College New Venture Challenge (CNVC)
The College New Venture Challenge (CNVC) is a track of the New Venture Challenge program dedicated to University of Chicago College students. All teams accepted into the CNVC Phase II are eligible to enroll in the CNVC class, which is offered in the Winter quarter through Chicago Booth.
The program has launched incredible undergraduate businesses including Cubii, Sokowatch, MoneyThink, Quevos, and Fronen.
Browse all Polsky Center startups, including companies founded by both college and graduate students. If you would like to work with one, reach out directly using the contact information on their profile.
Program Timeline
- October: Kickoff and Application Workshop and Quick Pitch
- November: Application Deadline
- December: Class Orientation and Team Building
2026 Winner
Congratulations to Paytera, winner of the 2026 College New Venture Challenge. The peer-to-peer payment app took home first place and $85,000 at the 14th Annual College New Venture Challenge Finals.
Founded by University of Chicago student Luis Carrillo, Paytera enables users in Mexico to quickly send, request, and split money using usernames instead of bank account numbers.
Meet Quevos!
Quevos, winner of the 2018 CNVC, explains how the Polsky Center and its ecosystem helped launch their successful business.
Testimonials
“Participating in the CNVC class gave us the mindset we needed to take our company from a small program working in 5 schools to overseeing 40 employees and working in over 20 schools. The coaching, feedback from peers, and assignments like creating a business plan helped us understand what we needed to do to be successful as a company. The money didn’t hurt either!”
– Josh Aaronson, AB ’19, cofounder, Debate It Forward
“Frankly, I don’t know if I could have started podU if I hadn’t joined the CNVC. It is amazing how much we learned in the span of 10 weeks. In addition, the support I’ve received after the competition was extraordinary and exceeded all my expectations. I am proud to have been part of this program”.
– Wessam Abozeid, AB ’19, cofounder, podU
“CNVC was the highlight of our college career. It taught us things about business that no classroom environment has. We came together as four friends and left as business partners — we are endlessly grateful for all the support from mentors, advisors, professors, and lifelong friends.”
– Phoebe Choi, AB ’22, Helena Kim, AB ’21, Camryn Ross, AB ’21, Mary Woo, Fillow
Executive Sponsor
Adarsh Sarma, MBA ’01, and Charu Sarma