News Headlines

Big ideas and bold minds take the stage at the HSNVC Finals

Karen Reid — Mon, 04 May 2026 21:18:38 +0000

Big ideas and bold minds take the stage at the HSNVC Finals Karen Reid Mon, 05/04/2026 - 15:18

Innovative ideas were unveiled at the 2026 High School New Venture Challenge (HSNVC)—powered by FirstBank Finals on April 19, where the top teams pitched their concepts and competed for $25,000 in ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� scholarships. 

A spin-off of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� nationally recognized New Venture Challenge, HSNVC engages with schools and communities across the state, offering opportunities designed specifically for Colorado high school students in support of entrepreneurial learning. The scope of the program increases annually; 87 teams from 14 regional high schools competed in this year’s HSNVC, and nearly 60 judges participated across the three levels of competition. 

Twenty-four teams advanced to the semi-finals, which were held at Kittredge Central Hall on the ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� campus. The day’s agenda for the teams included a tour of the campus and pitching their ventures to judges. Six finalist teams were selected to present in the Finals to a panel of judges and a live audience. 

The finalist teams were awarded a total of $25,000 in ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� tuition scholarships, including a $10,000 grand prize awarded to first-place winner AquaPuck. The six teams represented the following schools: Denver Jewish Day School, Epic Campus, Kent Denver School, Littleton High School, Stargate Charter School and VALE—Venture Academy of Leadership and Entrepreneurship. 

Expanding opportunities for high school students 

Now in its third year, HSNVC is open to all high school students across Colorado, with a special focus on rural and underserved communities. Participation is completely free, and every aspect of the program is designed to foster creativity, confidence and opportunity—regardless of a student’s background or zip code, explained Leah Jean Shafer, program manager for ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. 

HSNVC is made possible by an ever-growing network of judges, mentors, educators, volunteers and partners who pour their time, insight and energy into supporting HSNVC.  

“The continued, generous support of FirstBank—now a part of PNC, serves as the backbone of the High School New Venture Challenge, empowering students with the tools, confidence and real-world experience to turn ideas into action and step into the next generation of leadership,” said Shafer. “We are proud to partner with an organization so deeply committed to innovation and education and look forward to deepening this impactful collaboration in the years ahead.” 

Registration for the 2027 HSNVC opens in August. Learn more or explore ways to get involved

2026 HSNVC finalist teams 

AquaPuck, a "puck" that attaches to a water bottle and connects to an app via bluetooth to help users track and meet water consumption goals and prevent dehydration (Kent Denver School) 

GIFD, a platform for sharing unused loyalty restaurant points with teachers as a way to recognize and express appreciation (Stargate Charter School) 

InternBridge, an AI-based platform to help students and businesses match and manage internships, (Denver Jewish Day School) 

Pitch Perfect, an app to help high school students develop public speaking skills (Venture Academy of Leadership and Entrepreneurship (VALE) 

Ski Sling, a lightweight, modular sling for carrying skis made from durable, recycled materials, (Epic Campus) 

SnoPop, a tool that helps lock and unlock ski boot buckles when they are stiff, stuck or iced over after a long day of skiing, (Littleton High School)

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Innovative ideas and founder spirit ride high at the 2026 NVC Finals

Karen Reid — Fri, 24 Apr 2026 22:27:33 +0000

Innovative ideas and founder spirit ride high at the 2026 NVC Finals Karen Reid Fri, 04/24/2026 - 16:27

Heather Hansen

2026 New Venture Challenge Deep Tech category judge Kelly Coyne (left) hands Arkana Therapeutics co-founder Jack Gugel (right) his $150,000 first prize check. Photo: Glenn Asakawa, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.

The 2026 New Venture Challenge (NVC) culminated in a final showcase on April 22 with a live audience cheering on ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� next exciting innovations. Six ventures competed for $336,000 at the event filled with big ideas, entrepreneurial passion and record-setting prize money.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Chancellor Justin Schwartz launched the packed event at the Boulder Theater to celebrate the 19th season of the top-ranked entrepreneurial competition. “Every company, every breakthrough, every idea that changes the way we live starts the same way—someone decides to build something that does not exist,” he said.

Two categories, six judges, innovative solutions

After months of preparation, six finalist ventures emerged to pitch to an enthusiastic crowd at the Finals. They represented two distinct tracks: “Deep Tech”, for ventures based on scientific or technological innovations developed using fundamental scientific disciplines, and the “Open” track, which includes ventures innovating beyond the Deep Tech criteria.

Open category founders presented new solutions for freeing up mechanical engineers to spend more time on cognitive tasks, making effective wealth management techniques more accessible to more people and democratizing high-impact weather data.

The Deep Tech pitches included ventures focused on intellectual property originating from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, including tech related to groundbreaking treatments for metabolic diseases; restoring cognitive resilience with post-biotics; and enabling 6G networks through scalable precision clocks.

Event emcee Kristin Salada introduced the Open category judges including Adeeb Kahn, executive director, Denver Economic Development and Opportunity; Zeb King, managing director, Endeavor Colorado; and Rithi Prabhu, partner, Campus Founders Fund. Deep Tech judges included Kelly Coyne, venture capitalist, D4 Investments; Sally Hatcher, managing partner, Buff Gold Ventures; and Shay Har-Noy, managing director, Techstars Boulder.

AquaPuck, the winning team from the 2026 High School New Venture Challenge (HSNVC)—powered by FirstBank, made a cameo appearance, reprising a pitch for an innovative idea to develop a "puck" that attaches to a water bottle that tracks and prevents dehydration. HSNVC is a spin-off of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� nationally recognized New Venture Challenge, designed specifically for Colorado high school students in support of entrepreneurial learning.

An active ecosystem

NVC, a signature program of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, provides aspiring problem-solvers and creatives a chance to build impactful non-profit or for-profit ventures through entrepreneurial events and programming, community support, mentorship and—ultimately—the chance to compete for funding. Schwartz told the cheering crowd that this year’s finalists emerged from a field of 138 ventures, a more than 30 percent increase from last year.

Stan Hickory, director of NVC and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, described the university’s entrepreneurial ecosystem as a “town and gown system” that thrives on support from Boulder’s business leaders, who lend both financial and volunteer support to lift and inspire founders and their fledgling companies. “It wouldn’t happen without the community,” said Hickory.

This year’s $336,000 in prize money came from D4 Investments, Buff Gold Ventures, the Campus Founders Fund, Venture Partners at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, adding to the more than $2.1 million awarded to 1,400 ventures since the program began.

Developing an entrepreneurial mindset

At ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, entrepreneurship is an interdisciplinary effort, according to Hickory. He highlighted the importance of cross-campus collaborations and programming—including with Colorado Law’s Silicon Flatirons and the Leeds School of Business Deming Center for Entrepreneurship—for bringing together would-be entrepreneurs, supporting them with mentors and helping them solve problems facing industry and the wider world.

For NVC finalists/founders, that programming has been transformative. Arkana Therapeutics co-founder Jack Gugel summed it up this way. “��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� is the place to be for aspiring entrepreneurs. The amount of support available, from mentorship and programming to early-stage funding, makes it an incredibly fertile environment to start a company,” he said. They plugged us into Boulder’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, pushed us to refine our story into something we could confidently take onto a larger stage and provided early opportunities for funding that helped us get started."

David Baines of Pantile Investments agreed. “CU has done a great job with their programming, whether it’s through NVC, Silicon Flatirons, the Deming Center or the numerous speakers and events for entrepreneurs on campus and in Boulder,” he said. “We’ve met amazing people at these events, and those relationships enable us to do what is traditionally very difficult—build a great company for our clients, our employees, our investors and us as founders…it's programs like NVC that get us all together so we can build great things together.”

Ptarmigan Clockworks co-founder, Benjamin Hunt called NVC the “single most important part” of the company’s journey thus far because it gave them a platform to “relentlessly refine our business.” Jack Mulvaney of WatchPost said NVC has been a guiding light throughout the development of the company. “In our experience, CU is one of the better places to start a company as a student,” he said. “The access to technical talent, the proximity to Colorado’s energy and infrastructure industries and programs like NVC create real on-ramps.”

2026 NVC Finals Prizes

The judges praised the venture presentations and queried each founder about their business concepts. After a deliberation period, the winners were announced. Each finalist walked away with a check—the top venture in the Deep Tech category received $150,000 and $40,000 went to the judges’ first pick in the Open Category. The additional four ventures split an additional $141,000 in prize money. The $5,000 audience choice award went to WatchPost.

Left-right: New Venture Challenge Open category winners Kate Rooney (Colorado School of Mines), and WatchPost co-founders Jack Mulvaney (College of Engineering and Applied Science) and Josh Shewbridge (College of Engineering and Applied Science) celebrate with their $40,000 first prize check. Photo: Glenn Asakawa, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.

Deep Tech Category

$150,000 First Place Prize: Arkana Therapeutics

Venture Team Members: Jack Gugel, PhD (alum, Molecular, Cellular & Developmental Biology), Marty Stanton, PhD (Mosaic Biosciences), Eric Furfine, PhD (Mosaic Biosciences), Leslie Leinwand, PhD (��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� BioFrontiers Institute), Jonathan Long, PhD (Stanford University), Thomas Martin, PhD (University of Nebraska)

Arkana Therapeutics (2025 first place winner, Lab Venture Challenge) has developed a metabolite-based therapeutic for obesity based on pythons’ natural response to eating a huge meal. “They can really eat one of the biggest meals in the animal kingdom,” said Gugel. “We wanted to see what happens to their physiology and what kind of molecules they were producing.” Ultimately, Gugel and colleagues discovered a molecule that increases by 1,000-fold after the python eats and acts as a natural appetite suppressant.

$75,000 Second Place Prize: Kioga

Venture Team Members: Justin Whitley (alum, College of Engineering and Applied Science), Chris Lowry (professor, Integrative Physiology), Dr. Adam Bohr (alum, Integrative Physiology), Dr. Chris Stamper (alum, Microbiology and Integrative Physiology), Brian Peeters (Substrate LLC), Gregory Bonfilio (Substrate LLC), Christina Ra (Raconteur Strategies)

Kioga was launched to commercialize a “new category of dietary ingredient, one that’s focused on restoring the biology we’ve lost in modern life,” said co-founder and CEO Justin Whiteley. He said that humans evolved alongside “beneficial nature-based microbes” found in soil, food and daily exposure to nature that help calibrate our immune systems to maintain a state of balance. Kioga aims to restore that biological resilience in an effort to tamp down chronic stress and inflammation caused by hypersensitive immune systems.

$50,000 Third Place Prize: Ptarmigan Clockworks

Venture Team Members: Ben Hunt (graduate research assistant, NIST), Harikesh Ranganath (NIST), Dan Miltenberger (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Gabriel Hettleman (Leeds School of Business)

Ptarmigan Clockworks was born out of the National Institute of Standards and Technology where co-founders Benjamin Hunt and Harikesh Ranganath met and recognized how scalable precision clocks could enable 6G, the next-generation wireless network. “After years of building these clocks together, we decided it was time to take them out of the lab and [put them] into the hands of people who could really use them,” said Hunt. “The clocks we’re building today can drastically reduce the energy consumption of the telecommunications industry and save lives through remote surgeries, autonomous vehicles and GPS-free navigation.”

Open Category

$40,000 First Place Prize: WatchPost

Venture Team Members: Jack Mulvaney (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Josh Shewbridge (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Blake Faulkner (University of Chicago), Kate Rooney (Colorado School of Mines)

WatchPost is “driven by the mission to defend communities against wildfires and extreme weather,” said co-founder Jack Mulvaney. The company’s hardware-software solution gives critical asset managers the tools they need to make an informed power shut off decision. “This is all to reduce both wildfire ignition risk and unnecessary outages that hurt the communities they serve,” said Mulvaney. “At scale, that means fewer catastrophic fires, lower liability exposure for utilities and more resilient infrastructure across the West.”

$10,000 Second Place Prize: Pantile Investments

Venture Team Members: David Baines (alum, College of Engineering and Applied Science), David Portilla (Colorado State University), Sri Vamsi Andavarapu (alum, College of Engineering and Applied Science), Marcos Murillo (Northern Illinois University), Joel Crampton (CMO Alpha), Luke Tobin (Unusual Group)

Pantile Investments taps AI to help investors at all levels understand “how to build wealth in a meaningful way,” according to founder David Baines. While working on his PhD at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� focused on how to use deep learning algorithms in finance, he recognized a need for better tools—and an opportunity to build them. “For our clients, this approach reduces debt and increases asset ownership, which [enables] them to contribute to their own lives, their families and communities,” said Baines.

$6,000 Third Place Prize: Aspect

Venture Team Members: Jayce Simons (College of Engineering and Applied Science)

Aspect founder Jace Simons told the audience that, when interviewing a wide range of professional engineers, he heard about a “major pain point” in creating 3D models—and that gave him a business idea. “Engineers around the world hate making technical drawings; it’s tedious,” said Simons. His solution is a new plugin for existing CAD (computer-aided design) software that leverages artificial intelligence automation, “to free them up to spend more time on modeling and other cognitive tasks,” said Simons.

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Trailblazing ideas and entrepreneurial spirit reap rewards at the 2025 NVC Finals

Karen Reid — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 03:15:09 +0000

Trailblazing ideas and entrepreneurial spirit reap rewards at the 2025 NVC Finals Karen Reid Thu, 04/24/2025 - 21:15

Heather Hansen

Kickstart principal Matt Smith hands the VerEState team the $144,000 Open category first prize check . Left-right: Smith, Alec Hyde (Leeds School of Business), Nicholas Soza (Leeds School of Business) and Camden Dempsey (Leeds School of Business). Photo: Glenn Asakawa, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.

The 2025 New Venture Challenge (NVC) culminated in a final showcase on April 23 with a live audience cheering on the University of Colorado Boulder’s next exciting innovations. At an event filled with big ideas and even bigger entrepreneurial spirit, six teams competed for a record $325,000.

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Chancellor Justin Schwartz launched the packed event at the Boulder Theater to celebrate the 18th year of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� top-ranked entrepreneurial competition. He said that, while it was his first NVC as chancellor, “Even before I arrived on campus, I’d heard all about New Venture Challenge and its incredible success in developing our next generation of bold entrepreneurs.”

Schwartz told the cheering crowd that over 1,200 new ventures have competed to date and NVC has awarded just under $2 million in funding. “This has helped us launch some of the most promising startups to emerge from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��,” he said.

NVC is a “star in a constellation of events and programs that support entrepreneurs across our campus and our community,” said Schwartz, and is made possible by the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, which works closely with many partners across the entire campus. “We are united by a singular goal to cultivate the next generation of creative, courageous, tenacious, entrepreneurial leaders,” he said.

Schwartz introduced Stan Hickory, director of NVC and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative. Hickory attributed NVC’s success to the connection between the university and Boulder’s robust startup community. “We have this ecosystem that is second to none in this nation, I guarantee it. Last year, 35 startups launched on CU IP through Venture Partners at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��,” he said. “We also have a huge number of people in our ecosystem that are part of what we do;, in terms of mentors, judges and volunteers, we literally could not make what happens here happen without all of you out there.”

A new generation of founders

The New Venture Challenge is a signature program of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative and is ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� launchpad for those striving to make real-world impact through new endeavors. The program gives aspiring problem-solvers and creatives a chance to build impactful non-profit or for-profit ventures through entrepreneurial events and programming, community support, mentorship and—ultimately—the chance to compete for funding. The 2025 NVC finalists emerged from a field of 104 ventures with 264 participants shining a light on the success and ingenuity of students and faculty.

That growth in the number and quality of NVC teams led to this year’s record level of investment. “I think the shift really is the investment community recognizing that there are legitimate, investable businesses coming out of the NVC,” he said. “In the coming years, other investors will start saying, ‘Hey, I want to be a part of this too’.”

Bryn Rees, associate vice chancellor of innovation and partnerships, announced a new twist to this year’s competition. The six teams would pitch on two distinct tracks. The Deep Tech category featured ventures based on scientific or technological innovations developed using fundamental scientific disciplines. The Deep Tech category was offered in partnership with Venture Partners at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��. Ventures beyond Deep Tech criteria competed in the Open category. Both tracks were open to companies launched by students, faculty and staff. “You’re in for a real treat. We’ve got some awesome companies and some amazing pitches,” said Rees.

The quality of past NVC participants and the proven strength of startup creation at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� has attracted entities like Kickstart, a seed-stage venture capital firm, which sponsored this year’s “Open” category winner (for the second year in a row). And this year, for the first time, D4 investments, a firm looking for “ambitious startups in emerging tech” sponsored the “Deep Tech” winner.

Innovations aimed at improving the world

Co-emcees Dianne Myles, CEO of Human Focused Media and Albus Brooks (alum, ‘01) kept the energy up as they introduced the judges of the “Deep Tech” venture pitches, including Kelly Coyne, venture capitalist, D4 Investments; Joey Money, consultant, IndustriaSpark; Ameen Saafir, CEO and co-founder, Tynt Technologies; and Blair Simpson, principal, Denver Angels.

Judges in the “Open” category included Zaneta Kelsey, co-founder and CEO, Access Mode; David Mandell, managing director, Massive; Matt Smith, principal, Kickstart; and Jesus Soto, managing partner, 14 Founders.

The Deep Tech pitches included ventures focused on IP originating from ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��, including tech related to disguising cellular communications (GhostCo), improving GPS quality (PrecisionTerra) and boosting scalability in quantum computing (Icarus Quantum).

In the Open category, three founders presented new solutions for simplifying drone operation for emergency operations (Odin Autonomy), modernizing real estate transactions (Ver Estate) and improving sales intelligence (Measures AI).

Throughout the night, teams showed a strong desire to offer solutions to make existing systems better. Take Odin Autonomy and its CEO and founder Hunter Ray (PhD, Aerospace Engineering). As a first responder in Boulder County, he used drones to fight fires and look for missing people, but noticed that it often takes several trained people to manage a single aircraft. The company was born from a desire to turn cutting-edge research into real-world impact. “We're developing technology that allows drones to work more independently so firefighters, search teams and law enforcement can focus on the mission, not the controls,” said Ray.

And PrecisionTerra, with founder and CEO Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan (alum, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Physics) is focused on commercializing a cutting-edge software solution that enhances coverage in GPS-degraded environments where weak signals undermine performance for mapping, autonomous vehicles and military operations.

The perfect launchpad

For Hickory, one of the most interesting aspects of programs like NVC is that, “it’s not just about starting a company, it’s become this opportunity to develop an entrepreneurial mindset.” He said, “It doesn't matter if you're a business, law or art student, the question is how to identify and solve problems? Having that capacity, especially today, that's going to be key.”

Poolad Imany (postdoctoral associate, NIST, Quantum Nanophotonics Group), Icarus Quantum founder and CEO, agreed. “CU has emerged as a hotbed for starting a company. I encourage students to take advantage of these resources and participate in these classes, even if they’re only curious,” he said. “Entrepreneurship skills can have a huge impact on any aspect of your life.”

For VerEstate’s CEO, Camden Dempsey, “��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� has been the perfect launchpad.” He said, “There’s a real ecosystem here that supports bold ideas and scrappy teams….There’s a lot of freedom to take risks here—and that’s what entrepreneurship is all about.”

2025 NVC Finals Prizes

The judges praised team presentations and queried each founder about their business concepts. After a deliberation period, the winners were announced, and confetti rained down on the stage. Each finalist walked away with a check—the two top teams in each category netted $144,000 a piece, and the additional four teams split $32,000 in prize money. The $5,000 audience choice award went to VerEstate.

New Venture Challenge Deep Tech category judges Blair Simpson, principal, Denver Angels (left), and Joey Money, consultant, IndustriSpark (right), celebrate as D4 investments partner Kelly Coyne (center, left) hands Precision Terra founder and CEO Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan (alum, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Physics) her $144,000 first prize check. Photo: Glenn Asakawa, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ��.

Deep Tech Category

$144,000 First Place Prize: PrecisionTerra

Team: Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan (alum, ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Physics), Dr. Dmitriy Zusin (LumenAstra)

Solo founder and CEO Maithreyi Gopalakrishnan is focused on improving GPS signals, for safety and efficiency. “Think collision avoidance for autonomous vehicles, autonomous planting and harvesting operations for large-scale farming, and military navigation in active war zones,” she said.

$10,000 Second Place Prize: Icarus Quantum

Team: Poolad Imany (postdoctoral associate, NIST), Fateme Mahdikhany (University of Arizona), Brad Werner (professor, Leeds School of Business)

This company’s groundbreaking optical interconnect technology establishes an essential foundation to reliably network quantum computers. “We started Icarus to build a machine that solves many of the pressing challenges of humankind,” said founder and CEO, Poolad Imany. “Our work leads to designing new drugs, materials and optimization algorithms, drastically changing the computing landscape with orders of magnitude more efficiency.”

$6,000 Third Place Prize: GhostCo

Team: Dr. Keith Gremban (Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research), Loren Buck (The Rubicon Group), Dr. Jody Neel (Cognitive Radio Technologies)

GhostCo works to ensure U.S. soldiers, businesses and non-governmental organizations can safely use 5G cellular networks. “Ghost is a software application that runs on your smartphone, and it hides your identity and obscures your activities,” said co-founder and CEO Keith Gremban.

Open Category

$144,000 First Place Prize: VerEstate

Team: Camden Dempsey (Leeds School of Business), Alec Hyde (Leeds School of Business) and Nicholas Soza (Leeds School of Business)

This venture with its all-in-one digital platform is reinventing title insurance to make home sales smarter, faster and more cost-effective, helping more people access home ownership. “Our tech brings transparency and speed to something that’s been a black box for too long. If we can help even one first-time homebuyer feel confident instead of overwhelmed, that’s a win,” said founder Camden Dempsey.

$10,000 Second Place Prize: Measures AI

Team: Beckett Hyde (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Gus Cedergrund (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Cameron Davis (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Caleb Kumar (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Will Dravenstott (College of Engineering and Applied Science)

This sales intelligence tool aims to “measure everything” to give insights crucial to any company’s strategy. “People buy from us because we enable their team and entire company to understand how sales affect them,” said Gus Cedergrund, founder and COO.

$6,000 Third Place Prize: Odin Autonomy

Team: Hunter Ray (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Zakariya Laouar (College of Engineering and Applied Science), Benjamin Kraske (College of Engineering and Applied Science)

Odin Autnomy is working to transform drones from “tools to teammates” for first responders. “By making this technology simpler and more powerful, we enable faster, more coordinated action in the field,” said co-founder and CEO, Hunter Ray. “That means safer responders and most importantly, more lives saved.”

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Important Competition Dates and Deadlines

Karen Reid — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 19:33:32 +0000

Important Competition Dates and Deadlines Karen Reid Thu, 02/20/2025 - 12:33

To help you stay on track, we're sharing some key dates and deadlines

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New Venture Challenge Women Founders Competition Finals on March 20

Karen Reid — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 18:04:12 +0000

New Venture Challenge Women Founders Competition Finals on March 20 Karen Reid Thu, 02/20/2025 - 11:04

Top student and faculty startups founded by women will pitch their business ideas to a panel of esteemed judges and you, a live audience. Come support the next big ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� innovations as we give away $15,000 in funding!

The Women Founders Competition of the New Venture Challenge (NVC) is a multi-round entrepreneurial competition and signature program of ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative, led in collaboration with the Deming Center for Entrepreneurship.

Event specifics:

Doors open at 5:15 p.m. for refreshments and networking.
Each attendee must register for their own ticket.
Attendees must register in advance.
Seating is limited, and at-the-door registration is not guaranteed.
If you are unable to join us after registering, please let us know as soon as possible.

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Discover Some of Our Buff-led Startups

Karen Reid — Thu, 20 Feb 2025 17:55:55 +0000

Discover Some of Our Buff-led Startups Karen Reid Thu, 02/20/2025 - 10:55

Many ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� students, faculty, staff and alums have turned novel ideas into successful startups. Last year was a record-breaking year, and the list of innovative companies is ever-expanding. Here are some highlights from our Buff community.

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Why startups can be the best places to work

Karen Reid — Tue, 11 Feb 2025 17:58:57 +0000

Why startups can be the best places to work Karen Reid Tue, 02/11/2025 - 10:58

Startups are typically fast growing and young companies with innovative ideas for breaking into their markets. Startups can be fascinating companies to work at with a variety of perks! Learn about some standout traits of working at a startup.

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Missed Startups2Students? Here's What You Need to Know!

Karen Reid — Sat, 08 Feb 2025 19:40:45 +0000

Missed Startups2Students? Here's What You Need to Know! Karen Reid Sat, 02/08/2025 - 12:40

We had an amazing turnout for one of our best Startups2Students yet on January 29! Thank you to the 10 startups and nearly 300 students who were in attendance!

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Registration Opens for the Women Founders Competition on Feb. 8

Karen Reid — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 19:51:52 +0000

Registration Opens for the Women Founders Competition on Feb. 8 Karen Reid Fri, 02/07/2025 - 12:51

The Women Founders Competition of the New Venture Challenge (NVC) is a multi-round entrepreneurial competition. Teams with at least one core team member who is a woman can participate in this specialty competition and win a share of $15,000!

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Last Call: Registration Closes on Feb. 8 for the New Venture Challenge

Karen Reid — Wed, 05 Feb 2025 19:56:38 +0000

Last Call: Registration Closes on Feb. 8 for the New Venture Challenge Karen Reid Wed, 02/05/2025 - 12:56

��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� the New Venture Challenge (NVC)
The New Venture Challenge (NVC) – a signature program of the University of Colorado Boulder's Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative — is a launchpad for aspiring problem-solvers and creatives. During this multi-round, multi-event entrepreneurial competition, teams can win a share of $320,000 and pitch to a live audience at the Boulder Theater. Learn More

Who can participate?

Everyone at ��Ҵ�ý�ƽ�� is invited to participate – current students, faculty, staff or recent graduates. NVC participants can earn a microcredential while gaining experience in creating a startup venture.

How Does it Work?

Participants can compete in one of two NVC categories:

Deep Tech Category – for ventures built around a scientific or technological innovation that has been developed using fundamental scientific disciplines
Open Category – for ventures not meeting the Deep Tech criteria

Specialty Competition Opportunities

Additionally, NVC offers two specialty competition opportunities:

Social Impact New Venture Challenge – for ventures that want to create a positive social impact
Women Founders Competition – for teams with at least one core team member who is a woman

✳️ Application deadline: Feb. 8, 2025. Register Now
🌟 Get promotional materials to share this opportunity

Registration closes at 3 p.m. on Feb. 8! Last call to pitch your innovative idea at an NVC Competition and have a chance to win a share of $320,000!

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News Headlines

Big ideas and bold minds take the stage at the HSNVC Finals

Expanding opportunities for high school students

2026 HSNVC finalist teams

Off

Innovative ideas and founder spirit ride high at the 2026 NVC Finals

Two categories, six judges, innovative solutions

An active ecosystem

Developing an entrepreneurial mindset

2026 NVC Finals Prizes

Deep Tech Category

$150,000 First Place Prize: Arkana Therapeutics

$75,000 Second Place Prize: Kioga

$50,000 Third Place Prize: Ptarmigan Clockworks

Open Category

$40,000 First Place Prize: WatchPost

$10,000 Second Place Prize: Pantile Investments

$6,000 Third Place Prize: Aspect

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Trailblazing ideas and entrepreneurial spirit reap rewards at the 2025 NVC Finals

A new generation of founders

Innovations aimed at improving the world

The perfect launchpad

2025 NVC Finals Prizes

Deep Tech Category

$144,000 First Place Prize: PrecisionTerra

$10,000 Second Place Prize: Icarus Quantum

$6,000 Third Place Prize: GhostCo

Open Category

$144,000 First Place Prize: VerEstate

$10,000 Second Place Prize: Measures AI

$6,000 Third Place Prize: Odin Autonomy

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Important Competition Dates and Deadlines

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New Venture Challenge Women Founders Competition Finals on March 20

Off

Discover Some of Our Buff-led Startups

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Why startups can be the best places to work

Off

Missed Startups2Students? Here's What You Need to Know!

Off

Registration Opens for the Women Founders Competition on Feb. 8

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Last Call: Registration Closes on Feb. 8 for the New Venture Challenge

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Expanding opportunities for high school students 

2026 HSNVC finalist teams 