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The 17th Annual Global New Venture Challenge (GNVC) has awarded first place to Investable, an automated robo-advisor app linked to your payroll which makes investing effortless. The app deducts a small amount of post-tax dollars from your paycheck to purchase micro shares of ETFs tailored to your goals.
Seven finalist teams presented their business plans to a panel of judges at UChicago’s Gleacher Center in downtown Chicago on Friday for a chance to win part of a $100,000 investment pool. Investable took first place and was awarded $50,000 in investment.
“It feels incredible to be a part of this process – the connections we made, the networking, and of course the week we got to spend with the professors really helped us,” said Nick Schubert, MBA ’24, founder and CEO of Investable. “We’re thrilled to have won, and this $50,000 will go a long way for us.”
Marinas Bio, which is pioneering the sustainable production of seafood delicacies such as caviar through cellular agriculture took second place, and Autism GPT, which provides speech therapy for children with autism by harnessing generative AI, took third place at the 2024 GNVC.
Now in its 17th year, the GNVC is a track of the top-ranked New Venture Challenge and is designed exclusively for Chicago Booth’s executive MBA students. It debuted in 2008 to accommodate the growing entrepreneurial aspirations of Booth’s executive MBA students on each of its three global campuses — Chicago, Hong Kong, and London. Each year the GNVC brings together more than 80 alumni and members of the business community to serve as coaches, judges, panelists, and guest speakers. The seven finalists were chosen from a group of 22 teams which were selected as part of Phase 2 earlier this year.
The GNVC is one of five tracks of the New Venture Challenge, a top-ranked business school startup accelerator founded at Chicago Booth 27 years ago. The overall program has supported more than 390 still-active companies that have raised more than $1 billion in funding and achieved more than $8 billion in mergers and exits. Household names include Tovala, Braintree, Simple Mills, and Grubhub.
The winners of the 2024 GNVC are:
First Place ($50,000)
Investable // Investable is an automated robo-advisor app linked to your payroll, making investing effortless. It deducts a small amount of post-tax dollars from your paycheck to purchase micro shares of ETFs tailored to your goals.
Second Place ($35,000)
Marinas Bio // Marinas Bio pioneers the sustainable production of seafood delicacies such as caviar through cellular agriculture, also known as bio-enhanced farming. It is targeting the luxury consumer markets in Asia and North America. Its mission is to meet the rising demand for ethically produced caviar and roe, minimizing environmental impact while offering superior taste and quality.
Third Place ($15,000)
Autism GPT // Autism GPT aims to provide speech therapy for children with autism by harnessing generative AI. It is developing a digital speech therapist by utilizing cutting-edge research in the field of autism, providing children with an engaging, conversational therapy experience that enhances real-life speech therapy with additional digitally-assisted speech therapy services. This approach complements traditional speech therapy by offering unlimited, cost-effective sessions that are accessible anytime, anywhere.
The Global New Venture Challenge (GNVC) is the dedicated track of the New Venture Challenge program that supports Chicago Booth Executive MBA students worldwide. Second-year students in the Chicago Booth Executive MBA program are eligible to apply to the GNVC and participate as one of their capstone course requirements. Each year the GNVC brings together more than 80 alumni and members of the business community to serve as coaches, judges, panelists, and guest speakers. The program is run by the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation in collaboration with the Executive MBA program at Chicago Booth.
