New Venture Challenge (NVC)

2021 Finalists

Alfred Transition Assistant

Amano

LaparoVision

Lovage Labs

Playlist Plus

Storier, LLC

Tribe

YourLock LLC

What is it?

The Miller New Venture Challenge is the final phase of the Miller Competition Series. This competition is focused on the traction teams have achieved.

The 8 finalist teams in the Miller New Venture Challenge are awarded $15,000 each and granted auto-entry into the Founders Launchpad summer accelerator, patterned after Y Combinator and Techstars, where they will have access to amenities like:

• free office space

• a lead mentor (successful entrepreneur dedicated to helping you succeed)

• exclusive trainings and dinners with entrepreneurial leaders

Key Dates

Thr, Feb 25: Info Session & How to Win Workshop, 6:00 pm, Zoom video recording – https://byu.zoom.us/rec/share/YuCdcfKCUbITeoOtJpnYckSCjvrzcKgvk4GurIxJjKf5f6-vLCKsWuQFAK8IMa4.cu3DoNrt_cIJnCOh?startTime=1614301508000

Tue, Mar 16: Submission Deadline, 11:59 pm, Online

Mon, Mar 22: Finalist Teams Announced, Via email

Fri, Apr 2: Final Event, 3:00 pm, Facebook Live – https://www.facebook.com/byurollins

• Finalist teams will have 4 minutes (note the change) to present and up to 4 minutes to answer questions from the judges
• All finalist teams will receive $15,000 each and auto-entry into the Founders Launchpad summer accelerator

Submission Details

Student teams are required to submit the following:

1. NVC Submission Form
   1. You will be able to upload the three items below on this submission form.
2. Narrated Pitch Slides (5-8 mins, outline for how to organize your slides available here)
   1. Your narrated pitch slides should be saved as a video and uploaded to YouTube. If you want to keep your video hidden mark it as unlisted NOT private. If it is marked private, our judges will not be able to view it. Learn how to narrate a PowerPoint presentation from Microsoft here. Another way to create your narrated presentation video is to record yourself narrating your slides on Zoom. The resultant video file can then be uploaded to YouTube.
   2. For examples of past pitches, here is a video from the 2019 Final Event. We encourage you to specifically watch and model your pitch after Neptune who runs from 10:30 to 15:30. Please note that these were only 5 min pitches.
3. Executive Summary (1 page max)
4. Signed Declaration of Eligibility form

Cash Prizes

Finalist Teams: $15,000* + auto-entry into the summer accelerator Founders Launchpad

*At the Final Event, finalists will be vying for two cash prizes: Crowd Favorite ($500) and Judge’s Choice ($2,500)

Judging Criteria

The following general criteria will be used throughout each round of the Miller New Venture Challenge.

1. Is the customer pain significant and clearly identified?

2. Is the solution well-presented and sufficiently detailed? Does it resolve the identified pain?

3. Is there significant market potential—how scalable is the business?

4. What is the level of validation and/or traction?

5. Does the business have a unique and defensible competitive advantage over existing market options?

6. Does the team have a clear and achievable plan to take their business to market?