Application Deadline: Black New Venture Competition

Overview

Boston, MA
United States

Wednesday, 15 January 2020 - 11:30pm

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Details

The Black New Venture Competition connects promising early-stage Black entrepreneurs with resources to develop their ventures into dynamic powerhouses. The event serves as a launching pad for innovative ventures founded by Black entrepreneurs, providing exposure to capital, mentors and advisors.

Founders will have the opportunity to pitch their venture to a panel of esteemed judges and compete for a chance to win $100K of total prize money.

 

THE OPPORTUNITY

20 semi-finalists will be selected to pitch their ventures to a panel of expert judges on Friday, February 28,2020.

The final 5 will pitch on Saturday, February 29, 2020 in front of 500+ attendees at the 47th Annual H. Naylor Fitzhugh Conference.

Each founder will have 5 minutes to pitch their venture, followed by a 5-7 minute Q&A from the judges.

Two competition winners will be awarded prizes of $50,000 each.

All semi-finalists will participate in the Black Tech Master Series on February 28, 2020 to receive expert advice and support from distinguished Harvard Business School faculty and some of the industry’s top Black founders, venture capitalists and corporate executives. The Black Tech Master Series will provide founders the opportunity to practice their pitch, fine tune their business model and receive insights that will scale their ventures.

 

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

The competition is open to entrepreneurs with innovative solutions to today’s toughest problems. Entrepreneurs with ventures that meet the following criteria are encouraged to apply:

  • Self-identified Black founder, co-founder, or other member of C-suite.
  • Technology or technology-enabled startup
  • Proven minimum viable product
  • Early Stage (Pre-seed – Seed)
  • Less than 5 years in operations
  • Raised less than $300,000 in funding to date