New Format! Same Day Tradeshow and Finals!
Bigger Prizes! 1st place wins $25,000!

The letters SNVC are filled with images from the Trade Show and Finals of entrepreneurs presenting.

Shocker New Venture Competition

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Presented by the WSU Center for Entrepreneurship

Connecting students and community with ideas to industry and resources for 17 years.

Since 2007, the Shocker New Venture Competition has offered aspiring entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to gain real-world experience. It allows participants to pitch their startup ideas, refine their business strategies, and gain valuable insights into what it takes to launch a successful company. This prestigious competition is proudly hosted and organized by Wichita State University’s Center for Entrepreneurship, dedicated to fostering entrepreneurial endeavors.

How to Compete          Rules          Student Judge          Volunteer          Sponsor

The application window has closed. Judging for the videos will begin tomorrow. Stay tuned to see who will be moving on to the Trade Show!

Key Dates:

How to Compete

 

Mar. 4


Competition Applications Open

Mar. 28

12:00 PM (noon)

Applications and Business Model Video Application window has passed

Mar. 29

– April 1

Ongoing Business Model Judging

Apr. 5

 

Business Model Judging Results Announced

Apr. 11

9:00 - 11:00 AM

Meeting/Training for Trade Show Participation

 

April 26: New 1 Day Format

Trade Show

8:00 - 10:00 A.M. (setup)
10:30 - 1:00 P.M. (judging)
1:10 P.M. (Teams Advancing to the Finals Announcement)

Lunch & Key Note

1:00 - 2:00 P.M.

Finals

2:00 - 4:30 P.M.

SNVC Presents Chase Curtiss, Keynote Speaker

Chase Curtiss is an innovative product designer, entrepreneur and start-up executive with expertise in growing startups and commercializing medical technology in Tulsa and San Francisco. He has taken on active management roles throughout the start-up lifecycle in building his own companies and taking on executive level management of product development at more mature companies. Chase has extensive experience in user experience, user-testing and behavioral analysis that he regularly uses to help start-ups design better products. Chase is the founder of Sway Medical, Inc. the world’s leader in mobile concussion management for athletes.  

Chase has been recognized as a pioneer in the mobile health space with the first ever FDA clearance for a software only mobile medical device. He has extensive experience with HIPAA compliance, research validation for regulatory approval and the development of quality systems. Chase has been highlighted in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg TV, Forbes, Pando Daily, Mobihealthnews, the Grey Sheet and many other mainstream and medically focused publications for his work in medical technology development. 

Chase has significant experience in marketing and social media management having built an online basketball community with over two million followers and national sponsors that include Wilson Sporting Goods, Verizon, Atlantic Records, Disney, Buick and more. YouTube selected Chase as a NextUP recipient in 2011 for promising creative work in online video content and Google named him a Brand Innovator in 2014 for building a sports social media platform with over 300 Million video views.

 Chase Curtiss sitting on a chair in front of a plain background.

How to Compete

Round 1

Business Model Video

Applications & Videos may be submitted by selecting the "Apply Now" button on the SNVC website; the applications are live March 4th - March 28th.

Judges will review the videos submitted by April 4 and select approximately 16 teams to advance to the Trade Show. Primary contacts and mentors of teams advancing will be informed via email.

The 3-minute video submitted during this round should be an overview of your new venture and cover aspects of the business model canvas.
For details on content and instructions for upload:

*** Failure to to include the required information listed in the Video Guide will result in being eliminated from the competition. 

Round 2

Trade Show

To participate in the Trade Show, at least one team member is required to attend the Informational Meeting/Training for Trade Show Participation on April 11th.

The Trade Show will be held April 26th. It will entail the following timeline:

Set-up: 8:00 - 10:00 A.M.
Open Judging: 10:30 - 1:00 P.M.
Finals Announcement: 1:10 P.M.

Before the judging starts, teams will set up booths, which provide the visual component of their pitches. As judges and other visitors visit the booths, team members are to offer pitches about their business idea and respond to questions and comments.
Teams are expected to come prepared with thorough knowledge of all aspects of their business model.

There will be two types of judges visiting your booth: community judges and student judges.

The 6 teams team with the most community judge investments will move onto the Finals; meanwhile, the team with the most student judge "investments" will be awarded the People's Choice Award. 

As judges visit your booth, you will be pitching your venture to them and answering their questions.  

Round 3

Finals

The six teams will be assigned a presentation time by blind draw conducted April 26th, after the conclusion of the Trade Show.

Starting at 2:00 P.M. teams will begin giving their business pitch, treating the judges as potential investors. The following format will be used:

Presentation by the team - 5 minutes
Q&A - 5 minutes

***A slide presentation is required and a demonstration is recommended. 

Rules: The Fine Print Behind Success

The following rules are binding throughout the entire duration of the Shocker New Venture Competition (SNVC). Participating in the SNVC indicates that teams accept these rules and regulations and agree to abide by them. The WSU Center for Entrepreneurship and the SNVC staff reserve the right to disqualify any team and/or team member they believe are not abiding by the rules of the SNVC. 

Rules / Confidentiality & Intellectual Property

Confidentiality and Intellectual Property

 The Shocker New Venture Competition honors the confidentiality of all participants' business concepts. Business concepts will not be released for any purposes other than use in SNVC. The judges also recognize the sensitivity of the materials being presented. 

Due to the nature of the competition, we are not able to ask the judges, reviewers, and staff to sign non-disclosure statements.  They all will be asked to make a good faith effort to preserve the confidentiality of each business concept. However, no special provisions are made to protect intellectual property. Teams should take measures to protect their own intellectual property. We would encourage you to not disclose any proprietary information. It is not necessary for you to share your secret sauce to get us fired up about your venture.

Rules

  • Entries must represent the original work of team members and must be for a new business (e.g. opening a franchise of an existing chain is not considered a new venture).
  • Each team must designate a primary contact. That primary contact must be enrolled as a student taking at least six credit hours during the spring 2024 semester at a Kansas college or university. It is the primary contact's responsibility to communicate with other members of the team.
  • No team may have more than five participating members. Not every member needs to be from the same college / university or needs to be a currently enrolled student. Teams may list 'additional members' to credit individuals that contribute behind the scenes.
  • Only one entry per individual or team is permitted.
  • Each team must have a community mentor or a faculty advisor with an email address. Faculty advisors must have a .edu email address. For a team to be officially registered, the mentor/faculty advisor will be required to confirm their participation.
  • The Center for Entrepreneurship may select alternates for any round if selected teams are unwilling or unable to continue in the competition.
  • All deadlines and guidelines for submissions must be adhered to. Materials must be submitted by the announced due dates and times. Failure to meet these deadlines will result in the team being eliminated from the competition.
  • The Center for Entrepreneurship reserves the right to disqualify, in its sole and absolute discretion, any team from the competition at any time. Reasons for disqualification may include, but are not limited to, plagiarism and any other form of dishonesty, misappropriation or infringement of the intellectual property of others, and any failure to comply with these rules and regulations.
  • The names and photographs of contestant's and brief descriptions of their entries may be used in news coverage or promotion of the Center for Entrepreneurship or the Shocker New Venture Competition.
  • Payment of Awards The Wichita State University Foundation will issue checks in the full amount of the award to the primary contact. Tax payments on the awards will become the responsibility of those receiving the checks.

Craft Your Competitive Edge

Competition Prep Workshops

Through the offerings provided by the WSU Center for Entrepreneurship and Ablah Library, strengthen the venture you bring to the Shocker New Venture Competition. Learn, practice, and prepare what you need to succeed!

Workshops

We invite you to participate in Ablah Library's carefully curated entrepreneurship workshops.

Attend both "Market Research for Startups" and "Intro to Intellectual Property" to fortify your foundation.

(We advise checking in for updates, as this series is offered fall and spring)
Entrepreneurship Research Series

Pitch Practice

Hone your pitching skills and improve your pitch content by scheduling an appointment to practice and get feedback for your pitch, an essential element of each round of SNVC.

Schedule today!
If you cannot find a date and time provided when scheduling, reach out directly to Nancy Kersenbrock (nancy.kersenbrock@wichita.edu), and we will find a time that works for you. 

 

For more on past winners!

2024 Sponsors:

A big thank you to all our sponsors for the Shocker New Venture Competition, whose collective contributions across the premium, gold, silver, and bronze tiers create a platform where startup ideas flourish. Your support is integral to the success and impact of the Shocker New Venture Competition.

Become a sponsor today!


Shocker New Venture Competition

Premier:

YESyoga

Gold:
Commerce Bank Logo
IMA Financial Group Logo

 

Intrust

Moral Holdings

Silver:

JKC PSYCH Dr. Kesterson-Cravens, PHD Clinical Psychologist.

Network Kansas Logo
UBS company logo

 

Compete          Rules & Guidelines          Student Judge          Volunteer          Sponsor

 

Here to assist in your entrepreneurial journey.

If you cannot find a date and time provided when scheduling a Pitch Practice or Startup Consultation, reach out directly to Nancy Kersenbrock, and we will find a time that works for you.