To help its student entrepreneurs launch, develop and scale their businesses, the University of Chicago hosts its annual New Venture Challenge, where student startups compete for cash prizes.
Out of a pool of 32 semi-finalists this year, eleven have been chosen to compete in the finals Wednesday, May 30. Typically, only 10 startups are chosen to compete in the finals, but Waverly Deutsch, a clinical professor of entrepreneurship and the academic director for university-wide entrepreneurship content at the University of Chicago, said the college made an exception this year.
“It was so difficult to narrow it down,” said Deutsch, who coaches the startups in the challenge and helps select the finalists. “There were too many good companies left out.”
When selecting finalists, the judging committee examines a number of metrics, including the quality of a startup’s business plan and the effectiveness of their oral business pitch in class. The judges also select finalists to reflect a number of different industries. This year’s finalists are from a range of areas, including healthcare, life sciences, food and software.
“All of these companies have the opportunity to go on and be extraordinarily successful and create not only economic impact and impact for their customers, but meaningful returns for their investors,” Deutsch said.
During the competition, the startups will pitch their concepts to 26 investors, including Jim Dugan, the CEO, co-founder and managing partner at OCA Ventures, and Penny Pritzker, the founder of PSP Capital and the former United States Secretary of Commerce under President Barack Obama.
“It’s a great opportunity for all the teams to network with the kinds of investors they want to meet to support their businesses long-term,” Deutsch said.
Unlike other pitch competitions, the NVC doesn’t have specific first, second and third place prizes. Instead, UChicago offers a cash pool of $400,000 and allows the judges to allocate the funds as they see fit. Deutsch said ideally, every finalist will receive some capital, even if it’s as little as $1,000.
The NVC is ranked one of the top accelerator programs in the U.S. and its winners have included top Chicago companies like SimpleMills, Grubhub and Braintree. Other Chicago startups that have participated in the NVC include InContext Solutions and Tovala.
“I’ve been involved in this process for 18 years and it blows me away how it gets better every year," Deutsch said. "Every year we say, ‘Wow, that was our best crop of companies ever.’ And every year, we’re surprised at how great the companies are.”
Below are the eleven companies competing in UChicago’s New Venture Challenge.
BrewBike: This startup is working to provide coffee to college communities in a more convenient way by serving cold brew at lean retail locations and through wholesale accounts that can be launched by students. It recently came in second place at Northwestern University’s VentureCat competition, winning $15,000.
Coeus.ai: This startup makes a software based on proprietary machine-learning algorithms that automatically creates hundreds of highlights out of any video game stream or gameplay. It creates quality content, which extends fan engagement opportunities and increases players’ earnings opportunities.
FORSEEaBill: This platform aims to provide life science organizations with decision support when identifying the appropriate payer for different tests, procedures and services performed during a clinical trial. The startup allows researchers to spend less time navigating complex billing rules and more time developing the treatment.
Haystack ABI: This management platform for restaurants provides data on how to grow their business. Haystack’s platform allows users to view all their financial information in one place.
Manifest: The distributed ledger solution helps standardize 401(k) transfers by creating a network between providers that allows them to streamline financial processes. Using their platform, Manifest says it can help 401(k) providers increase revenue, decrease overhead and increase client satisfaction.
Mindful Urgent Care: To help provide better healthcare services, this startup will offer same-day, non-emergent mental health and substance abuse psychiatric services to insured and cash-paying clients.
Muu: The startup is making a Brazilian ice cream that has less calories, more protein and less fat than traditional brands. By switching sugar for natural sweeteners and using only natural ingredients, MUU’s found a formula that it says is both tasty and healthy.
nuBorn Medical: nuBorn is creating a smart baby bottle system to diagnose and treat feeding problems in pre-term infants.
Oxalo Therapeutics: This biopharmaceutical company is developing a drug to prevent kidney stone formation.
Seurat Therapeutics: This biotech startup is developing a nasal spray medication that can stop and prevent migraines. Seurat recently raised a seed round of $750,000.
Sweet Karma: This dessert company is creating healthy treats for health and fitness conscious consumers. They are currently making ice cream bars, sandwiches and cones.
