BOSTON—Harvard Business School’s (HBS) Klarman Hall was the site of yesterday’s finale of the annual New Venture Competition (NVC), an opportunity for student founders to pitch their ventures before the HBS community. The event featured four finalists each from the Rock Business Track and the Social Enterprise Track, with grand prizes of $75,000, runner-up prizes of $25,000; and two audience prizes of $5,000.
The School’s Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Initiative (SEI) host NVC, open to all students interested in launching new business and social impact ventures. This year, 123 teams participated in the competition—86 in the Rock Business Track and 37 in the Social Enterprise Track. Since its inception in 1997, more than 5,000 teams have participated, with more than $4 million awarded to the winning teams who are creating groundbreaking new businesses and social impact ventures, generating more than 23,000 jobs.
This year’s new venture pitches were shaped by feedback from more than 190 judges and mentors, including many HBS alumni, representing a broad range of industries and lived operating experience. Their perspectives spanned venture and social impact investing, as well as founding and scaling companies across deep tech, health care and life sciences, consumer products, and climate innovation, among others. The result was a group of eight finalists, four in each track, working across fields as varied as sustainable agriculture, mental health, cybersecurity, biotech, and the future of work.
“Over the past 30 years, the New Venture Competition has evolved alongside the entrepreneurial landscape, but its core purpose has remained the same: to help founders test their assumptions, refine their thinking, and build ventures grounded in real customer needs,” said Professor Shikhar Ghosh, Rock Center faculty chair. “What distinguishes the NVC is not just the prize money, but the rigor of the process —teams are challenged to confront uncertainty, incorporate feedback, and strengthen both their strategy and their execution. In a world being reshaped by AI, climate pressures, and shifting global markets, that discipline is more important than ever. The competition reflects what we strive to teach at HBS: Entrepreneurship is not just about bold ideas, but about learning faster and building better.”
“The New Venture Competition captures the essence of entrepreneurship at HBS, where bold ideas are tested, refined, and accelerated into action,” added Thara Pillai, director of the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. “It unites students, faculty, alumni, experts, and investors in a powerful learning ecosystem that demands rigor, rewards collaboration, and prepares founders to build enduring companies in an AI shaped, rapidly evolving world.”
“Social entrepreneurship is a vital catalyst for social change, harnessing innovation, accountability, and sustainable solutions to confront society’s most pressing challenges,” said Amelia Angella, director of the Social Enterprise Initiative. “The New Venture Competition offers our students a dynamic platform to test their ideas, receive expert guidance, and advance their social ventures in an environment grounded in the belief that lasting impact is achieved when purpose and enterprise advance in alignment.”
Christina Wallace, senior lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit, commented, “Honestly, the New Venture Competition is one of my favorite events of the year. There’s something special about being in the room when a founder figures out the real heart of their story. Sometimes it’s about refactoring their pitch. Other times it means blowing up what they came in with and starting over. In either case, it’s an energizing moment of co-creation and I’m humbled to be a part of it.”
In addition to the $210,000 in cash prizes, sponsors donated in-kind tools and services that will help the startups launch and grow. In-kind sponsors are Clerky, Foley Hoag, and HubSpot for Startups.
This year’s winners are:
The Dubilier Prize was established by New York- and London-based private investment firm Clayton, Dubilier & Rice in 1998 in honor of its founder, Martin Dubilier (MBA 1952), to support entrepreneurship.
The Satchu-Burgstone Prize honors Jon Burgstone (MBA 1999), Asif Satchu (MBA 1999), and Reza Satchu (MBA 1996), who were runners-up in the 1999 competition with their plan for SupplierMarket.com.
Serosafe Surgical
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Serosafe is a clinical stage medical technology startup developing medical devices that prevent pain and complications associated with post-operative surgical drains.
Lyv Health
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Lyv is a platform that connects wellness businesses (such as med spas, health coaches, and wellness centers) to clinical services they currently cannot provide but for which they have customer demand — including blood testing, prescriptions, and peptides.
Sensea
Sensea is building the internet of the ocean via long-duration, persistent underwater network solutions that collect, process, and transmit data from the sea floor to satellites and everything else in between.
The Sacerdote Prizes were established in 2003 by Peter M. Sacerdote (MBA 1964) to encourage more HBS graduates to become involved in social enterprises and to support those efforts.
Revolv
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Revolv is transforming organic waste into affordable feed and fertilizer, empowering farmers to increase productivity.
smartSTAT
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smartSTAT is automating hospital code carts to reduce burnout, save costs, and improve patient safety.
Lighthouse
Lighthouse delivers adolescent mental health support through prevention, therapy, and data.
Cortex Ventures
Cortex acquires engineering services firms at six to eight times their current EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization), then uses proprietary AI to boost company margins by 15 to 30 percent before exiting at premium tech multiples.
Myranda
Myranda is an AI tool designed to promote healthier digital development by giving young people agency within their social feeds.
Harvard Business School, located on a 40-acre campus in Boston, was founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University. It is among the world’s most trusted sources of management education and thought leadership. For more than a century, the School’s faculty has combined a passion for teaching with rigorous research conducted alongside practitioners at world-leading organizations to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. Through a dynamic ecosystem of research, learning, and entrepreneurship that includes MBA, Doctoral, Executive Education, and Online programs, as well as numerous initiatives, centers, institutes, and labs, Harvard Business School fosters bold new ideas and collaborative learning networks that shape the future of business.