The UCI New Venture Competition offers you the opportunity to form a team, launch a startup and potentially fund a business idea – all within five months. The competition is open to all UCI students, staff members and researchers as well as community members. Teams compete for more than $100,000 in prizes!
Competitors have full control and ownership over what their team creates. We connect you with potential teammates, provide you with the tools to transform your idea into a concept, and even match teams with industry mentors to help you develop your concept into a viable business.
| Competition Kickoff and Beall Bash Networking Mixer ( REGISTER ) | November 14, 2018 |
| Workshop 1: Ideation and Brainstorming ( REGISTER ) | January 16, 2019 |
| Workshop 2: From Problem to Solution ( REGISTER ) | January 23, 2019 |
| Workshop 3: How to Write a Winning Concept Paper ( REGISTER ) | January 30, 2019 |
| Bonus Presentation: The Next Generation of Social Enterprise ( REGISTER ) | January 31, 2019 |
| Workshop 4: Intellectual Property ( REGISTER ) | February 6, 2019 |
| CONCEPT PAPERS DUE (11:59 pm) - Submit Concept Papers | February 24, 2019 |
| Semi-Finalist Teams Announced | March 12, 2019 |
| Workshop 5: Go to Market Strategy ( REGISTER ) | April 3, 2019 |
| Workshop 6: Financial Models ( REGISTER ) | April 10, 2019 |
| Workshop 7: How to Build a Winning Pitch Deck ( REGISTER ) | April 17, 2019 |
| Workshop 8: How to Pitch and Deal With Q&A ( REGISTER ) | April 24, 2019 |
| Bonus Workshop: How to Influence, Persuade, and Sell Anyone and Anything ( REGISTER ) | May 1, 2019 |
| PITCH DECKS DUE (11:59 pm) | May 10, 2019 |
| Competition Finals Awards Ceremony and Reception ( REGISTER ) | May 22, 2019 |
*All dates are subject to change
Recommendations
Developing a robust and multi-talented team is essential to any new venture. Success in the New Venture Competition is no different. Reach beyond your classmates to form a team of many strengths and talents from across campus.
Don’t forget that only 2 team members must be enrolled at UCI. Consider recruiting UCI faculty, staff, alumni and others to your team!
New ventures have unique considerations based on business type. This has a direct impact on business formation and other early-stage considerations.
Teams compete in 1 of 5 tracks. NVC programming addresses unique considerations for each track. Teams also benefit by working with industry mentors and judges familiar with their type of business.
All teams, regardless of track, are eligible to apply for the Tech Surge Specialty Award.
For more information about Tech Surge, contact:
Hayley Young
Assistant Director, New Venture Group
UCI Applied Innovation
hayley.young@uci.edu
Workshops 1 – 3 prepare teams to submit a 3-page concept paper, a document similar to an executive summary. Judges score the papers to determine the semi-finalists who will advance to the next round.
Concept papers are due by 11:59 pm on Sunday, February 24, 2019.
The UCI ANTrepreneur Center personally meets with every team to discuss judge feedback and deliver results on March 13 – 15, 2019.
Resources:
Semi-finalists continue to develop their business concept. A pitch deck is prepared and is presented to a panel of judges. The Final Presentations will be hosted at the Merage School on Wednesday, May 22, 2019.
Teams present for 12 minutes followed by an 8-minute Q & A session. Using a 5-point scale, judges grade team presentations on whether or not each topic that is addressed favors success.
The highest scoring teams within each of the 5 tracks receive awards. Additional awards may also be announced.
Please consider the Judges Criteria when creating your pitch decks:
Example of a good pitch deck:
General Information:
Beall Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship
meragebeallcenter@exchange.uci.edu
Or stop by the Merage School SB1-2300
Tech Surge Specialty Award Information:
Hayley Young
Assistant Director, New Venture Group
UCI Applied Innovation
hayley.young@uci.edu
Sponsorship Inquires:
Breanna Hale
949.824.1172
haleb@uci.edu
David Ochi and Dan Jenkins
Matt Bailey
Larry Wilk and David Ochi
Richard Matthew
Alvin Viray
Dan Jenkins
David Ochi
Dan Jenkins
Larry Wilk
Karen Nguyen
Larry Wilk, Lecturer, The Paul Merage School of Business
Congratulations on taking the first step of the journey every entrepreneur must start with!
We are including some helpful resources below to aid you in the process. Strategyer, the
Larry Wilk also shares suggested reading materials on slide 65.
Dan Jenkins, Co-Founder & CEO, Monet Networks
NVC mentor and judge Dan Jenkins shared his tips for concept paper success during Workshop #2.
Concept Paper Scoring
STACKED Wine (Example)
Marc Kelly, Managing Partner, Innovative Financial Consultants
Marc Kelly shared his tips for including how to make money and metrics to include in your concept paper.
Resources
Dan Jenkins and Larry Wilk, NVC Judges
Dan Jenkins and Larry Wilk, NVC Judges
Concept Paper Judging Criteria
Our judges are professionals who come from various business backgrounds and include experienced investors, entrepreneurs, and senior business practitioners who interact with early stage companies. Each judge is an expert in the process of starting a business. The judges consider specific criteria when evaluating concept papers and pitch decks, however, ultimately, winning teams are those in which the judges would most likely invest their own money. This decision is influenced heavily by several factors, including:
Specifically, judges evaluate each semi-finalist team on the strength of their plan and overall presentation, often this includes criteria such as:
Quality of Business Environment Assessment and Model Design
Impact of Presentation
Judges' Assessment of Scalability/Investment Potential
The Beall Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship strives to inspire innovation and entrepreneurship for the 21st century through all our events and activities. Support from the corporate community enables us to produce research and programs to empower future innovators and current business leaders. Support our vision by supporting this program.
Learn more about sponsorships by contacting, Breanna Hale.
