New Contributions Double Booth’s New Venture Capital Challenge Award
University of Chicago Booth School of Business students competing in the school’s annual New Venture Challenge (NVC) will be vying for $250,000 in funding after the Pritzker Group and the University of Chicago Innovation Fund donated additional funds to the entrepreneurship program.
“We are excited to offer these additional resources to our aspiring entrepreneurs,” said Ellen Rudnick, executive director of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “This more than doubles last year’s funding awards.”
In addition to the $250,000 in cash awards, teams will also receive in-kind awards (such as office space and business services) estimated at approximately $250,000 from additional program sponsors.
“The NVC program at Booth is more than a business plan competition,” explained Steve Kaplan, faculty director of the Polsky Center and Neubauer Family Distinguished Service Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance at Booth. “It is a business launchpad program that, for the past 19 years, has pioneered many of the same elements that today are built into most accelerator programs.”
The NVC has a long history of paving success stories, having helped launch more than 100 companies, including Braintree, which was acquired by PayPal in 2013 for $800 million; GrubHub, which completed an IPO in April 2014 and whose market cap exceeds $3 billion; and Bump Technologies, which was acquired by Google in 2013.
“We have been impressed by the caliber of businesses that have emerged from the school’s entrepreneurial programs, including the New Venture Challenge,” remarked Gabe Greenbaum of Pritzker Group Venture Capital. Pritzker Group Venture Capital is dedicated to helping entrepreneurs achieve greatness. Since 1996, the group has invested in more than 100 technology companies, at every stage of growth, across the U.S. Created in 2013, the Pritzker Group Venture Fellows program aims to help talented student entrepreneurs with the early funding and mentorship needed to launch their startup.
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Max Pulcini
Max Pulcini is a Philadelphia-based writer and reporter. He has an affinity for Philly sports teams, Super Smash Bros. and cured meats and cheeses. Max has written for Philadelphia-based publications such as Spirit News, Philadelphia City Paper, and Billy Penn, as well as national news outlets like The Daily Beast.
