Meaningful learning experience for students interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial opportunity.

Our Objective

The Nebraska Governor’s New Venture Competition is to provide a meaningful learning experience

This competition is for students attending a post-secondary educational institution in Nebraska who are interested in pursuing an entrepreneurial opportunity now or at some point in their careers.

The Competition is designed for contemplated and pre-seed businesses. However, applicants must designate how their business falls into one of the nine industry tracks:

Agtech

Fintech / Insurtech

Cleantech

Advanced Manufacturing

Biotech / Healthtech

Emerging Media Arts

Sportstech

General Tech

Bioeconomy

Prize Levels

3RD Place

$0

2ND Place

$0

1ST Place

$0

3RD Place

$0

2ND Place

$0

1ST Place

$0

Requirements for a Team

1.

Business proposal must be entered in ONE of the nine industry tracks previously listed.

2.

Students may only participate on one team, regardless of track.

3.

Participating teams must be comprised of more than one student.

4.

All student participants must be actively enrolled at a post-secondary educational institution in Nebraska at the time of submission. This includes community colleges, state colleges, and universities.

5.

Teams will submit proposals on Reviewr.

6.

The maximum limit for seed capital raised by a company at time of application is $1,000,000.

7.

The maximum limit in revenue previously generated by a company is $500,000.

Our Expectations

To submit an overview of your venture idea, please address the following questions in a PowerPoint format.

(Maximum of 20 slides)

What will your venture do?
What pain points will your venture address?
What is your value proposition?
Describe your target segment and the size of your addressable market.
Who are your major competitors?
What is your venture’s competitive advantage?
Describe your business model.
Describe current status of business and any milestones achieved (e.g. prototype completed, customers, revenue).
Briefly tell us about each team member, their role, and each team member’s relevant experience.

Competition Values

As students attending a Nebraska post-secondary educational institution, you agree to abide by our shared community values of respect for others, honesty and integrity, and accountability for personal behavior.
If you are working on your plan with any “outsider” from academia or industry, you also have a responsibility to respect their intellectual property and to treat any information received from them as confidential.
For students participating in entrepreneurial classes: Multiple students in multiple courses working on the same project naturally raises issues related to ownership of the work product and attribution of efforts.

Note that any submissions that are found to be in violation of these requirements will be disqualified from the Competition.

Timeline

December 15, 2024
L
December 15, 2024

Submissions Deadline

December 15, 2024
December 20, 2024
L
December 20, 2024

Semi-Finalists Chosen

December 20, 2024
Virtual Semi-Finalists
L
Virtual Semi-Finalists

Virtual Semi-Finalists

 

Semi-finalists will pitch a group of judges virtually in 15-minute increments in one day. Semi-finalist judges (6 individuals) will ask questions of the teams. The judges will then choose the 6–8 finalists to move to the final round.

January 6, 2025
L
January 6, 2025

Virtual Semi-Finals

January 6, 2025
Finals
L
Finals

Finals

 

11 Finalists will pitch to a group of six judges live from 1:00–5:00 PM during the Nebraska State Chamber’s Annual Meeting at the Cornhusker Hotel. Each team will have 20-minutes: 10-minute pitch and 10-minute Q&A. Expected duration is 4 hours. Winners will be announced during the Nebraska State Chamber Hall of Fame Banquet.

January 30, 2025
L
January 30, 2025

Finals at
Cornhusker Hotel

January 30, 2025

Governor Pillen will make the presentation to the winners.

Got questions?

Please reach out to Ben Hohensee with any questions or concerns you may have at ben2@investnebraska.com. Thank you!

Confidentiality

The only individuals who will have access to your submission pitch decks will be the assigned judges. These judges are entrepreneurs and investors who have agreed to maintain confidentiality of all submissions. We have asked them to treat your work product with the same care and respect for confidentiality. We also ask them to remove themselves from judging your plan if they do have a real conflict of interest. Feel free to mark your pitch deck—or particular piece of it—as “confidential,” or to exclude any information you regard as truly proprietary.

Note that the short description of your venture which you include with your entry form may be used in public documentation relating to the Competition.

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