New Venture Competition 2025
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The New Venture Competition is Innovate@BU’s largest annual competition awarding $72,000 to early-stage BU entrepreneurs, helping them transform their ideas into something real!
 

NVC 2025 Fast Facts:

  • Two tracks: General and Social Impact.
  • Open to current BU students and alumni who have graduated within one year.
  • Made up of three rounds that take place between February and April, 2025. All competition events are expected to take place in person.

All participants are connected with Innovate@BU’s resources including coaching, founder and team skill-building, media exposure, and more.

This competition is appropriate for ventures of any kind (technology or non-technology based, for-profit or non-profit) that are developing meaningful solutions to address large, important, and unmet needs and demonstrate potential to turn the idea into a scalable venture.

Please read the following information carefully. Innovate@BU reserves the right to verify any submitted information for accuracy. Innovate@BU reserves the right  to disqualify any entry with inaccurate or fabricated information. Visit the New Venture Competition website for more details and tips for completing your application.


Teams & Participation
A team can consist of one or more members. Each team may only apply with one idea and compete in one track.

  • For currently enrolled BU PhD students: this competition is intended for creative work outside of your thesis work

Teams must have at least one current BU degree-seeking student or a BU Class of 2024 alumni who:

  • Is a co-founder
  • Plays a key management role in the venture, and
  • Will take part as one of the main presenters in each round of competition

The application should be submitted by the Boston University student or Class of 2024 alumni who is the founder/co-founder of the venture and will act as the primary team contact during the competition. Teams may include non-BU members as long as the above requirements are met.

Teams that apply to the Social Impact Track must be able to demonstrate in their application and their pitch that they prioritize social impact in their organizational decision-making and planning.

Both General Track and Social Impact Track teams that participate in semi-finals and Finals will be required to present 3-5 year financial projections during their pitch.

Funding & Revenue Limitations

  • Have not raised more than $250,000 in funding or grants.
  • Generated less than $500,000 in annual revenue.

Ideas Presented
Previous winners of the 1st, 2nd and 3rd place cash prizes in previous New Venture Competitions cannot compete with the same venture idea. They may enter with a new venture idea.
Teams must apply with an original idea and agree to not violate any contract or third party rights including any patent, copyright, trade secret, proprietary or confidential information, trademark, publicity or privacy rights.


Participant Expectations
You are expected to be responsive to communication that is generally sent via email. This is a multi-round competition with many moving parts and logistics, including locations, dates and times, and materials that may need to be emailed/collected in advance, etc. If you do not respond to an email within 48 hours of the email being sent, we will assume you are not participating in the next stage of the competition.

You are expected to commit to being available to attend and participate in the Semi-Finals event (for your track), Finals event (for your track), and Innovators’ Night for the entirety of the event. (see dates and times listed on our website).