Deep Tech Competition

Eligibility

Outside Funding Limitations 

Revenue Limitations 

Ventures with more than $100,000 in revenue in prior academic years (before August 1, 2024) are excluded.  

Prior Activity 

Team Composition 

Team Size 

There is no team size requirement – minimum or maximum. 

Nature of Ventures 

The competition is for new, independent ventures in the seed, start-up or early growth stages. Generally excluded are the following: buy-outs, expansions of existing companies, real estate syndications, tax shelters, franchises, licensing agreements for distribution in a different geographical area and spinouts from existing corporations.  

Attendance 

To be considered for any award, teams must present, in person, at the required competition times and locations. Failure to show up for the designated “pitch time” will result in disqualification.   

Copyrights and Permissions 

Required Forms 

Competition Format

The NVC is an investment pitch competition consisting of the following components:  

First round 

Each venture will submit a 2-minute video pitch and an executive summary during the first round. A panel of judges will assess all video pitches and executive summaries.

NVC Deep Tech Competition Finals 

The five top ventures will be asked to compete in the finals. Each venture will have a 5-minute in-person pitch and 7-minute Q&A.   

Every finals team must have a founders’ agreement in place to compete.

Prize Pool

The Grand Prize Pool will be awarded as follows at the Deep Tech Competition Finals: 

Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE)

"SAFE" stands for “Simple Agreement for Future Equity” and is a standard, founder-friendly investment instrument created by the renowned startup accelerator and investor Y Combinator. You can learn more about SAFEs in this guide document.

The SAFE offered in the Deep Tech finals prize includes the following key terms:

• $5 million valuation cap
• “Most Favored Nation” provision (if other investors later join under more favorable SAFE or convertible note terms, those terms may be applied to the NVC prize)
• The holder of the SAFE is a 501c3 organization that serves the University of Colorado

If these terms are foreign to you, please check out the SAFE guide linked above.

If the winner of the Deep Tech prize has already executed a SAFE, convertible note or term sheet for a priced financing, NVC will consider a request from the winner to join under the same terms and instrument as the executed agreement.

Submission Guidelines

The first round of the NVC Deep Tech Competition will involve the submission of: 

• Executive Summary   
• 2-minute video pitch

All other elements of the competition will consist of in-person presentations at CU Boulder. All documents and presentations must be in English.  

Executive Summary 

Files must be submitted as a PDF and named as follows: ES_VentureName.pdf. Executive Summaries should be submitted as part of the team’s online application.  

Format:  

• Executive Summaries should be a minimum of 1 and not more than 3 pages.  
• Cover page and table of contents do not count toward page total.  
• An appendix of up to 2 pages may also be included, as long as it is used to provide detailed financial information or to include materials that support the findings, statements, and observations in the plan.  
• Format is 1.5 line spacing with 1-inch top, bottom, left and right margins and 12-point font. This line spacing and font requirement applies to the textual content of the document and not to titles and descriptions accompanying pictures, graphs, tables or worksheets.  
• Startup name, team members, and contact information should be listed in the document.  

We recommend including the following information in the Executive Summary: 

• Opportunity summary: In 1-2 paragraphs, describe the problem the company is addressing, the size and growth rate of the market and your solution.  
• Product or service: Describe in more detail what your product does/how it works, the current state of development and any technology validation to date (i.e., the evidence you have that the technology works) and your competitive advantage.  
• Competitive differentiation: Explain the competition and show what makes this company better than competitive alternatives.  
• Market and customer analysis: Describe trends in the market, targeted customer segments, identified customers, and the value proposition to customers. Describe any customer/market validation (i.e., evidence you have that customers will pay for this product).  
• Intellectual property: Provide a status of patents, licenses, or other IP (if applicable)  
• Management team/advisors: Show how this team has the expertise to successfully launch this startup.  
• Financials: Show 3-5 year projections of revenue, profit and cash. If your team is generating revenue or has received outside funding, please be specific on where your funding has come from (see Section III for funding/revenue limitations).  
• Investment: Describe what you would do with the winning investment funds ($50,000) and any additional investment funding you would seek.   

Video Pitch 

The video pitch should be saved to a Google Drive or another platform, and the file link should be submitted in StartupTree. Be sure to include the venture name in the file name.   

Format:   

• Be sure you have good lighting and sound.  

Mentors

Competitors in the NVC Deep Tech Competition are not required to have a mentor.

Slide Deck  

Format:  

• Your deck must be in PowerPoint   
• File name: Venturename.PPT  
• We do not recommend using any embedded video or internet functionality in your presentation. Wi-Fi access is not guaranteed during your presentation.   
• All presentation technology will be provided—you are not allowed to use your own computer to present. 

General Notices

Use of Competition Materials 

The University of Colorado, and the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Initiative and their agents may make photocopies, photographs, video recordings and/or audio recordings of the presentations, including the business plan and other documents, charts, media or other material prepared for use in presentation at the New Venture Challenge. The above entities may use the materials in any book or other printed materials and any videotape or other medium that they may produce for promotional and/or educational purposes only. These entities have non-exclusive world rights in all languages, and in all media, to use or to publish the materials in any book, other printed materials, videotapes, or other medium, and to use the materials in future editions thereof and derivative products. 

Intellectual Property 

Teams requiring non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) may not want to participate. NDAs can be signed by first and semifinal rounds if needed. The finals are open to the public. The competition may be broadcast to interested people through media, which may include radio, television and the Internet. Any data or information discussed or divulged throughout the competition should be considered information that will enter the public domain. If you have questions, you should seek the counsel of an IP attorney. 

Decisions Regarding the Competition and the Winners 

All decisions regarding the competition rules, procedures and processes are at the sole discretion of the NVC organizers. Changes and/or interpretations of these rules may be made by the organizers at any time even though they may be (or may appear to be) in conflict with previously published information. The selection of the teams to compete and the selection of the winners are at the sole discretion of the judges and the organizers. Best efforts will be made to make decisions in accordance with this Official Rules document. 

Registration

⚠ Registration is closed for the 2024 competition.

The NVC uses the Startup Tree platform to manage applications. To enter, each of your team members must create a user profile on the platform. Then, your main point of contact will create the venture profile on the platform and invite all team members to the venture profile.

If you have already registered for the NVC General Competition, please skip to Step 5.

Teams that are applying for the NVC Deep Tech Competition that have not already applied to the NVC General Competition must register their venture on the Startup Tree platform, as shown in Steps 1-4, and then must complete Step 5 to register for the NVC Deep Tech Competition.

There is no cost to apply or to compete.

Step 1: Review competition rules and dates

Ensure you have reviewed all the eligibility requirements, competition rules, and dates.

Step 2: Create your user profile

1. Use this link to access StartupTree.
2. Input your name and Identikey email address and create a password. The password selected must be at least 8 characters long and have one symbol, one lowercase letter and one uppercase letter.
3. Upload a profile picture and specify your gender identity (optional) and your location (optional).
4. Select your affiliation with CU Boulder. If you select alumni or student, you will see an additional input area appear, allowing you to specify your graduation year, college and degree type. 
5. Input any applicable skills. These will appear on your profile, allowing other users to find and understand your background.
6. Input your bio. This will help your profile stand out and provide helpful information to users and mentors.
7. Please answer the additional questions for the NVC operations team. 

Step 3: Create a Venture Profile

1. Use this link to access NVC StartupTree.
   1. ​We recommend Bookmarking this link for future use as you participate in this year's NVC.
2. If you do not already have a venture in StartupTree, follow these instructions on how to add a venture.
3. If you do already have a venture in StartupTree:
   1. Select "My Pages" in the top navigation bar and cselect "+New Venture." 
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   2. OR scroll down to "Last Activity" and select "+ Add Venture"
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Step 4: Add your team members to the venture profile

1. Use the StartupTree guide to add team members to a venture.
2. All team members must create a StartUp Tree

Step 5: Register your new venture for the New Venture Challenge Deep Tech Competition

1. Use this link to register your venture in the NVC Deep Tech Competition.

2024 Judging Rubric

Scale of 1-6: 1, Strongly Disagree; 2, Disagree; 3, Slightly Disagree; 4, Slightly Agree; 5, Agree; 6, Strongly Agree

Need Help?

Teams that have any questions about their eligibility should contact Stan Hickory, director of the NVC at hickorys@colorado.edu.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to register or compete in the General Competition to compete in either the NVC Women Founders or Deep Tech competitions?

No! While we encourage anyone eligible to compete, each competition is a standalone opportunity. Please check the eligibility of each competition before applying.

Can non-profit organizations or ventures compete in NVC?

Yes! Non-profit organizations and ventures are strongly encouraged to participate. Some of our strongest teams ever have been non-profits! If you have any questions—for example, about eligibility, company structure, how prizes are awarded—please do not hesitate to contact Stan Hickory, director of the NVC at hickorys@colorado.edu for help.

Are there legal requirements or best practices for drafting a Founders' Agreement?

It is important for a company’s founders to have an agreement among themselves even before creating an entity. Founders’ agreements are the product of conversations that should take place among a company’s founders at the early stages of formation rather than later in the life of a company. Learn more in this resource from the University of Pennsylvania