New Venture Competition
New Venture Competition 2020
New Venture Competition – Alumni Track
Northeast U.S./New York Region
The HBS Club of New York is excited to announce the 2020 New Venture Competition and invite all HBS alumni working on an early-stage startup to apply to the Northeast U.S./New York Region! Teams will compete in the regional competition for a chance to represent our region in the HBS global finals. This competition is open to all HBS alumni and both for-profit and not-for-profit companies are eligible.
NVC is sponsored by the Harvard Business School’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and Alumni Clubs & Associations. Winners receive an invitation to the student and alumni New Venture Competition Finale to be held on campus in April 16, 2020.
APPLY by January 27, 2020 at 12pm noon ET for a chance to receive invaluable feedback, gain access to one of the world’s most powerful networks, and win prizes!
Regional Winner Prizes & Benefits:
- 1st Place Prize: $10,000
- Runner Up: $2,500
- Early Stage Startup: $2,500
- In-kind services (TBD)
- Invitation to the NVC Finale in April at HBS
Global Winner Prizes & Benefits
- 1st Place Prize: $75,000!
- 2nd Place Prize: $25,000!
- Crowd Favorite: $5,000!
- In-kind services (TBD)
- Access to potential investors
- Invitation to the NVC Finale at HBS in April
KEY DATES
November 1, 2019: Application opens on the HBS Alumni NVC website
November 18, 2019: Kickoff Cocktail Party. Meet and learn from previous NVC winners over drinks.
January 27, 2020: Application Deadline at 12:00pm noon ET
February 13, 2020: Regional Showcase Competition takes place. Regional finalists will be chosen and move onto the Regional Final Round of the competition.
March 4, 2020: Regional Final Competition takes place. Regional final winner will be chosen and move onto the Global Round of the competition.
March 8, 2020: Global finalists are notified and invited to pitch at the NVC live event on the HBS campus.
April 16, 2020: NVC Finale – Regional final winners attend the Finale and 8 global finalists pitch to prominent VCs. Grand Prize, Runner-Up and Crowd Favorite winners announced
Visit the HBS New Venture Competition – Alumni Track page to view eligibility, judging criteria and more.
Further Regional Details…
The 2020 New Venture Competition (NVC) competition is open to all alumni ventures, including both for-profit and not-for-profit companies. Regional winners will be judged virtually by a group of investors and founders from around the globe. Eight global semi-finalists will be chosen to compete in the NVC Finale on April 23, 2019 in Boston.
Northeast U.S./New York region NOW includes New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C., Virginia, and West Virginia. Please note, we welcome applications from all states as long as you are able to travel to New York for the regional events.
WHY APPLY?
NVC is an excellent launchpad to join the buzzing New York startup ecosystem where some of the most successful U.S. startups and prominent VCs are located. This is your chance to get great feedback and move your company forward by showcasing your company to a large group of potential partners, such as investors and advisors. Plus, we offer cash prizes and in-kind services to help with your startup’s needs.
Each Regional Applicant Receives:
- Feedback and access to potential advisors and investors through our NVC-NY Mentorship Program
- Exposure to the NY entrepreneurship community through our NVC-NY Startup Showcase
- Opportunity to win terrific cash and in-kind service prizes!
For more information, contact Nina Wanerman, Program Manager, Entrepreneurship at nwanerman@hbscny.org
NVC is sponsored by HBS’s Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and Alumni Clubs & Associations. The Northeast U.S./New York Regional competition is sponsored by the Harvard Business School Club of New York.
GOOD LUCK!
Prizes & Sponsors
Northeast U.S./New York Regional Winners receive cash and in-kind prizes from our Sponsors:
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.”
Key Dates
November 1, 2019: Application opens on the HBS Alumni NVC website
November 18, 2019: NVC Kickoff Cocktail Party. Meet and learn from previous regional NVC winners.
January 27, 2020: Application Deadline at 12:00pm noon ET
February 13, 2020: Regional Showcase Competition takes place. Regional finalists will be chosen and move onto the Regional Final Round of the competition.
March 4, 2020: Regional Final Competition takes place. Regional final winner will be chosen and move onto the Global Round of the competition.
March 8, 2020: Global finalists are notified and invited to pitch at the NVC live event on the HBS campus.
April 16, 2020: NVC Finale – Regional final winners attend the Finale and 8 global finalists pitch to prominent VCs. Grand Prize, Runner-Up and Crowd Favorite winners announced
Previous Judges (2020 Judges TBA)
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Hisham ElhaddadManaging Partner, HOF Capital
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Susan LynePresident & Managing Partner, BBG Ventures
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David S. RoseFounder and CEO, Gust
NVC Winners
2019 NVC Northeast U.S./New York Regional Winners
- 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