Superior EcoTech and TeacherMaps are both NVC Champions!
Despite yet another April snow storm, we filled the Wittemyer Courtroom with 200 spectators to watch our best-yet NVC Finals. The judges simply could not choose a single winner but were so impressed with the teams that they personally contributed the difference between the 1st and 2nd place prizes to make two first-place prizes. SnowGate rounded out the top 3. Photos and more to follow.
The Finalists:
Second Family, Social Impact Champion
Second Family’s innovative offering supports struggling Americans in their efforts to meet their basic needs and helps them to become responsible financial citizens. Second Family proposes to accomplish change not through expansion of social safety nets but rather through a for-profit lending model, designed to help lower income, poor-to-no credit individuals, attain financial stability.
TuTaxi, Wild Card
With the use of technology TuTaxi will provide the community of users the tools needed to address the safety concerns when using cab services in Latin America.
Piano Plus, Music Champion
Piano Plus is a fun, new way to learn music. We bring a group piano lab to the schools, and use an innovative software package to make learning the piano fun. Piano Plus offer programs for students in elementary, middle, and high schools, and for different levels of experience.
SnowGate, General Business Champion
SnowGate creates secure storage for the active lifestyle. SnowGate eliminates theft of equipment like skis, snowboards, and bikes through the use of their intelligent, technology-driven, outdoor locker system.
Superior EcoTech: Cleantech Champion
Superior EcoTech is upgrading waste brewery CO2 to valuable products to compete in the $170 billion nutraceuticals market.
TeacherMaps: IT Champion
TeacherMaps will make lesson planning easier and more rewarding by helping teachers organize their curriculum into standard-aligned units called ‘maps’ that can be sold in an online marketplace. With TeacherMaps, experienced teachers earn additional income, new teachers save time and stress, and students get happier, more effective teachers.
NVC FINALS: APRIL 17th 2013 at 5:30 PM
Come see the best and brightest entrepreneurs from each track compete for the grand prize on April 17th in the Wittemyer Courtroom at Wolf Law. This is the culmination of a year of hard work from teams, teachers, and mentors. It will not only be a chance to see some great teams and ideas, but to get a taste of the powerful spirit of entrepreneurship here in Boulder, on and off CU’s campus. Boulder has one of the best and most supportive entrepreneurial communities on the planet, and the NVC finals are a great place to see that community in action. Mark your calendar!
What is the NVC?
The New Venture Challenge is CU’s cross-campus entrepreneurship competition. It is an entrepreneurial flight simulator, giving the people in the CU community with an interest in starting a business a chance to give it a try while learning about the process through events, workshops, and mentors. There is a series of workshops and competitions in the spring that culminate in the NVC Finals on April 17th.
How do I get involved?
The NVC is open to teams with at least one primary member who is a CU-Boulder student, faculty, or staff member.
The fall events have wrapped up. The spring events will begin in late January. Until then, spend the fall working on your idea, building your team, and getting excited for the spring. Check out the nLab co-working sessions and many of the Silicon Flatirons events to work on your ideas and learn more about entrepreneurship. A few key questions to think about:
What track is right for me? One of the coolest things about the ideas at pitch night is that so many were interdisciplinary and could probably operate in many tracks. Take a look at the list of events for the tracks (last year’s are up so you can see what each track did) and decide which one will be the most likely to help you learn what you need to know. You can only compete in one, but many of the track events will be open to people in other tracks, so if you fit in two, pick one to compete in and try to attend as many events in the other as possible.
How do I find teammates and mentors? The nLab has a web platform to post projects and facilitate connections. When you post your project, be sure to include (NVC) at the end of the project title to facilitate searching for NVC projects. Also, your posting is in a way an online elevator pitch, so be clear and concise, ask specifically for what you want (a mentor, a teammate with certain skills, or just advice), and keep your posting updated. Also, in addition to posting your project, don’t forget those nLab sessions and many of the other entrepreneurial events on the calendar. They’re a great place to meet people and talk about your ideas.
Partners
The NVC relies on a consortium of CU organizations working independently and collaboratively to create an entrepreneurial culture at CU-Boulder. That consortium supports the NVC and ultimately injects talent and ideas into the Front Range startup ecosystem; it includes:
Deming Center for Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship Center for Music
Center for Education on Social Responsibility, Leeds School of Business
College of Engineering & Applied Science: Engineering Entrepreneurship & Management
