PURPOSE OF THE NVC
To encourage the founding and growth of high-potential new ventures.

“My impression about NVC, if I had to summarize it, it’s like having Einstein as your physics tutor. You have literally the best of the best in terms of entrepreneurship or venture capital in every other aspect really guiding you and basically holding your hand throughout this three-month process. There is nothing better than this if you want to be an entrepreneur.” -Sebastian Rivas, MBA ’21, Founder and CEO, Andes STR, 2021 NVC Winner

PHASES OF THE NVC

Most other business schools and graduate entrepreneurship programs host a single day or weekend business plan competition as their New Venture Challenge. The NVC at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business is different. It is not just a competition. Instead, it is a year-long business launch program that is recognized as the #1 university accelerator program in the nation. It features three distinct phases:

• Phase I: In the Fall quarter, attend events hosted by the Polsky Center to learn about entrepreneurship, meet teammates, and generate ideas. Eligible teams must develop their business feasibility summary and apply by Wednesday, January 25, 2023.
• Phase II: Selected teams will enroll in a Spring quarter class where they will develop a full business plan, practice pitching, and receive mentorship from faculty, coaches, and experienced investors.
• Phase III: The program will culminate at the end of the Spring quarter where top finalist teams will be invited to compete for $1 million in cash and in-kind prizes and pitch in front of an esteemed panel of investors and judges at the NVC Finals on June 1, 2023.

Teams interested in applying to the NVC must submit a completed application by the deadline. The deadline for the 2022 NVC is Wednesday, January 25, 2023 at 11:59 p.m. CT (no exceptions).

The link to the 2023 NVC application will be available shortly. In the meantime, please reach out to Dr. Amber Bradley Williams for more information about how to apply to the NVC.

“If you’re even toying with the idea of being an entrepreneur, do an NVC. Do it twice, actually, if you can. If there’s one regret I have it’s that I didn’t do NVC with another team year one. Because if I could have two servings of this, I would. It’s an impressive thing.” -Sebastian Rivas, MBA ’21, Founder and CEO, Andes STR, 2021 NVC Winner