New Venture Seed Competition 2025-26

The New Venture Seed Competition (NVSC) is for members of the USC community with a great business idea - student, recent graduate (SP 2020 to the present), faculty or staff member.

The NVSC offers learning opportunities and a prize pool of over $150,000. It is the largest entrepreneurship competition on campus.
To apply: COMING SOON

Information Sessions are offered:
November 4, 11AM - 12PM
November 6, 6:30PM - 7:30PM
November 10, 6:30PM - 7:30PM
November 13, 11AM - 12PM

1. PRIZE MONEY
Final Prizes
Platinum Prize (1st Place): $35,000
Gold Prize (2nd Place): $20,000
Silver Prizes (3rd Place): $15,000
Silver Prizes (3rd Place): $15,000
Bronze Prize (4th Place): $10,000
John Nehorai Award (4th Place): $10,000
Helena of Troy Award: $10,000
Social Impact Prize: $5,000
Early Stage Concept Prize (1st place): $7,500
Early Stage Concept Prize (2nd place): $5,000
Early Stage Concept Prize (3rd place): $2,500
2025 NVSC People’s Choice Award: $1,000

Semi-Final Prizes
Lowenstein Prize of $1,500 (for each semi-finalist)

2. RULES
Eligibility
Ventures from any industry are welcome to apply. Each team must include at least one member who meets one of the following criteria:

Current USC student (graduate or undergraduate)
Current USC faculty member or staff
USC alumni within 5 years of graduation

Process
1. Application Submission
Deadline: 11:59 PM PST, February 1, 2025
Submit a completed application to the New Venture Seed Competition.
Applications can be updated/resubmitted until the deadline.

2. Mandatory Meeting
Date: Wednesday, February 5, 2025, from 7:30–9:30 PM PST
At least one team member must attend.
Failure to attend will result in automatic disqualification.

3. Materials Due
Following the training, teams must upload required materials for the judges.
Deadline: 11:59 PM PST, February 16, 2025
Teams will need to submit a pro forma and slide deck.
Failure to submit these documents on time will result in automatic disqualification.

4. Quarter-Finalists Notified
Quarter-finalists will be notified on February 21, 2025.

5. Quarter-Finals
Date: Thursday, February 27, 2025, from 5:30–8:30 PM PST
All eligible applicants will present in a preliminary judging round.
A total of 15 teams will advance to the coaching phase.

6. Semi-Finalists Notified
Semi-finalists will be notified on February 28, 2025.

7. Training Sessions
Semi-finalist teams must participate in customer discovery and mentorship sessions to refine their business ideas.
Dates: Saturdays — March 1, March 8, March 15, March 29, and April 5, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM–12:00 PM PST
At least one team member must attend all sessions. Failure to attend will result in automatic disqualification.

8. Semi-Finals
Date: Thursday, April 10, 2025, from 5:30–8:30 PM PST
Six teams will be selected to advance to the finals.

9. Finals
Date: Friday, April 25, 2025, from 9:00 AM–12:00 PM PST
Finals will be open to the public.

10. Winner Announcement
Winners will be announced at the Marcia Israel Awards Banquet.
Date: Thursday, May 1, 2025, Time TBD
Location: USC Town & Gown

Qualifying Concepts and Solutions
1. Eligible Ventures
The pitch must be for a new and independent venture in the seed, start-up, or early-growth stages.
Plans that include proposals for buy-outs, expansions of existing companies, roll-ups, real estate syndications, tax shelters, franchises, licensing agreements for distribution in a different geographical area, spin-outs from existing corporations, and other consulting projects or analyses are not eligible.
Licensing technologies from universities or research labs is encouraged, assuming they have not been commercialized previously. The business may assume a technology or product/service that has been licensed from another company, private inventor, or university with their written approval. Revenue streams from the business should not be based solely on deriving revenues from the licensing of its own technologies.
2. Funding and Revenue Restrictions
The business should not have received more than $100,000 in equity-related capital (such as seed capital or institutional funding).
Generated more than $10,000 in gross revenue prior to the current academic year. Revenue generated during a test-marketing project may be excluded from this provision.
3. Original Work
The pitch must represent the original work of each contestant. Each submission indicates that the pitch is the original work of the author(s).
Any team submitting a plagiarized submission will be disqualified.
The author(s) will retain all rights to the submission regarding its use at all times prior to and following the competition, except as stated elsewhere in these rules.
4. Honesty in Submissions
The pitch may not contain fabricated information about (but not limited to) the following:
Team member backgrounds, experience, or education.
Product development stages, performance claims, or market survey results.
3. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
Prize Money and Scholarships:
F-1 or J-1 students can generally accept scholarships and prizes they receive as part of contests, competitions, or academic achievements. Scholarships and prize money should never be used as compensation for work or income. If a scholarship or a prize includes a work component, such as a teaching or research assistantship, departments, and students must adhere to the regulations governing on-campus or off-campus employment.
Scholarships or prizes from a USC entrepreneurship program or competition should be distributed to students via their student account. This method eliminates concerns about prize money possibly being viewed as income in the future when students apply for immigration benefits.
Tax Implications:
Students who start their own businesses are subject to U.S. tax laws. They must consult a tax professional to understand their tax obligations and responsibilities.
The above guidelines are for informational purposes only; please consult with an OIS F-1 or J-1 Advisor before participating in a USC entrepreneurship competition or program that involves receiving money prizes or scholarships.
Questions? Contact OIS
If you are an international alumnus, please refer to the Prize Money Distribution section on this site as you will register as a USC supplier.
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Home
• 1. PRIZE MONEY
• 2. RULES
• 3. INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS
• 4. DISCLOSURES AND AGREEMENTS
• 5. PRIZE MONEY DISTRIBUTION

4. DISCLOSURES AND AGREEMENTS
1. Due to the nature of the Competition, no one involved (judges, reviewers, sponsors, staff or the audience) will be subject to confidentiality. By participating in the Competition, competitors agree that USC, nor members of the judging panels; sponsors, nor their designate organizations; assume any liability for any disclosures of business plan information which may be made (whether inadvertently or otherwise) by any judge, reviewer, staff member, audience member, or other individual connected with, participating in, viewing, hearing, or receiving information from the competition.
2. By participating in the Competition, competitors acknowledge and agree to filming, recording, and public posting of the Competition agree to allow USC, and organizations designated by them, the unlimited right to videotape, photograph, audiotape, transcribe, or otherwise record all public sessions of the competition; including, but not limited to, oral presentations and question-and-answer sessions. Competitors also agree that USC and/or their designate organizations may use any such transcriptions and/or recording(s) (in whole or part) for such publicity and marketing purposes as their organizations may see fit, including those which may result in remuneration.
3. The final round of the Competition is open to the public. Any data or information discussed or divulged in public sessions by competitors should be considered information that will likely enter the public realm (including print or broadcast through media, including the Internet), and competitors should not assume any right of confidentiality in any data or information discussed, divulged or presented in these sessions. Neither USC, judges, sponsors, nor their designate organizations, assume any duty to screen or otherwise control the identity of those attending, viewing or hearing all or part of these public sessions. Competitors agree that, by entering the Competition, they have been made aware that such attendees, viewers and recipients may include members of the media and potential competitors in addition to members of the business, education, and financial communities, students, and faculty.
4. Not every circumstance can be anticipated. USC and participating institutions reserve the right to disqualify any team that violates the rules, regulations, or the spirit of the Competition.
5. The Competition is presented by USC. USC is not liable for the contest, rules, prizes, events, or any decisions made by the judges or as part of the competition.
5. PRIZE MONEY DISTRIBUTION
## Important Information on Prize Payments
USC has established detailed processes to ensure that all prize payments comply with federal laws. Please review the following information carefully.
General Guidelines
Payment Processing Timelines
USC cannot begin processing payments until all required materials are submitted. Note that even after receiving all necessary information, payment processing can take up to seven (7) weeks.
Tax Implications
By law, all financial awards are considered taxable income. For team submissions, the individual listed on the questionnaire will be designated as the team representative and will be responsible for all receipts and payments.
Specific Requirements
1. Current USC Students
• Federal regulations require that prize payments to current USC students are processed as scholarships.
• If you are receiving financial aid, the award payment may impact your financial aid package. USC will contact you directly to clarify the potential effects and determine the best method to disburse your award.
• If you do not register a business and are receiving financial aid, the prize amount will automatically be deducted from your financial aid package. You will have the option to select your preferred method of receiving the award.
2. Non-USC Students
• You must complete the USC Supplier Registration form. The form requires either an Employer Identification Number (EIN) or a Social Security Number (SSN) for tax reporting purposes.
• The email invitation will come from usc-suppliers@sciquest.com. Please ensure this address is added to your safe sender list to avoid spam filtering issues.
• If you do not receive the invitation email within three (3) business days or have questions, contact NVSC@marshall.usc.edu immediately.
3. Vendor Setup and Tax Requirements
• To register as a vendor in USC's supplier system, you must provide an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for your business.
• If you do not have an EIN, you may use your Social Security Number (SSN) as an alternative. This information is necessary for tax reporting and to ensure compliance with IRS regulations.
Awards Exceeding $10,000
• For awards exceeding $10,000, 50% of the total award amount will be issued upon signing an agreement letter with the Greif Center.
• The remaining 50% will be distributed three (3) months after the date of the award letter.
• The second payment is contingent upon the recipient providing detailed information on the proposed use of the funds.

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