Brown Venture Prize 2023 Application

JavaScript isn't enabled in your browser, so this file can't be opened. Enable and reload.

Ready to launch the next big idea? The $50k Brown Venture Prize (BVP) is designed to empower the most advanced entrepreneurial ventures by Brown students and we look forward to learning more about yours!

BACKGROUND
Created in 2017, BVP has grown into one of the most exciting parts of the Brown entrepreneurship community, and every year hundreds of people come together to watch eight finalist teams pitch for funding to support their ventures. With this funding, BVP winners have gone on to make meaningful progress on their ventures, including launching products, building teams, and raising venture capital.

VENTURE EVALUATION
Ventures are evaluated by an esteemed group of alum judges who are experienced entrepreneurs and investors. Judges are asked to evaluate teams in the following areas:

The Problem: Is the team working on a validated unmet need?
The Solution: Does that team have a plausible solution to the problem they’ve identified? Have they taken any steps to test that solution?
The Business Model: Is the team’s venture feasible and is there a workable and sustainable business model? Does the venture have the capacity to achieve “impact at scale”?
The Team: Does the team have the requisite passion and skills to make this venture successful? If not, what is their plan for addressing this?
Connection to Brown: How much Brown DNA is there in this venture?
BVP’s Impact: Will BVP funding make a meaningful difference for this venture and its prospects for success?

SUBMISSION PROCESS

In this application we are going to ask you for the following things:

Basic information about your venture
Basic Information about your team
A link to a short 3-minute video of your team introducing yourselves and what you are working on
Longer more substantive written answers to some of the topics referenced above (Problem, Solution, Business Model, etc.)

The application is due Friday, February 3, 2023 at 1:00 pm ET. Only one application for the venture should be submitted on behalf of the team (though all founders should be identified in this form). Here are some particular items to understand and prepare before you start.

For the written portion of your application please remember to write clearly and concisely. Get to the point quickly, even in the first sentence, and adhere to the provided word limits. To preview the written application questions click here.

Record the required 3-minute video, upload it to YouTube, and have the link ready to insert in the application. Do NOT wait until the last minute to upload your video to YouTube. Give yourself enough time to allow for unexpected technical difficulties. We will not accept late applications. Do not mark the video as private on YouTube, or we will not be able to see it and may not be able to consider it as part of your application. Also, please note that if you are also applying to the Breakthrough Lab (B-Lab), note that the questions and requirements for the video are different from BVP.

You can provide optional supplemental material to your application, but we cannot ensure that these documents will be reviewed by the committee. Consequently, do not use supplemental pages as a means to extend your answers beyond the word limits.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Preparing a good application is time consuming, but here are a few recommended resources to help you along.

Read over our FAQs at entrepreneurship.brown.edu/the-brown-venture-prize/.
Visit our new resources guide at https://bit.ly/3pCU9Cq.
Apply for an Application Mentor (usually an experience Brown Alum entrepreneur) who can provide feedback and help review your application: https://forms.gle/otKPK5L2LKC98Die8
You can also see some past Brown Venture Prize pitches on youtube, for example the 2022 Prize here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBEzZFRhT64

There are also several other Nelson Center grants that may be a good fit for your venture depending on what you are working on. In particular, the Center also provides dedicated grant funding to student ventures addressing climate change/sustainability and anti-Black & systemic racism. We partner with the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society (IBES) and the Center for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in America (CSREA) to inspire students to focus on these important sectors. (Visit our website to learn more: https://entrepreneurship.brown.edu/partners/climate-change-grants/ & https://entrepreneurship.brown.edu/resources/addressing-anti-black-systemic-racism-venture-grants/).

Lastly, if you have any questions, email Jonas Clark, Associate Director, at jonas_clark@brown.edu.

We look forward to learning about your exciting venture!

-The Nelson Center Team

Email *

Clear form

Never submit passwords through Google Forms.

This form was created inside of Brown University. Report Abuse

Forms