Baylor Hosts 2024 New Venture Competition

The Hankamer School of Business (HSB) at Baylor University hosted the New Venture Competition (NVC) this past weekend at the Paul L. Foster Campus for Business and Innovation. 

NVC, presented by HSB’s Department of Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation, allows collegiate teams of entrepreneurs from around the world to showcase their business plans and compete for cash prizes and resources. 

“One thing I like about NVC is each team has opportunities for feedback, mentoring, coaching and networking,” Program Manager Priscilla James said. “The competition is intentionally designed to be a transformational experience.” 

The top 10 finalists presented their ten-minute pitches to a judges' panel of accomplished experts and fellow innovators to determine the top three teams. The competitors later presented an elevator pitch at the awards banquet where the audience voted for their favorite. 

Brown University took home first place in the judges’ vote and a $50,000 grand prize with their pitch for ATOMICS. Seattle University (BioLegacy) earned second place and a $25,000 prize while George Washington University (MediMint) received third place and a $10,000 prize. 

Johns Hopkins University won over the audience with its elevator pitch for Locaze, earning first place and a $1,500 cash prize. The University of Austin at Texas (Tano Pharmaceuticals, Inc.) and George Washington University (MediMint) took home second ($1,000) and third place ($500), respectively. 

“We are excited for all of the teams that competed and congratulate the winners for their hard work,” James said. “It is an honor to be able to play a small role in the success of these high-achieving entrepreneurs.” 

The full list of 2024 top 10 finalists includes: 

• Brown University – ATOMICS (First Place, Judge’s)
• George Washington University – MediMint (Third Place, Judge’s and Audience)
• Johns Hopkins University – Locaze (First Place, Audience)
• Seattle University – BioLegacy (Second Place, Judge’s)
• The University of Texas at Austin – Tano Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Second Place, Audience)
• The University of Houston – Vent-E
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign – Sakura MedTech, Inc.
• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – Captio Innovations
• University of Pennsylvania – Airalux Medical
• West Virginia University – Brite

In addition, NVC also hosted a Campuswide Student Pitch Competition for Baylor students on Friday evening. Eight students competed in a 90-second elevator pitch contest for a chance to win one of two $1,000 prizes. 

The audience recognized Steadman Jones and Shea Walk as the winners. Jones pitched Top Trigger, which ensures gun safety and optimizes experiences in the outdoors, while Walk pitched GoKover, LLC., a customer binder covers and online boutique selling jewelry and accessories.

As of the close of the 2024 contest, NVC has awarded more than $1 million in cash prizes. This is in large part due to the major partners—including the 2024 partners:

• Dell
• Southwest Airlines
• Intuit
• IBM
• AWS
• Baylor Angel Network

“We have a great group of partners who generously gave their time and financial resources to support NVC,” James said. “We simply could not do what we do without their support.” 

For more information on NVC, visit https://hankamer.baylor.edu/baugh-center/new-venture.