The InVenture Prize

Last night was the Preliminary Round of The InVenture Prize.

First a little background.  InVenture was created by Georgia Tech to provide incentives, resources, and structure for undergraduate student innovation and entrepreneurship via a fun, high-profile event.  Ray Vito, Vice Provost for Graduate and Undergraduate Studies, and my friend Merrick Furst's aim with InVenture is to foster a student entrepreneurial culture at Georgia Tech.  Or said another way, they want students to start companies. 

Over 60 student teams entered the competition.  The screening committee weeded those down to the 14 teams.  Those 14 team presented last night to advance to the finals on March 26.

It was a great, great program.  One of the best events that I have been to in all my time involved in the entrepreneurial community.  Lots of energy.  Lots of enthusiasm.  Young entrepreneurs giving it a good college try.  Giving a try that would put some professional entrepreneurs to shame.  Most using little or no presentation decks.  In front of judges that were pulling no punches.

And what is the prize in The InVenture Prize?  It looks something like this:

• Cash prizes of for an $5,000 individual and $10,000 to a team;
• Free patent filings by Georgia Tech Office of Technology Licensing (valued at $20,000 each);
• A paid summer internship to work on the invention with invitations to free business services to pursue commercialization such as funding opportunities, office space, market vetting, and mentorship by faculty and industry entrepreneurs.

Something worthy of competition. 

Georgia Tech has The InVenture Prize funded for the next three years so I hear.  This could be big.