Prizes and Sponsors

• Specialty prizes will reflect the skills and values of the NVC program. 
• Each of the specialty prizes ranges from $5,000-$10,000 
• Winners will be chosen by OIE staff and Round 3 judges.

Specialty Category Prizes

Best Customer Discovery

Rewards team for conducting extensive, high quality interviews with potential customers through the GW Team Dev (MIR) Program; award considers the quality and clear application of insight as well. 

Prize: $5,000

Best Financial Understanding

Rewards the clear and thoughtful demonstration of understanding startup financials / economic principles / estimates of their costs and income as evidenced in their NVC application and presentations.

Prize : $5,000

Sponsored By: Strategic Investment Group

Best Market Assessment

Rewards most thorough demonstrated understanding of market definition, dynamics, and trends; shows a clear relationship between this understanding and their value prop (i.e. evidence of how this market assessment shaped their offering).

Prize: $5,000

Best Prototyping

Rewards strategic and thoughtful use of prototyping assets available at GW and those prototypes that are most advanced and instrumental in helping to illustrate the venture's value.

Prize: $5,000

Best Storytelling

Rewards creative and compelling narratives delivered across channels in the NVC and the thoughtful use of GW resources such as the CREATE Digital Studio, or programs/faculty in SMPA or Corcoran.

Prize: $5,000

Cirrus Labs Best Tech Venture

Rewards the highly creative application of deep tech to a pressing problem; special consideration will be given to ventures that leverage Artificial Intelligence and/or Machine Learning.

Prize: $10,000

Sponsored By: Naeem Hussain (MS '99)

Global Impact Prize

The prize rewards one NVC team whose venture has great potential for measurable social impact in an overseas market.

Prize: $7,500

Sponsored By: Q Advisors

Spirit of NVC Award

All NVC teams eligible; selected by OIE staff. Given to the team who best demonstrates the values of dedication, curiosity, enthusiasm, evolution, and self awareness throughout the NVC process.

Prize: $4,000

Sponsored By: Greg Wong (MBA '96)

Viewers' Choice Award

The public votes online for the finalist video they like best. This tests storytelling and marketing/PR capabilities.

Prize: $7,500

Revolutionary Award(s)

Given to team(s) with the greatest representation across schools; eligible teams will submit a short statement about how the diversity served them through the NVC process and OIE staff will select a winner.

Prize: $5,000

NextEra Innovation in Sustainability Prize

Recognizes significant impact their solution may have on sustainability-related challenges such as climate change, waste reduction, environmental preservation, and clean energy.

Prize: $10,000

Sponsored By: NextEra Energy

Union Kitchen

Washington DC based food business accelerator and investment fund.

Prize: Union Kitchen is offering one month of free kitchen membership (two, 24 hour periods) at our shared kitchen in Ivy City. You will have access to our shared prep space, as well as shared kitchen equipment and hot line. In Addition we are offering a one hour business consultation with our Accelerator Team and you will be fast tracked to pitch to our Accelerator, skipping the application process.

Learn more about Union Kitchen

GW Office of Integrative Medicine & Health

The Office of Integrative Medicine and Health (OIMH) at the George Washington University (GW) School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) is a global leader in Integrative Medicine, focusing on professional development, education, scholarly activities, and community. Integrative Medicine is more than just new tools in the healthcare toolbox, it is a transformative approach to whole person well-being using all appropriate, evidence-based therapeutic approaches, health care professionals, and disciplines.

Prize: Sponsorship of 4 GW Integrative Medicine podcast episodes (to be used within 2 years of receipt)

Learn more about GW Office of Integrative Medicine & Health

SEED SPOT

SEED SPOT is on a mission to educate, accelerate, and invest in diverse entrepreneurs who are creating solutions to social problems. Our 2-Day Launch Camp and Impact Accelerator programs guide entrepreneurs from their first steps to high-impact outcomes.

Prize: Do you want to take your business or business idea to the next level? We are offering 8 tickets ($199 value each) to SEED SPOT's innovative 2-Day Launch Camp, a program aimed at getting your early-stage venture or idea off the ground. Hands-on virtual programming will provide you with opportunities to learn from experts and receive feedback from like-minded entrepreneurs.

In this workshop, you'll dive into better understanding the problem you are looking to solve and your customer. You'll together a prototype for your solution and business model, draft a pitch, and receive feedback from mentors and peers – all with personalized support from our team. Become a member of an innovative community like no other and network with hundreds of like-minded individuals!

The next 2-Day Launch Camp is on June 20 and 21, 2024 and will be live facilitated on Zoom.

Thursday: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM ET (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM PT) Friday: 11:00 AM - 3:00 PM & 5:30-7:30 PM ET (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM & 3:30-5:00 PM PT)

 

Learn more about SEED SPOT

Come alone or with team members - you'll be welcomed into a community of collaborative peers and supporters, no matter where you are on your journey.

Draper University

Draper University is a Silicon Valley-based pre-accelerator offering a combination of on-site and virtual programs designed to build understandings and foundations for the next generation of startup founders and entrepreneurs. With the aim to connect international startup ecosystems, Draper University has always worked towards building bridges between these ecosystems and Silicon Valley.

Prize: Full tuition sponsorship worth of $12,000 usd for our Summer 2024 Hero Training Program.

Sponsorship includes:

Accommodation for the program (5 weeks) Events and activities of Hero Training Some meals (10-15) Expenses not covered: Flight tickets Daily meals.

Learn more about Draper University

ThinkNimble

ThinkNimble is a software development agency that turns clients into confident tech leaders who understand their customers and build great tech.

Prize: CTO Mentoring - Get mentoring and strategic direction from veteran senior engineers and entrepreneurs from ThinkNimble's team. Monthly CTO strategy calls meet founders where they are in their technical journey - whether you need to know how to communicate with your technical team, examine how you can begin quickly testing your idea, or understand what to look for when finding a technical partner - no question is too small and every answer is meant to make you a more confident tech leader. Students will receive one CTO strategy coaching call per month for 3 months to launch you in the right direction on your technical journey.

Learn more about ThinkNimble

Klo Marketing

Klo Marketing is a social media agency that elevates brands' social media presence through impactful strategies, quality content and consistency. Katie Lopus is an an award-winning social media professional with experience leading social media for global hospitality brands, eCommerce, and lifestyle companies. She has brought to life the world’s most recognizable brands through social media like Marriott Hotels, Michaels Crafts and Party City. With more than 10+ years of experience as a seasoned social media marketer, Katie is a trusted partner, educator, and adviser to her clients.

Prize: In the Know with Klo (IKTWK) - a 14-day social media plan created to give small business owners and social media managers access to our proven content strategies with actionable social media tips to meet your business goals through social.

What's included: 14-day social media calendar delivered to your inbox every other Sunday, which includes content prompts, ways to use the prompts for your niche, best-of examples, and caption ideas, Instagram story prompts, Actionable growth tips, Scroll-stopping hooks and clear calls to action to catch your audience’s attention, A step-by-step guide to repurposing content across all channels 3, 1 hour social media consulting call (3 total hours) -- Coaching calls with the founder of Klo Marketing, a boutique social media agency firm, on the marketing, processes or business development advice to grow and scale to your business.

Learn more about Klo Marketing

NEXT Powered by Shulman Rogers

NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers is a national award winning legal practice serving startup companies through each stage of growth, on a regional, national and global basis. Our mission is to empower startup success. We do this through an innovative new model for delivery of legal services that includes predictable fixed price packages, and a high-touch hands-on client centric model that is collaborative and efficient.

Prize: The Formation of a Delaware Legal Entity

Learn more about NEXT powered by Shulman Rogers

Social Driver

Social Driver is a leading digital creative agency based in Washington, DC and with offices across the United States.

Prize: The winners of this exclusive prize get a digital strategy consulting session, a unique chance to tap into the expertise of Social Driver's award-winning team. The session will be tailored to the needs of the winner. Whether navigating the intricacies of social media, overcoming digital marketing challenges, or crafting innovative solutions, the session will provide expert guidance. In fact, Social Driver's co-founders, Thomas Sanchez and Anthony Shop, won the award over a decade ago and are thrilled at the opportunity to continue to support the 2024 New Venture Competition.

Learn more about Social Driver

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

 

Amazon Web Services (AWS) is the world’s most comprehensive and broadly adopted cloud platform, offering over 200 fully featured services from data centers globally. Millions of customers—including the fastest-growing startups, largest enterprises, and leading government agencies—are using AWS to lower costs, become more agile, and innovate faster.

Prize:$1,000 and $5,000 in AWS credits.

100 $1K credit packages; 3 $5K packages

Learn more about Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Blank Rome LLP

Law firm with over 650 attorneys and 14 offices.

Prize: $20,000 in-kind award to be used within 1-year of the NVC finals. Applies to legal services only, and not out-of-pocket expenses such as government fees. Note that the award is subject to any legal ethical conflict, such as an existing adverse client.

Learn more about Blank Rome LLP

MuchowLaw

David Muchow, Managing Partner, Muchow law, is a 30+ year corporate lawyer, serial entrepreneur, inventor, and business consultant who has helped hundreds of startups and other companies and non-profits. He has been an Adj. Prof. for Law, Business, and Entrepreneurship at Georgetown University; served on Capitol Hill, with the NSC, OMB and DOJ; and is the author of a No. 1 best-selling business and legal startup book, The Seven Secret Keys to Startup Success.

Prize: Each of the winning teams will receive free copy of the Muchow’s best-selling book, The Seven Secret Keys to Startup Success. It describes step-by-step what to do and never to do to be a successful entrepreneur and contains model forms, checklists, and covers key business and legal matters you need to know.

Learn more about MuchowLaw