Join us for the finals of the 28th annual Edward L. Kaplan, ’71, New Venture Challenge (NVC). NVC finalists will present to a panel of judges comprising of top investors, entrepreneurs, and others. Prizes – which include cash prizes and in-kind services, such as legal and professional consulting services, and office space – have helped past NVC winners like GrubHub, Braintree, and Simple Mills grow into successful businesses. The NVC is a top-ranked U.S. accelerator program and this year marks the 28th anniversary of the program.

Following the finalist pitches, the judges will break to deliberate, and return after deliberation to announce the prizes each team will receive. 

This event is open to all members of the UChicago community and the general public. Please note that seating in C-25 will be for judges, coaches, special guests, staff, and presenting teams. All others are welcome to attend, though seating is not guaranteed if we hit capacity. There will be an overflow room in the Harper Center with the livestream if we hit capacity.

2024 Agenda:

8:00-8:30 am: Breakfast
8:30 am-8:45 am: Welcome Remarks
8:45 – 9:09 a.m: Pitch 1: Stratix
9:12 – 9:36 a.m: Pitch 2: Ark Health
9:39 – 10:03 a.m: Pitch 3: TourMe
10:03 – 10:18 a.m: Break
10:18 – 10:42 a.m: Pitch 4: Decimal Code
10:45– 11:09 a.m: Pitch 5: Owler AI
11:12 – 11:36 a.m: Pitch 6: Pharos Aerospace
11:36 a.m. – 11:40 a.m: Remarks by Polsky Managing Director, Samir Mayekar
11:40 a.m. – 12:35 p.m: Lunch Break
12:35 p.m. – 12:59 p.m: Pitch 7: Slosh Dynamics
1:02 – 1:26 p.m: Pitch 8: Encore Marketplace Inc.
1:26 – 1:30 p.m: Remarks by Deputy Dean Starr Marcello
1:30 – 1:45 p.m: Break
1:45 – 2:09 p.m: Pitch 9: FreshX
2:12 – 2:36 p.m: Pitch 10: ORO Intelligence
2:39 – 3:03 p.m: Pitch 11: Herriot
3:03 – 3:10 p.m: Closing Remarks
3:15 – 5:00 p.m: Judges Deliberate
3:15 – 4:30 p.m: People’s Choice Voting
4:00 – 6:00 p.m: Reception in Winter Garden
5:00 p.m: NVC Awards Announcement

The livestream link can be found here: https://polsky.uchicago.edu/nvc-finals-livestream