Application Deadline: New Venture Challenge (NVC) and Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC)
Launched in 1996, the Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge (NVC) is recognized as one of the top-ranked accelerator programs in the nation. Through the NVC, the Polsky Center has graduated more than 600+ startup companies and created thousands of jobs for the economy.
NVC startups have raised more than $2+ billion in funding and achieved more than $11+ billion in mergers and exits. Companies launched through the NVC include household names such as Grubhub, Braintree/Venmo, and Simple Mills.
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The Social New Venture Challenge (SNVC) is open to currently enrolled graduate students at UChicago who want to launch a for-profit or nonprofit startup. Successful applicants must have a plausible plan for financial sustainability—either through equity investment, direct revenue, grants from philanthropy, government funding, or a combination thereof. Finalists compete every June for at least $150,000 in prize money to further their social ventures.
Together, SNVC companies have raised more than $165 million in philanthropic dollars, grant support, and venture-capital funding. Offered in partnership with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago, the SNVC provides social entrepreneurship mentorship and funding for startups with a social mission at their core.