Peter Park (MBA 2008) had 90 seconds to convince the MBA students gathered in the Burden Hall auditorium that his startup, ConnectHealth, can change the way healthcare is delivered in Kenya and throughout Africa. “Eighty percent of the doctors live in just two cities in Kenya, whereas eighty percent of the people do not,” he told the audience who would be voting for the $2,000 “crowd favorite” prize at the School’s annual New Venture Competition Finale. “We’re building a telemedicine app for Africa…. Half of all outpatient visits can be conducted over a mobile device.”

Park’s ConnectHealth was one of 190 alumni ventures that entered the 2016 competition. Fourteen regional competitions and judging by a panel of global HBS Alumni Angels Association members narrowed the field. Four alumni teams pitched at the finale: ConnectHealth; Cobli, a car fleet logistics data company based in Brazil; EverlyWell, a direct-to-consumer health-testing company based in Texas; and Enable Biosciences, a medical diagnostics company based in California.

The competition awarded a total of $300,000 in cash and in-kind prizes across the student and alumni competitions. Among the alumni ventures, Cobli won the $50,000 grand prize; EverlyWell, the $25,000 runner-up prize; and ConnectHealth, Inc., the $2,000 crowd favorite prize.

It was a big night for big ideas in the health care field. In the student competition, Astraeus Technologies, a faster lung cancer screening, and UrSure, Inc., which is focused on HIV prevention drug adherence, won the first prizes in the business and social enterprise tracks, respectively. Confi, an online women’s health resource, was the runner-up and crowd favorite in the social enterprise track, and Brainspec, a non-invasive diagnostic tool for brain disorders, was the business track crowd favorite.

A non-healthcare focused business, Getaway, which rents tiny houses for short vacations, won the runner-prize in the business track.

The New Venture Competition is hosted by the Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and the Social Enterprise Initiative and is open to all students and alumni interested in launching new business and social impact ventures. Rock Center Director Jodi Gernon (MBA 1991) began the finale by saying that the Competition has had more than 3,000 students participate from across the Harvard ecosystem and has awarded over $2.5 million in prize money throughout its history. Companies like Birchbox, Rent the Runway, and CloudFlare have all participated and gone on to achieve significant success in their respective fields.

“The greatest risk is the fear of failure,” said Professor of Business Administration William Sahlman to the assembled crowd in his introductory remarks. “We have to take responsibility for fixing the world’s problems, and look at those problems as opportunities.”

Jeff Sandefer (MBA 1986), teacher and founder of the Acton School of Business and Acton Academy, also offered poignant remarks as the guest speaker, drawing from his entrepreneurial journey and his vision for the future.

"A hero's journey in entrepreneurship can change the world," Sandefer told the live audience. "Live with a mission and remember to see setbacks as lessons."

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