning, large language models, and AI development tools
• Experience with cloud platforms, databases, and software architecture
• Ability to rapidly prototype, test, and launch new products
• Entrepreneurial mindset with a passion for building startups
• Strong problem-solving, communication, and collaboration skills
• Previous startup, founder, or technical leadership experience is an asset

Please note this is a co-founder opportunity. Interested applicants, please send in portfolio via hello@foundersbeta.com