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Pitch competition · Chicago, Illinois, United States

Edward L. Kaplan, '71, New Venture Challenge

Chicago Booth's year-long launch programme and competition for teams led by UChicago graduate students: a spring class, pitches and finals in late May or early June. Prize money is invested on a SAFE.

Open · closes 20 Jan 2027 Run by Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Chicago

Visit the programme's site

Verified 19 October 2026 · From the programme's own pages

Terms

Funding
not published The NVC invests more than US$1 million a year, split among the top teams by the finals judges. In 2026 the Rattan L. Khosa First Place Prize was US$575,000 and US$2.1 million went to the finalists.
Instrument
SAFE
Equity taken
not published Winners sign the Polsky Center's non-negotiable SAFE for an amount equal to their award.
Programme fee
not published
Duration
not published
Cohort size
not published
Cohorts
not published
Delivery
In person
Stages
Idea, pre-seed, seed
Sectors
Sector-agnostic
Open to founders from
not published
Perks
not published

Applications are due at 3:00 pm Central on 20 January 2027. Selected ventures are announced in February; the class and pitches run from March to May.

Application dates

Open · closes 20 Jan 202731st NVC (2027)

Who can apply

  • At least one currently registered UChicago graduate student on the team; Booth MBA students are encouraged
  • Founders who are not current students may apply only with a current UChicago graduate student holding at least 10% equity
  • Undergraduate teams are eligible only after completing the College New Venture Challenge
  • No more than US$1,000,000 of outside investment, excluding government grants
  • At least one graduate student must take the NVC course at Booth in the spring quarter
  • Stage: idea, pre-seed, seed

Companies it names as alumni

Grubhub, Braintree, Simple Mills

What founders should check

  1. Equity: Winners sign the Polsky Center's non-negotiable SAFE for an amount equal to their award. Ask for the exact stake before you accept a place.
  2. It does not publish a fee. Ask whether you pay for desks, services or the programme itself.
  3. It runs in person in Chicago. Plan to be there for the length of the programme.
  4. Applications are open until 20 January 2027.

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