HBS New Venture Competition: Northeast U.S./New York Region
Are you an innovator or early stage entrepreneur?
You’re invited to participate in this year’s 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 and not-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 is cash prizes.
Use the link below to apply by Monday January 11, 2021.
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 is January 11, 2021.
Key Dates
October 7, 2020: VIRTUAL – Fall 2020 Entrepreneurship Conference – BIG PROBLEMS REQUIRE BIG IDEAS – Interactive Case Study led by HBS Professor & HBS Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship Faculty Co-Chair Shikhar Ghosh
October 16, 2020: VIRTUAL – COCKTAIL PARTY – NVC New Venture Competition NY Regional Application Kickoff Party – Hear from veteran NVC participants and winners about their past experiences in the competition cycle. Meet fellow HBS Alumni Entrepreneurs.
October 19, 2020: NVC Application Opens to HBS Alumni Entrepreneurs
December 16, 2020: SAVE THE DATE – VIRTUAL – NVC New Venture Competition Application Panel/Pitch Event
January 8, 2021: SAVE THE DATE – VIRTUAL – NVC New Venture Competition Application Booster Workshop
January 11, 2021: NVC Application Deadline
February 4, 2021: SAVE THE DATE – VIRTUAL – New Venture Competition NY Regional Showcase
February 25, 2021: SAVE THE DATE – VIRTUAL – New Venture Competition NY Regional Final Pitch Event
March 30, 2021: SAVE THE DATE – VIRTUAL – NVC Global Finals @ HBS
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
Platinum Sponsors Google Cloud
- $100K Google Cloud Startup Support package* (Cloud and Firebase Credits) for the 1st and 2nd Place Winners
- $20K Google Cloud Startup Support package* (Cloud and Firebase Credits) for the Early Stage Winner
- Dedicated start-up technical office hours
- In-depth 1:1 architecture reviews with Google engineers
- Invitations to exclusive local Google Cloud events
- A smaller Google, via introductions internally where it matters to startups: Ads, Play, Maps, Chrome, and more
*Cloud Credits are available for startups who have not previously received promotional Cloud credits, and are good for 12 months.
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
-
2020
- gablex.ai, Alex Sambvani ’17
- Smarty, Denzil Eden ’18
- Special Mention Ventoux Partnerships/Public Prep, Ian Rowe ’93
-
2019
- Blueland, Gina Pak ’15 (went on to win Global Finals & appear on Shark Tank!)
- PeopleJoy, Emeka Oguh ’11
- Augean Robotics, Charles Andersen ’14
-
2018
- Magma Trading, George Hessler ’85 (Runner Up at the Global Finals)
- Mindprint Learning, Nancy Weinstein ’00
- FitSkin,Inc., Sergio Rattner ’01
-
2017
- Werk, Anna Auerbach ’10
-
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)
-
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