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More than 60 out of 110 registered NVC teams chose to participate in one of the three competitions: Impact Prize, NVC Newcomer Prize and Female Founder Prize. With inspiring and energetic programming, the Specialty Prize Nights gave attendees a preview of the startups who will be competing in the official NVC competition. The winners represented all corners of campus, ranging from the Leeds School of Business to the College of Music, to freshmen, graduate students, PhDs and faculty.

Meet Mason C. Moran, a senior at CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ studying Creative Technology and Design. Mason is the founder of Modulla Shoe Company, a company designing a new kind of athletic shoe that is versatile with interchangeable soles.

Want to turn your passion turn into a business? Learn how from Michaela Shepherd (MBA'21), the CEO and founder of W.P. Equestrian, a premier equine-facilitated, evidence-based leadership development program that focuses on inclusivity and authenticity. Michaela—who has more than 10 years of experience working as a professional athlete and trainer in the equestrian industry—wanted to create a more inclusive program that targeted an audience beyond individuals who just want to learn how to ride horses. She ended up focusing her business model on building conscious, ethical leaders. Learn more about the strides her company is making:

Kailey Shara, ATLAS PhD student and a member of the Emergent Nanomaterials Lab, won two top prizes within several days in support of her company, Chembotix, taking home a total of $11,000 in prizes. On March 18, Shara’s team won $5,000 during the New Venture Challenge 14 Female Founder Prize. Then on March 22, Shara’s team won another $6,000, the top prize in CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ’s New Venture Launch class.

The CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ Hyperloop team is one of only a dozen finalists for The Boring Company’s Not-A-Boring Competition, rubbing shoulders with the likes of MIT and ETH Zurich.

Max Young is a junior studying computer science and a solopreneur who has a passion for startups and building awesome products. His passion led him to compete in CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ's New Venture Challenge (NVC) in 2019 with his business idea for PartyFavor (now known as Hooot), a smartphone app that is aimed at empowering individuals with the gift of safety.

After competing in New Venture Challenge her freshman year at CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ, computer science major Andrea Chamorro is back competing as a senior with a new business concept: trAIn. The company hopes to change the way employee training is done in industry. 

Ben and Andrew created their initiative while remote during COVID-19. The VC Club is a student-led organization designed to bridge the gap between CU and the local startup ecosystem through guest speaker presentations. Startup Mill is a student-led program designed to provide another option to startups looking for assistance during their growth and expansion.

ATLAS students will host the sixth annual T9Hacks the weekend of March 19-21, promoting interest in creative technologies, coding, design and making, among college women, non-binary individuals, people of color, those with disabilities and others who may have felt marginalized during hackathons or other technical activities.

Matei Fawzy (Bus'23) is a co-founder of ASANTe, an innovative social media platform that empowers and recognizes users who engage in service and socially conscious enterprise by sending TCards (thank you cards) to one another. Launched during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Matei and his team have made immense progress in just under a year by taking advantage of CU ºù«ÍÞÊÓƵ's innovative and entrepreneurial resources. Learn more about his journey: