New Venture Challenge (NVC) Pitch Night

Interested in forming a startup based on your ideas or research?  Want to connect with a team and a mentor to explore the business opportunity?  Does the thought of a cash prize to turn your idea into reality intrigue you?  If you said ‘yes’ to any of these questions, then you should check out CU’s New Venture Challenge!

What is the New Venture Challenge?

The New Venture Challenge is CU’s cross-campus entrepreneurship championship that provides folks in the CU community a chance to explore starting a business while learning about the process through events, workshops, and mentors who have been through the startup process before. 

For the second year, we will be offering an R&D track designed to address the unique challenges of launching a business from ideas and innovations that need research and development.  This track is meant to support both ideas arising from research on campus or completely unrelated ideas that will need R&D (but don’t worry about whether your idea falls into this track or another—we’ll do the work of figuring this out).

More information about the NVC, including upcoming events, tracks, and past competitors, can be found on the NVC website.

Who can participate?

Anyone in the CU community—undergraduate & graduate students, post-docs, faculty, and staff! 

I’ve got THE. BEST. IDEA. EVER.—how can others hear it?

By pitching it at NVC Pitch Night on October 7th from 5:30-8:30pm at Wolf Law Building, Wittemyer Courtroom!  Pitch Night is a high-energy, quick-pitch event where you will have 60-seconds to pitch your idea to a crowd of your peers, industry leaders, and members of the Boulder entrepreneurial community.  This is your opportunity to get people excited about your idea!

Please register to pitch your idea - Pitch slots are limited so register early!

What should I put in my one-minute pitch?

A good pitch has a few key elements: (1) A hook to get everyone’s attention; (2) A brief description of the problem your idea solves; (3) How your idea solves the problem and/or how are you different than the competition; (4) What are you looking for? Investors, mentors, team members, or all of the above?; and (5) A memorable closing.   Keep in mind that it’s only one minute and most importantly, don’t stress!  Pitch Night is meant to be fun and informal! 

What if I don’t have an idea but I think it would be cool to work with a team on a potential startup idea?

Great!  You should still come to Pitch Night to listen to all the amazing ideas—many of the people pitching are seeking team members and this is a great venue to connect with people like you!

What will participating in the NVC do for me?

It depends on what you want to get out of it, but most participants (1) meet new and interesting people (peers, local entrepreneurs, investors, etc.), (2) develop skills and knowledge necessary to evaluate an idea and launch a business, and (3) get immersed in an incredibly supportive community eager to provide all kinds of resources.  Past ideas have grown to become successful Colorado businesses, TechStars alumni, and Innovation Corps participants.

If you have any questions about the NVC, please contact the R&D Track Lead Molly Markley from CU’s Technology Transfer Office (303-860-6193).