High School New Venture Challenge

The High School New Venture Challenge (HSNVC)—powered by FirstBank is an exciting opportunity for Colorado high school students
to dive into the world of innovation and entrepreneurship! Inspired by CU Boulder’s nationally recognized New Venture Challenge,
the HSNVC empowers the next generation of innovators to develop bold ideas, sharpen their skills, and compete for scholarship funding. Whether you're a student ready to bring your ideas to life, a teacher seeking to inspire a classroom or a community member wanting to support the entrepreneurial mindset, HSNVC is your gateway to entrepreneurial experience, creative problem-solving and real-world impact.

Open to all Colorado high school students
$25,000+ in scholarships to CU Boulder
Participation is free

Student CEO Registration

Venture Coach Registration

About HSNVC

What is HSNVC?

The High School New Venture Challenge (HSNVC) is an entrepreneurial competition specifically designed to empower high school students and ignite innovation and across Colorado.
Whether interested in solving world problems, preparing for college, starting a business, or excelling in a future vocation - this challenge equips students with the tools, confidence, and mindset to succeed.
Educators can offer this transformative opportunity in conjunction with existing curriculum or extracurricular activities. It’s a perfect fit with STEM, CTE, DECA, FBLA, JA, etc., or can be offered independently from a specific program.
At its core, HSNVC is about access—opening doors for all high school students across Colorado, with a special focus on first-generation students and rural and underserved communities.

Who can participate?

Any high school student who is enrolled or homeschooled in Colorado.
All students are required to have a supporting teacher or adult community member to serve as a “Venture Coach” and accompany them through the learning process.
Venture Coaches do not need to be affiliated with a school. They can be any responsible adult leader such as a mentor, nonprofit affiliate, coach, counselor, afterschool program facilitator or youth club supervisor.

How does it work?

Step 1: Educators or other adult leaders who are making this opportunity available to students must register for HSNVC as a "Venture Coach." Venture Coaches will serve as the primary point of contact and guidance for student "Venture Teams."

Step 2: Students form into Venture Teams to identify a real-world problem and collaboratively develop a solution.

Step 3: Venture Team members explore, develop and refine their ideas by completing five learning stages (see Learning Process below) under the guidance of their Venture Coach.

Step 4: Venture Teams prepare the required competition materials (see Competition Preparation below) and submit online to officially enter.

Step 5: The HSNVC competition occurs in two rounds:

HSNVC Round 1 is conducted virtually. Competition materials are submitted online and reviewed by a panel of expert judges to determine which teams are invited to move on to the final round.

HSNVC Finals takes place in-person at the CU Boulder campus. Selected student finalists come together for an exciting and fun-filled day that includes lunch, a campus tour and presenting to a live audience and panel of judges.

Additional Information

2025-26 Dates and Deadlines

Important Dates and Deadlines

Initial Registration - REGISTER TODAY!
Jan. 31 - Initial Registration Deadline
March 25 – Round 1 Competition: Materials Due Online
March 26 – Round 1 Competition: Virtual Judging Begins
April 2 – Finalists Announced
April 18 – Final Competition in-person at CU Boulder

Frequently Asked Questions

Does it cost money to participate?

There is no fee to participate in HSNVC.

Where are the HSNVC competitions held?

The first round of competition will be offered online. The final competition will be held in person at the CU Boulder campus.

Do I have to be in Colorado to compete in HSNVC?

Yes. To participate in HSNVC, your team must be enrolled in high school or homeschooled in Colorado.

Does the scholarship money have to be applied toward tuition at CU Boulder?

Yes. The scholarships are valid for CU Boulder tuition only.

Is there a specific curriculum we need to follow?

No, students may proceed through the learning process at a pace/sequence that best works for them. We generally suggest you refer to this helpful outline of the entrepreneurial Learning Process. Remember to follow the provided rubric as a guideline and submit the requested materials online and on time!

Is there curriculum support available if I need it?

Yes, Please contact: leah.shafer@colorado.edu for more information.

How many students can be on a Venture Team?

1-6 students.

Learning Process

Venture Coaches and Venture Teams are welcome to navigate through the learning process in a manner that best fits their needs, backgrounds, resources and goals. During the months leading up to the competition, we generally recommend that coaches and teams engage in the following:

Stage 1: Exploration & Problem Identification

Students begin by thinking creatively to identify problems and potential solutions.

Stage 2: Creation & Solution Development

Students form into a team, start working on their solution and formulate a Minimum Viable Product (MVP).

Stage 3: Customer Discovery & Validation

Students engage in widespread customer discovery to validate and refine their ideas.

Stage 4: Product & Pitch Development

Students turn their MVP into a real product or service and start building their pitch.

Stage 5: Venture Registration & Deliverables Preparation

Students refine their pitch and gear up for competition.

Competition Preparation

Coaches and teams will receive competition rubric in advance to use as a guide. Judges use this rubric to nominate top teams and award prizes, so it is important to follow it closely.

Teams submit the following materials online (detailed instructions will be provided):

Venture Profile
Executive Summary (1-2 pages)
Pitch Video (4-minute length)

Rules and Regulations

General Competition Information

The High School New Venture Challenge (HSNVC) is a multi-round, multi-event entrepreneurial competition hosted by the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Initiative at CU Boulder that is open to all high school students in the state of Colorado.

This document sets out guidelines for the competition. Not every circumstance can be anticipated. We reserve the right to disqualify any team that violates the rules, regulations, or spirit of the competition.

Eligibility:

All team members must be enrolled in a public/private school or homeschooled in the state of Colorado
All teams must have a Venture Coach over the age of 18

Key Dates

Aug. 1-Jan. 31: Initial Registration Open
Jan. 31: Initial Registration Deadline
Aug. 1-March 25: Entrepreneurial Learning Period
March 25: Round 1 Competition Materials Due Online
March 26-April 1: Round 1 Competition Virtual Judging
April 2: HSNVC Finalists Announced
April 18: HSNVC Final Competition (in-person at CU Boulder)

How to Enter:

HSNVC uses the Startup Tree platform to manage applications. To enter, each of your team members must create a user profile on the platform. Then, the student CEO will create the venture profile on the platform and invite all team members to the venture profile. Click here for detailed instructions.

Once your venture profile is created, you will register for the HSNVC competition and submit your competition materials online.

There is no cost to apply or to compete.

If you have questions about any aspect of the competition, please contact Leah Jean Shafer: leah.shafer@colorado.edu.

General Notices

Use of Competition Materials: The University of Colorado, and the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship 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 High School 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.

When you conceive, design and create an innovative product as part of the HSNVC competition, you are creating intellectual property that belongs to you. When you start work on your product, you should think about whether you want to try and protect your intellectual property through patents or confidentiality agreements. You may want to share your ideas with the public at large and decide not to seek any special legal protections for them. The choice is up to you. You should bear in mind, however, that venture capitalists and other investors usually consider whether the intellectual property in an innovative product has been kept confidential or claimed in a patent application, in deciding whether to invest in efforts to commercialize the product. All information you present at HSNVC is not considered confidential. These materials are intended to interest the public and potential investors in your ideas! HSNVC encourages all teams to file a provisional patent application covering their product and including any important confidential details from their product documents before submitting any materials that may include their unique ideas and inventions. You can find information regarding the process and requirements for filing a patent application at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office’s website, www.uspto.gov. If you have any questions about the value or procedures for filing a patent application, we encourage you to consult your own patent attorney or agent who can give you advice tailored to your product.

Decisions Regarding the Competition and the Winners: All decisions regarding the competition rules, procedures, and processes are at the sole discretion of the HSNVC 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.

Eligibility Requirements

High School Only:

HSNVC participants must be enrolled in a public or private high school or be home-schooled in Colorado during the competition time (August 1, 2025 – April 18, 2026).

Prior Activity:

Both student and other team members may have worked on an idea or new technology in previous academic years, or in the case of the student team members, even prior to entering the HSNVC.

Technologies/ventures that make it to the finals (and win 1st or 2nd place) of the HSNVC may not be presented at the HSNVC in subsequent years. Competing team members may participate in the HSNVC more than once if entering with a new venture/new technology.

Team Composition:

The competition is for any student in a Colorado high school.

Team Size:

1-5 student team members + 1 Venture Coach who is over the age of 18.

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 for the designated “pitch time” will result in disqualification.

Venture Coach: Ventures must have one coach, who is at least 18 years of age, to serve as an adult supervisor. This person is not required to be employed as a teacher.

All elements submitted by the team must be entirely the work of the student team members. Team coaches may guide the students but may not create any of the submitted elements or provide excessive influence on the concept design.

Copyrights & Permissions:

If a team uses copyrighted materials and/or images from a third-party in their submissions or presentations, they must obtain permission and authorization in advance from the owners to use this material. Information presented by the Venture at the HSNVC is the sole responsibility of the Venture. CU Boulder and the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship have not taken, and do not intend to take, any steps to verify the adequacy, accuracy or completeness of any information, materials or statements presented by the Venture. The Venture, and not the HSNVC, is responsible for ensuring the Venture’s compliance with all applicable federal, state and other securities laws, and it is solely the Venture’s responsibility to comply with any of such laws that are applicable. The HSNVC does not give investment advice, endorsement, analysis or recommendations with respect to any securities and is not a broker, venture fund or an investment advisor.

HSNVC is sponsored by different companies and organizations that may be able to offer valuable benefits to the teams participating in the HSNVC. The HSNVC may share a team’s contact information and HSNVC submissions with a sponsor, in confidence, for the purpose of allowing the sponsor to contact the team regarding a potentially valuable benefit or service, or for the purpose of deciding whether to grant an award to the team. By submitting materials to the HSNVC, teams give the HSNVC permission to share their contact information, concept submissions, including their Business Plans and other technical submissions, with sponsors in confidence for this purpose.

Eligibility Questions:

Ventures that have any questions about their eligibility should contact Leah jean Shafer: leah.shafer@colorado.edu.

Rebekah Goldman and Evelyn "Evie" Hughes-Ulmer, winners of the 2025 High School New Venture Challenge. Photo: Hannah Howell.

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Learn More about HSNVC on 1/13

Join us for a virtual information session from 6-7 p.m. on Jan 13. During this casual session, we'll do a quick program overview and then answer any questions you may have about HSNVC.