College students across the country now have a major financial incentive to tackle online misinformation. A new 18-month student venture competition, the "Before You Share Xperience," is inviting multi-disciplinary student teams to design digital tools that help users verify sources and recover missing context from digital media.
What Happened
Launched by xFoundry, an experiential learning program based at the University of Maryland Idea Factory, the "Before You Share" competition has signed up more than 30 universities. Student teams of three to six members from at least three academic disciplines must design a consumer-facing digital product that is private, user-controlled, and ad-free. Registrations are open until February 28, 2027. During the 18-month competition, teams will build and market-test their products. The winning team enters a six-month incubator called "Xcelerate" and can receive up to a $1 million SAFE investment from the Xponential Venture Fund.
The Bigger Picture
College graduates face high underemployment rates, which reached 40% in mid-2026. In response, universities are using real-world business challenges to prepare students for the workforce. Programs like the University of Richmond’s Bench Top Innovations require students to make operational business decisions without faculty help.
These intense competitions bring academic and financial risks. The "Before You Share" prize relies on a SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity), which converts to company equity instead of working as a cash grant. Other institutions use similar models. The University of Chicago's Polsky Founders' Fund Fellowships offer $24,000 SAFEs, and Davidson College's Nisbet Venture Fund awards a mix of grants and equity investments. Students must weigh the long-term cost of giving away ownership.
Interdisciplinary competitions do not always benefit all students equally. A study in the Small Business Institute Journal revealed that business and engineering students experience significantly higher gains in entrepreneurial attitudes and reflection than peers from other majors. Managing a student startup can also be tough. As we previously reported, building and sustaining collaborative student teams requires structured feedback and clear boundaries to prevent uneven workloads.
What This Means for Families
For parents and educators, collegiate competitions like "Before You Share" offer a direct link to the professional world. Students get to test real-world products with real users. However, the 18-month timeline is a massive time commitment. Fundraising and product development can consume entire semesters, creating a steep academic opportunity cost. Families should help students balance their coursework with the demands of building an investable startup.
What You Can Do
To help your student, start by discussing the difference between non-dilutive grant funding and SAFE investments. Make sure they understand that a SAFE means surrendering future equity in their company.
You should also set clear academic limits before the competition begins. Because fundraising can stall academic progress, help your student establish minimum GPA targets or study hours that they will not compromise.
Finally, encourage students from non-STEM or non-business majors, such as journalism or design, to advocate for their roles. Since gains in these competitions can skew toward business and engineering majors, non-technical students need to take on leadership opportunities within their teams.