$30,000 awarded to CU's top startups at New Venture Challenge Specialty Prize Nights
From March 16-18, CU Boulder's New Venture ChallengeÌý(NVC)Ìýkicked off its 13th season by awarding $30,000 to 15 startup teamsÌýacross threeÌýSpecialty Prize Night competitions.
AsÌýthe university'sÌýpremier, cross-campus entrepreneurial program and competition, NVC gives aspiring student, faculty and staff entrepreneurs the chance to build a startup through outstanding support and mentorship. NVC connects the CU Boulder campus with the Boulder community to develop and fund innovative ideas. Participants attend year-round events, network and collaborate with mentors to refine their ideas and form startup teams to pitch for funding (more than to $100,000!) at the NVC Championships.
More than 60 out of 110Ìýregistered NVC teams chose to participate in one of the three competitions:
- Impact Prize—Social Impact, Sustainability, Climate Change, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:ÌýThe teams that competed in this category thatÌýcreates real impact in the world by (1) addressing a pressing social challenge that affects significant, positive change, (2) promoting solutions to climate change and sustainability, or (3) encouraging diversity, equity and inclusion.Ìý Ìý
- NVC NewcomerÌýPrize:ÌýThe teams that competed in this category were new to competing in NVC.
- Female Founder Prize:ÌýThe teams that competed in this category had at least one founder or co-founder who identifies as female.Ìý
With inspiring and energetic programming, theÌýSpecialty Prize Nights gave attendees a previewÌýof the startupsÌýwho will be competing in the official NVC competition. Teams submitted a 5-minute video pitch and executive summary for judges to review. The top 5 teams in each Specialty Prize category were invited to presentÌýtheir video pitch live and engage inÌýa live 5-minute Q&A with the judges.Ìý
The winnersÌýrepresented all corners of campus, rangingÌýfrom the Leeds School of Business to the College of Music, to freshmen, graduate students, PhDs and faculty.
Impact Prize Night (March 16):Ìý
Ìý ÌýRockyTech ($5,000)—developing a new technology to solve the current plastic waste problem by converting waste into a new material (WeCANTM) that can be used to create high-value products such as auto parts.
Ìý ÌýHUG Solutions ($3,000)—mRNA vaccine cold chain transportation for rural communities
Ìý ÌýSocial Dynamic ($1,000)—empowers startups and developing brands to accelerate faster than their competitors, by providing access to specialist teams with ready-made agile frameworks
Ìý ÌýKegstand ($500)—40 percentÌýlighter kegs with IoT tracking
Ìý ÌýPurBurn ($500)—developing The VersaCook stove, an improved gasifying cookstove for the developing world that reduces indoor air pollution, increases efficiency, provides air flow adjustment, and thermo-electric power generation
"It is a great honor to receive the NVC 14 Impact Prize Award. Now, we are more confident than ever to further our technology to market initiative. We believe this award will also help us attract investors and receive government funding support. This is our first NVC competition, and it has been an amazing experience so far."
—Tony Tong, professor at Leeds School of Business and CEO of RockyTechÌý
NVC Newcomer Prize Night (March 17):
Ìý ÌýLoopsketch ($5,000)—aÌýremote, real-time collaborative platform for "sketching" musical ideas with friends using user-recorded loops, pre-existing loops, and AI created loops
Ìý ÌýLGBT50 ($3,000)—agency that manages LGBTQ+ influencers on TikTok and Instagram, leveragingÌýnetwork to promote brands on those platforms
Ìý ÌýChinlax ($1,000)—a smartÌýviolin chin rest that tellsÌýhelps violinists practice form and developÌýhealthy practice habits
Ìý ÌýTopic Insights ($500)—a publishing andÌýmedia startup with the mission of inspiring the next generation of leaders to use the power of business as a force for good through insights, stories, and research
Ìý ÌýWhizard ($500)—creates personalized problem sets that allow students to connect mathematical concepts with their experiences, hobbies, and interests
"As a newcomer to NVC, I learned a lot fromÌýthe pitchÌýand executive summary workshops about the importance of storytelling and clearly explaining what your business, tool or serviceÌýactuallyÌýdoes. I also received really helpful feedbackÌýaround the importance of a clear, multi-faceted financial model to help convince investors that you've done your homework, you understand your limitations, and that your business has a realistic path to profitability."
—Darren Sholes, ATLAS Institute PhD Student and founder & chief technology officer of Loopsketch
Female Founder Prize Night (March 18):
Ìý ÌýChembotix ($5,000)—developing a robotic automation platform to dramatically speed up chemistryÌýresearch and development
Ìý ÌýVitro3D ($3,000)—revolutionizing the breast cancer drug discovery process by providing pharmaceutical companies with 3D printed bioactive petri dishes that mimic breast cancer tissue for more accurate screening of drugs, drastically reducing the cost and time of research and development
Ìý ÌýThinkingHutsÌý($1,000)— building 3D printed schools in developing countries
Ìý ÌýToobtekÌý($500)—creatingÌýa fiberoptic intubation training device that will assist medical professionals across the United States in getting trained to execute intubation procedures
Ìý ÌýScoutcruit ($500)—a social media platform and app cateredÌýthat makes theÌýrecruiting process easier for bothÌýcollege coaches and high school athletes
"Winning the NVC 14 Female Founder Prize gives us critical momentum as we move to the next phase of NVC, and the funds will pay for materials to finalize our prototype hardware. For a fully-remote team that was almost entirely assembled during the pandemic, it's an exciting moment for all of us to see our work starting to pay off. Chembotix is based on my PhD work at the ATLAS Institute, so this win also helps to validate a problem I care deeply about: widespread adoption of laboratory automation.
For fellow female founders: Find mentors who will challenge and motivate you, but look inward for inspiration. It's ok if that inspiration is to do something very bold and outside your comfort zone...go for it! Neither your gender nor your identity restrict what you or your company can do."
—Kailey Shara,ÌýATLAS Institute PhD student and CEO of Chembotix
"We're so excited for this NVC season'sÌýcrop of startup teams," said Chris Gustavson, Innovation & Entrepreneurship Director. "Even thoughÌýNVC went completely virtualÌýthis year due to the pandemic, theseÌýteams are incredible...they really showed up, did the workÌýand made the most of the experience."
Register Now for the NVC 14 Championships
The official NVC competition began on March 30, with Round 2 on April 8Ìýand Championships on April 13. Round 1 and Round 2 will be closed to the public and open to competing teams and judges only.ÌýChampionships is open to everyone!
When: Tuesday, April 13 at 5:30 p.m.
Where: via Zoom