Baylor Hosts New Venture Competition
The Hankamer School of Business (HSB) at Baylor University will host the New Venture Competition (NVC) March 24-25 at the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation.
NVC, hosted by HSB’s Department of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation, allows collegiate entrepreneurs from around the world to showcase their business plans and compete for more than $200,000 cash prizes and resources.
“The business teams that compete in the NVC are not only encouraged to network and market their ideas to external sources, but also have the opportunity to raise additional capital for their business venture,” Priscilla James, program manager, said. “Some of the winners have gone on to be recognized by Forbes’ ‘30 Under 30.’”
The top 10 finalists will present their ten-minute pitches to a panel of accomplished experts and fellow innovators to determine the final three teams. Those competitors will then present their elevator pitches at the awards banquet where the audience votes for their favorite.
The 10 teams competing at the NVC are narrowed down through two preliminary rounds prior to the on-campus event. During the first round, teams submit a two-page executive summary of the initial business pitch. The top 50 teams advance to the second round and submit a full business plan, cap table, and tax and legal entity forms.
The top 10 finalists are selected due to outstanding scores in their idea quality, viability and scalability of the model and strategy, market attractiveness and exit potential, quality of written work, financial projections and investor interest level.
The 2023 top 10 finalists include:
- Johns Hopkins University – MagGenix
- Michigan State University – Reel Free
- San Diego University – Shezza
- University of Arkansas, Fayetteville – Pediatrica Therapeutics
- University of Minnesota, Twin Cities – Telo
- University of Rochester – Photonect Interconnect Solutions
- University of Texas, Austin – Pike Robotics
- University of Waterloo – Beam Commerce
- West Chester University – Lectra Technologies, LLC
- Yale University – Floe Inc
The two-day final competition is open to the public, which allows the finalist team members to network with attendees. Previous event attendees have included lawyers, business owners, investors, bankers and other leaders from the community, James said.
“Attendees not only have the opportunity to witness the wave of cutting-edge technology the collegiate entrepreneurs are working on, but they are also in an environment that promotes networking with members of the competing teams as well as other attendees,” James said. “It is a win-win for everyone.”
For more information on NVC, visit https://hankamer.baylor.edu/baugh-center/new-venture or email Priscilla James at Priscilla_James@baylor.edu.
