The Entrepreneurship & Venture Capital program (formerly the Venture Fund) is excited to announce our Spring 2024 Business Pitch Competition. Any current student or recent NYU Law graduate (Classes of 2021, 2022, and 2023) with an interest in entrepreneurship is invited to participate—regardless of their experience level.
The deadline to submit a pitch has passed. Finalists will be invited to pitch at an in person event to a panel of judges on March 12th, and the winner will be awarded a $1,500 cash prize.
The following criteria will be used to judge the video submissions and live pitches:
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Submission (clarity of pitch; coherent and organized deck)
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Concept (relevant concept; creative and unique idea)
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Scalability (practical usability; growth potential)
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Complexity (complexity of the idea; market reach)
$1,500 in cash will be awarded to the Grand Prize Winner.
Judges:
Lydia Cheuk ’97 - General Counsel of Away
Lydia Cheuk is currently the General Counsel at Away, a travel goods company. Prior to joining Away, Lydia built and oversaw the business and legal affairs function at First Look Media as the SVP, Business and Legal Affairs. An entertainment studio founded by Ebay founder Pierre Omidyar, First Look Media develops, produces and finances content across all platforms. Prior to her tenure at First Look, Lydia served as the General Counsel of Blue Man Group, the international live entertainment organization, as well as an associate at Goodwin.
Andrea Inokon ’03 - CoFounder and COO of Cadence Cash
Andrea Inokon is a distinguished c-suite executive, advisor, lawyer, and entrepreneur with a 20-year track record of championing the rights and opportunities for women and minorities in the financial and tech sectors.
As a Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Cadence Cash, an AI-powered growth platform for small businesses, she has been instrumental in the platform's mission to provide innovative financial solutions to underrepresented entrepreneurs.
Andrea also serves on the Advisory Board for The RAND Center to Advance Race Equity Policy and the Board of Advisors for Duke University Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Holding a B.A. from Duke University and a Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law, Andrea dedicated nearly two decades to the legal field, including a notable tenure as Senior Vice President, Senior Counsel at Pacific Investment Management Company (PIMCO) for a decade.
Andrea currently resides in Raleigh, NC with her husband and two daughters.
Ed Stelzer ’93 - EIR at loeb.nyc and Co-Founder of SteadyDrive
Ed Stelzer is an experienced corporate counsel, strategic advisor, and startup founder. As Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Loeb.nyc, a New York City-based venture collective, Ed co-founded SteadyDrive, a startup that leverages driving behavior analytics to offer substantial auto insurance savings. His extensive legal experience includes serving as SVP & Associate General Counsel at Zurich Insurance Group and working at the law firms of Wachtell Lipton and Milbank. Ed also was head of business development and Acting GC at a high-growth wireless technology company in NYC.
Ed graduated summa cum laude from Yeshiva University and earned his J.D. at the NYU School of Law, where he served as a Notes & Comments Editor for the NYU Law Review. After graduation, Ed was a law clerk to Justice Stewart Pollock on the New Jersey Supreme Court.
He is actively involved in mentoring entrepreneurs, and speaks regularly at conferences about legal and strategic risks in technological innovation.
Questions? Contact us at law.evc@nyu.edu.