Welcome to the Alumni New Venture Competition

With more than half of HBS alumni classifying themselves as entrepreneurs at some point in their lives, the New Venture Competition is designed to support both students and alumni on their entrepreneurial journey.

Alumni pursuing new business and social-impact ventures have the opportunity to participate in the alumni New Venture Competition by one of 15 regional competitions hosted by 17 HBS alumni “hub” clubs around the world. The winners from each regional competition will have the opportunity to attend the Rock 100 Entrepreneurship Summit, and also advance to online crowd vote finals that will include three tracks:

• Most Innovative (open to all alumni and student voters)
• Greatest Impact (open to all alumni and student voters)
• Best Investment (chosen by a global panel of HBS Alumni Angels)

The winner of each track will receive a $25,000 cash prize, an invitation to HBS for the student New Venture Competition, and an opportunity to attend the Rock 100 Entrepreneurship Summit to be held on campus April 29-30, 2014.

Learn More

Plans may be submitted to any “hub” club listed below via the online application process. Home or business address on record at HBS will be located within the clubs geographic region. Visit individual club websites for details on local entry, application deadline and registration fee amount.

• Africa (South Africa, Nigeria)
• Asia-Pacific (Shanghai)
• Canada (Toronto)
• Europe (France)
• Latin America (Brazil)
• Mid-Atlantic US (Washington, DC)
• Middle East (Gulf Cooperation Council)
• Midwestern US (Chicago)
• New England (Boston)
• New York (New York)
• Northwestern US (Northern California)
• Southeast Asia (India)
• Southeastern US (Atlanta)
• Southwestern US (San Diego & Southern California)
• Texas US (Dallas)

Region Breakout

Eligibility Requirements

• Open to any start-up team or company having one or more members with HBS alumni as a founder or C-level employee and a member of the local club of entry.
• Home or business address on record at HBS will be located within the clubs geographic region.
• Participating teams may not have more than $1,500,000 in total debt/invested equity capital, and must have less than $2,000,000 in revenues. Teams must meet both criteria. Invested capital is defined as funding appearing on the plan’s balance sheet at the time of submission to the regional "hub" Club, which is no later than February 28, 2014. Teams will disclose any funding already received at the time of registration.
• It is not necessary that the teams actually be seeking funding—e.g., they may already have raised the small amount of capital they need to reach an initial milestone—or may have a cash flow positive business model that essentially requires no outside capital. Note: investment funds and acquisitions will generally not be considered as "new ventures."

Pitch Evaluation

Entries will be evaluated by NVC region leads and club selection committee, Rock Center of Entrepreneurship, HBS Alumni Angels and Alumni Relations.
Focus will be on the following characteristics/criteria:

• Strong team: Founder, advisors, or other team members who can operate a growing business successfully. A summary that specifies the current team members as well as future team, need to grow the business to scale, and overall recruiting strategy.
• Large, growing market: A realistic, addressable market for the product or service that is large and growing which gives a start-up venture a better chance to succeed. Defining a realistic addressable market for the start-up's product or service and knowing the competition within this market are additional pluses.
• Differentiated product or service: A product that is built and has paying customers is the premium standard for a solid product or service. New products and services that innovate a standard model to offer a competitive advantage are more interesting than iterations.
• Attractive business model: A credible business model with operating leverage that will efficiently scale to a size makes it appealing to acquirers or positions it for an IPO. Defensible Intellectual Property (IP) a plus.
• Realistic deal: The “deal” refers to the amount of financing that the start-up proposes to raise and the terms on which the company proposes to raise it. The deal is realistic if the amount of capital that the team proposes to raise will:
  • allow the team to build enough value and achieve enough milestones such that the next round of financing will be an “up” round.
  • be based on a pre-money valuation that is acceptable to investors.

Regional Finals Competition

Each team will give a 5-10 minute presentation to a panel of judges. The panel will have 10-15 minutes for Q&A and feedback. Revised pitch decks are allowed for presentations, but time will be strictly enforced.

Partners

HBS Alumni Clubs & Associations
Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship
HBS Angels Alumni Association

Resources

Past Webinar Recordings
Rock Center of Entrepreneurship
Harvard Innovation Lab

NVC Virtual Webinar Programming

• A broad spectrum of virtual programming is available to alumni participating in NVC including:
• DECEMBER: Brought to you by Trending@HBS
  Innovation at Harvard, the New Innovation Lab—Tuesday, December 10, 2013, 12:00pm-1:00pm ET
  –Gordon Jones, Managing Director, Harvard Innovation Lab
  –Joseph B. Lassiter, Senator John Heinz Professor of Management Practice in Environmental Management
  
  • The Harvard Innovation Lab (i-lab) Faculty Chair Joe Lassiter and Managing Director Gordon Jones will outline the new ground Harvard is breaking with the launch of the Harvard i-lab. Discussion will focus on the formation of the i-lab, its’ innovative model for cross-university governance, as well as the impact the i-lab is having in generating student-led ventures that are tackling many of the world’s most challenging problems via fostering cross-disciplinary collaboration
    Register Now!


• FEBRUARY: Brought to you by HBS Alumni Angels
  Angel Investing 101—Thursday, February 13, 2014, 12:00pm-1:00pm ET
  -David Blumberg, Managing Partner at Blumberg Capital This webinar is designed to be an introduction to angel investing. As an institutional, early-stage investor – and former angel – David will share best practices of angel investing and guide us through potential pitfalls. Topics will include:
  • Defining angel investing
  • How to assess opportunities (idea, team, valuation)
  • How to source great deals
  • How to add value to a portfolio company
  • When should you think about exits
  • How to make the most out of angel group participation
  Register Now!


• FEBRUARY: Brought to you by Trending@HBS
  Digital Strategy—Tuesday, February 25, 2014, 12:00pm-1:00pm ET - Trending
  –Sunil Gupta, Edward W. Carter Professor of Business Administration and Head of the Marketing Department Digital and mobile technologies have transformed the way consumers interact with each other, obtain information and buy products. This has a dramatic impact on industry dynamics and firms' business models. Professor Gupta will discuss trends in digital technology and a framework for formulating digital strategy.
  Register Now!


• MARCH: Brought to you by Trending@HBS
  Digital Technology / Blockbuster: Hit-Making, Risk-taking, and the big business of entertainment—Tuesday, March 25, 2014, 12:00–1:00 ET - Trending
  –Anita Elberse, Lincoln Filene Professor of Business Administration
  

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