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 eight industry tracks:

Agtech

Fintech / Insurtech

Cleantech

Advanced Manufacturing

Biotech / Healthtech

Emerging Media Arts

Sportstech

General Tech

Prize Levels

3RD Place

$0

2ND Place

$0

1ST Place

$0

Requirements for a Team

1.

Business proposal must be entered in ONE of the eight 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 Venture Dash.

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.

Thank You to our Sponsors

Timeline

Round One
L
Round One
Round One

Early-Stage Feedback of Submissions

 

The Early-stage Feedback round allows potential participants in the Competition to receive guidance on their venture. This is a great opportunity to get feedback on your startup idea from investors, entrepreneurs, and industry experts. This feedback would be provided through Venture Dash. Contact information for teams will also be provided to other Nebraska service providers.

Between 10–12 Semi-finalists will also be chosen to move to the next round of virtual judging.

December 1, 2023
L
December 1, 2023

Submissions Deadline

December 1, 2023
December 8, 2023
L
December 8, 2023

Semi-Finalists Chosen

December 8, 2023
Round Two
L
Round Two
Round Two

Virtual Semi-Finalists

 

Semi-finalists will pitch a group of judges virtually in 30-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.

December 20, 2023
L
December 20, 2023

Virtual Semi-Finals

December 20, 2023
Round Three
L
Round Three
Round Three

Finals

 

6–8 Finalists will pitch to a group of six judges live during the Nebraska State Chamber’s Annual Meeting at the Cornhusker Hotel. Each team will have 30-minutes: 15-minute pitch and 15-minute Q&A. Expected duration is 3.5–4.5 hours.

February 1, 2024
L
February 1, 2024

Finals at
Cornhusker Hotel

February 1, 2024

Governor Pillen will make the presentation to the winners.

Got questions?

Please reach out to Dan Hoffman with any questions or concerns you may have at info@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.

Skip to content