Spark a new idea. Develop a business plan. Make a pitch to investors and launch a new venture. These are the goals of the Shocker New Venture Competition (SNVC), hosted by Wichita State University's Center for Entrepreneurship, which inspires students to put entrepreneurial principles into practice.

The competition challenges Kansas college students to exercise entrepreneurial spirit by taking key steps towards commercializing a new venture idea. Teams, which consist of 1-5 members, will be judged on their ability to encapsulate a business concept through market analysis, a clear value proposition and a sustainable competitive advantage.

“The teams most likely to succeed will be those who show the best understanding of their potential customers and communicate most effectively about how to finance and run their start-up businesses,” said David Mitchell, one of the founders and chief judge of SNVC.

Winning teams will be awarded start-up capital from a prize pool of more than $30,000 to aid in the launch of their own business venture.

On April 24, a Trade Show will take place at Charles Koch Arena on the Wichita State campus. The 16 teams participating in that event will pitch their new venture concepts to more than 200 business leaders.

A mentoring session will follow the Trade Show, which will include the judges from all rounds of the competition. The mentoring session provides a forum for students and industry leaders to exchange ideas, foster relationships and enhance students’ new venture concepts. Insight offered by the judges will aid students in developing key skills needed to advance the commercialization of their ideas.

Teams participating in the 2015 Trade Show will also be eligible to receive the People’s Choice Award, with the winner deemed by student judges to have the most commercially viable business. Other special awards will include the Healthcare Innovation Award, KWCH App Innovation Award and the Technology Innovation Award, all to be presented at the reception on May 1.

The competition is open to all students from any major. Student teams who wish to participate in SNVC start by filing an Intent-to-Compete form online no later than Feb. 27. Up to 32 teams will be selected to submit a 10-page business plan on April 3.

Six teams will be selected to continue in the final round, which is open to the public, at 11:30 a.m., May 1, in WSU’s Devlin Hall. Winners will be announced at 5 p.m. during a public reception and awards ceremony in the Devlin Hall lobby.

For more information, go to: wichita.edu/snvc.