New Venture Challenge (NVC)
Objective
The New Venture Challenge (NVC)—a signature program of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative—is CU Boulder’s “flight simulator” for students and employees driven to create real-world impact through new startups, organizations and endeavors
Description
NVC gives aspiring problem-solvers and creatives a chance to build up these impactful ventures through entrepreneurial events and programming, community support, mentorship and—ultimately—the opportunity to compete for funding. Everyone is invited to compete, from majors and departments across the university, undergraduates to graduates, PhD candidates to postdocs, faculty to staff, and even high school students.
2024-25 Dates & Deadlines
Nov. 1: NVC Registration Opens
Feb. 8, 3:00 p.m. MT: Deadline to register ventures
March 21, 3:00 p.m.: Round One NVC Executive Summaries and video pitches due
April 3: NVC Round One
April 4, 3:00 p.m.: Semi Finals Executive Summaries and video pitches due
April 7: Semifinal Competition
April 18: Finalists video pitches, pitch decks and Executive Summaries due
April 23, 6:30 p.m.: NVC Finals at the Boulder Theater
Participants represent majors and departments from across the university. From undergraduates to graduates, PhD candidates to postdocs, and faculty to staff, everyone is invited to pitch their idea.
With a world-class community of entrepreneurs, startups, and established businesses in our backyard, Boulder is one of the best places to launch ideas because it resides at the intersection of a top research university, an internationally recognized startup community and one of the nation’s best cities in which to live.
Requirements
To compete in NVC, your team or venture must meet the following requirements:
One founding member of the team must be a current CU Boulder student, faculty or staff member who has a valid CU Boulder BuffOne Card.
Participating CU faculty & research staff members must certify that their Disclosure of External Professional Activities (DEPA) has been appropriately updated before registering.
Members of the non-CU community may join a team, as long as at least one member of the team has a valid CU Boulder BuffOne Card AND a significant role in the business creation.
Rounds
Round 1
More than 110 teams from across campus are expected to compete in this round.
Judges will have reviewed each team’s pre-submitted video pitch and executive summary before the event. Video pitches will NOT be shared live during this event due to the volume of teams for this round.
Each team will be scheduled for a 5-minute question and answer session with judges and will compete in virtual competition “rooms.”
Semifinals
About 30 teams from across campus are expected to compete in this round.
In virtual competition 'rooms,' each team will share their video pitch (with ability to screen share), then judges will have 5 minutes to conduct question & answer session. We recommend having backup slides to reference if needed during your pitch.
Championships
The top teams advancing from Semifinals will compete in this round.
In a virtual, livestreamed event, each team will share their video pitch (with ability to screen share), then judges will have 5-10 minutes to conduct a question & answer session. We recommend having backup slides to reference if needed during your pitch.
Awards
Teams that advance from Round 1 to Semifinals will receive $100.
Teams that advance from Semifinals to Championships will receive $250.
More than $100,000 will be awarded at the NVC Championships. Each team that advances to the Championships will receive funding of various amounts, and the $100,000 purse will be divided among the teams based on judge discretion.
April 23, 2025
February 08, 2025
Private
Leeds School Of Business - University Of Colorado Boulder
1st Place $50,000 Awarded as a SAFE investment
2nd Place $30,000 Awarded as a SAFE investment
3rd Place $10,000
4th Place $5,000
5th Place $5,000