HBS New Venture Competition: Northeast U.S./New York Region
Are you an innovator or early stage entrepreneur?
You’re invited to participate in the annual HBS New Venture Competition (NVC), brought to you by the HBS Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and the HBS Club of New York.
Open to for-profit companies, competing in the NVC Northeast Regionals is your chance to showcase your company to a large group of investors and advisors, advance to the NVC semifinals and global finals at HBS, and win over $100,000 in cash prizes.
Key Info
- Eligibility & Rules
- Application (*scroll down on page)
- Judging Criteria
- Key Dates
- Prizes
- Northeast Regional Contact
The Northeast U.S./New York regional competition accepts applications from ventures in New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia. We welcome applications from the above states as long as you are able to travel to NYC for the regional events.
The deadline to apply has been extended to Tuesday, January 18, 2022.
Key Dates
- Monday, March 28, 2022 – Global Finalists’ final pitch decks due
- Thursday, March 31, 2022 – NVC Finale (in-person & online @ HBS)
Completed in 2021/2022:
- Monday, November 1, 2021 – Global Alumni NVC Kick-Off & Application Platform Open
- Friday, November 5, 2021 – Info Session for NY/Northeast Entrepreneurs
- Friday, December 3, 2021 – Info Session for NY/Northeast Entrepreneurs
- Thursday, January 6, 2022 – Info Session for NY/Northeast Entrepreneurs
- Tuesday, January 18, 2022 12pm EST – Deadline for HBS Alumni Founders to Apply to the New Venture Competition Alumni Track
- Wednesday, January 26, 2022 – New York Region Virtual Company Showcase & Social Media Blitz!
- Thursday, February 17, 2022 – aNVC ’22 NY Regional Final Judging Round – Zoom Pitch Event
Prizes & Sponsors
Northeast U.S./New York Regional Winners receive cash and in-kind prizes from our Sponsors:
*Details of prizes may change year to year
Northeast Cash Prizes
- 1st Place Prize: $10,000
- 2nd Place Prize: $2,500
- Best Early Stage Startup: $2,500
Legal Sponsors Polsinelli
- Pro bono legal services up to $5K for each of the First, Second, and Best Early Stage Startup winners
- “Pitch Perfect” assistance to the First, Second, and Best Early Stage Startup winners, to provide advice and assistance with respect to their pitches at the HBS Alumni NVC
- Free presentations on related start-up legal topics including intellectual property protection and corporate structure matters
Generously provided by HBS Alumni Angels of Greater NY
Winning teams will receive the opportunity to pitch to HBS Angels of NY.
And more!
- Compete for global prizes
Hear From Past Winners
Anna Auerbach '10, 2017 Regional Winner
“HBS has always been a leader in entrepreneurship, and after hearing fellow classmates experience with NVC, I was excited to participate as soon as Werk’s business was officially launched. I appreciated how founder-friendly it was. So many other comparable models make it onerous for the founder to participate – but this was both easy and fun.”
Stephanie Sarka '90, 2016 Regional Winner
“NVC was a great opportunity to gain exposure and receive feedback on 1Atelier. We met quite a few investors through the competition. The ‘NVC Winner’ title makes our business credible and legitimate, especially to other HBS alumni. Overall, it was an incredible experience.”
Melissa Fensterstock '12, 2014 Regional Winner
“Our advisor–whom we met through the NVC-NY mentorship program–has been an amazing resource, eventually becoming one of our board members. The exposure was great for our business, Aromaflage. Being plugged into the network has been the gift that keeps on giving.”
Past Winners
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2021
- Steep’d Cocktails Inc., Chloe Aucoin, ’20, Alison Nathanson, ’20
- Quoll Intelligence, Benjamin Cohen ’17
-
2020
- gablex.ai, Alex Sambvani ’17
- Smarty, Denzil Eden ’18
- Special Mention Ventoux Partnerships/Public Prep, Ian Rowe ’93
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2019
- Blueland, Gina Pak ’15 (went on to win Global Finals & appear on Shark Tank!)
- PeopleJoy, Emeka Oguh ’11
- Augean Robotics, Charles Andersen ’14
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2018
- Magma Trading, George Hessler ’85 (Runner Up at the Global Finals)
- Mindprint Learning, Nancy Weinstein ’00
- FitSkin,Inc., Sergio Rattner ’01
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2017
- Werk, Anna Auerbach ’10
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2016
- 1 Atelier, Stephanie Sarka ’90
-
2015
- BollyX Fitness, Minal Mehta ’11 (which went on to win the $25,000 national award for Most Innovative)
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2014
- Aromaflage, Melissa Fensterstock ‘12
-
2013
- Bookalokal (now SixPlus), Evelyne White ‘10
-
2012
- EnergyGridIQ, Reena Russell ‘03
-
2011
- PhytoTEK, Sahil A. Patel ‘05
-
2010
- TwoChop, Mo Lam ‘05