Yesterday evening in Harvard Business School’s Shad Hall, 12 student and alumni finalist teams made their pitches for $315,000 in cash prizes, plus in-kind prizes, at the Finale of the 21st annual HBS New Venture Competition (NVC). The top prize in the student business, student social enterprise, and alumni tracks was $75,000 each. The finalists advanced through several rounds of judging. More than 300 judges, many of them HBS graduates, from such fields as venture capital, private equity, law, accounting, philanthropy, impact investing, and social entrepreneurship vigorously reviewed the new ventures.
Hosted each year by the School’s Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurshipand its Social Enterprise Initiative, in partnership with HBS Alumni Clubs & Associations, the Harvard Business School New Venture Competition is open to all students and alumni interested in launching new business and social impact ventures. This year, 360 teams entered the competition--127 in the Student Business Track, 69 in the Student Social Enterprise Track, and 164 Alumni track teams in 11 global regional competitions.
“The New Venture Competition is critical to entrepreneurship at HBS. Competition winners say it was the launching point of their businesses. The NVC Finale is the capstone event for HBS entrepreneurs,” said Jodi Gernon (MBA 1991), Director of the Arthur Rock Center. “Since its inception in 1997, 5,294 people have participated, and $2,340,000 in cash prizes has helped launch these student and alumni new ventures. We are grateful for the support of faculty, judges, regional alumni club leads, and sponsors who make the New Venture Competition a meaningful journey for HBS founders.”
“It is the culmination of a year-long journey that began last October for graduate students across the entire University and our global alumni,” added Matt Segneri (MBA 2010), Director of the School’s Social Enterprise Initiative. “The NVC’s Social Enterprise Track has catalyzed the creation of cutting-edge social enterprises.”
Director of Alumni Clubs & Associations Mary-Helen Black noted, “Alumni find participating in the NVC pivotal, invaluable, and enlightening. It raises their profiles. In addition to the grand prizes from HBS, some of these startups receive funding from the chapters and from other investors after pitching in the regional local alumni competitions.”
In addition to the $315,000 in cash prizes, sponsors have donated in kind tools and services that will help the startups launch and grow. In-kind sponsors are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Baker Library/Bloomberg Center, The Bridgespan Group, Echoing Green, Foley Hoag LLP, Harvard i-labs, HubSpot, MassChallenge, Shoobx, and Sweeney Law Group LLC.
This year's winners are:
Student Business Track
The Dubilier $75,000 Grand Prize: HOUR 72+ (DESCRIPTIONS BELOW)
The Dubilier prize was established by New York and London-based private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 1998 in honor of their founder, Martin Dubilier (MBA 1952), to support entrepreneurship.
Satchu-Burgstone $25,000 Runner-Up Prize: ALPHA VANTAGE
The Satchu-Burgstone Prize honors Jon Burgstone (MBA 1999), Asif Satchu (MBA 1999), and Reza Satchu (MBA 1996), all recipients of the runner-up prize in the 1999 Competition with their plan for SupplierMarket.com.
$5,000 Crowd Favorite Prize: HOUR 72+
Student Social Enterprise Track
Peter M. Sacerdote $75,000 Grand Prize: UMBULIZER
The Sacerdote Prizes were initially established in 2003 by Peter M. Sacerdote (MBA 1964) to encourage more HBS graduates to become involved in social enterprises and to support their efforts.
Peter M. Sacerdote $25,000 Runner-Up Prize: NEPTUNE
$5,000 Crowd Favorite Prize: UMBULIZER
Alumni Track
$75,000 Grand Prize: DYNAMICARE HEALTH
$25,000 Runner-Up: MAGMA TRADING
$5,000 Crowd Favorite Prize: WEMAINTAIN
The finalist teams presenting at the Finale were:
Student Business Track
ADAY: Aday is a SAAS product integrating hiring, scheduling, and training and designed for employers of hourly workers who require a total workforce management solution for a changing workforce.
Team: Rahkeem Morris (MBA 2018), Rob Snyder (MBA 2018), Giovanni Conserva, Madeline Chapin
ALPHA VANTAGE: Cloud-based platform democratizing access to financial market data for software developers and investors.
Team: Olivier Porte (MBA 2018), Steve Z. (MBA 2018)
HOUR 72+: Insect-repelling tech that lasts three days (not hours) and will protect billions from insect-borne disease.
Team: Andrew Rothaus (MBA 2018), Abraar Karan (MPH 2017)
NALAGENETICS: Nalagenetics aims to change trial and error prescribing, starting with Asia.
Team: Levana Sani (MBA 2018), Alexandre Lezhava, Astrid Irwanto, Jianjun Liu
Student Social Enterprise Track
DIGNIFY: Dignify matches refugees and locals in the developing world to globally outsourced digital work.
Team: Laura Oller (Harvard Kennedy School 2019, MBA 2019), Marta Milkowska (HKS 2019), Ziad Reslan (HKS 2019).
NEPTUNE: Our sewers have a grease problem. Neptune is building a better grease trap to keep our pipes clean.
Team: Noah Stern (HKS 2018, MBA 2018), Flint Holbrook (MBA 2018), Nic Cain
SHLD (SELF-HEALING AND LOVING DIALOGUE): SHLD promotes everyday coping skills and mental health resources seamlessly through social media.
Team: Andy Riemer (Harvard Graduate School of Education 2018), Wil Cardwell (HGSE 2018), Jhenna Voorhis (HGSE 2018), Jenny Riemer
UMBULIZER: Umbulizer is developing a low-cost, portable ventilator for patients in resource-constrained markets.
Team: Hamza Khan (MBA 2019), Shaheer Piracha, Sanchay Gupta (Harvard Medical School 2021)
Alumni Track
DYNAMICARE HEALTH: Digital platform for monitoring and rewarding recovery from addiction.
Alumnus: Eric Gastfriend (MBA 2015), CEO, Region: New England
MAGMA TRADING: A new kind of stock market for large trades.
Alumnus: George Hessler (MBA 1985), CEO, Region: Northeastern U.S./New York
MEDUMO: Engage every patient effortlessly.
Alumnus: Aiden Feng (MBA 2016), Head of Strategy, Region: New England
WEMAINTAIN: We rise by lifting others.
Alumnus: Benoit Dupont (Program for Leadership Development Alumni 2016), Founder & CEO, Region: Europe