APPLY >>>APPLY NOW
This is a guide to all things Carbon Venture 2022
...
Carbon Venture 2022 Overview
Venture College, and the Institute for Pervasive Cybersecurity are excited to offer the first Carbon Venture Competition, with $20,000 in prize money.
Participants will choose a problem statement provided by our industry partners, and form interdisciplinary teams to propose solutions to that problem. These teams will compete for cash prizes as they solve critical carbon & sustainability issues. At the same time, they will be building a viable venture for themselves and making helpful connections to mentors and industry leaders.
Sprint Week
The Venture College will lead participants through a week-long sprint to test, validate, and launch their venture. Teams will be working with industry experts, business leaders, and mentors to help them craft their venture and pitch.
Pitch Competition Join the fight against climate change while competing for $20,000 in cash prizes by pitching your venture to industry experts, investors, and community members.
This is a ‘reverse pitch’ competition open to Boise State students. You don’t have to bring your own idea, as industry partners will identify challenges they face and pose these as problem statements. Participants will work on interdisciplinary teams to find solutions to these challenges, while building a venture.
There are three phases of this competition:
Sprint Week (April 12-18,2022)
Participants will attend daily meetings from 5:00-6:00 p.m. ,composed of a mix of lessons, brainstorming sessions with industry leaders, practice pitches with mentors, and one-on-one meetings. Solutions will be refined into ventures through research, customer discovery, and idea validation.
Pitch Competition (April 19, 2022)
The Carbon Venture Challenge will culminate with a pitch competition. Judges include industry experts, entrepreneurs, and investors, providing connections to a network that will last well beyond this competition.
Finals Pitch Competition The top four (April 22, 2022)
Finalist teams will pitch for cash prizes during this year’s Boise Entrepreneur Week.Prize Money
The following prizes will be awarded:
1st place - $10,000
2nd Place - $5,000
3rd Place - $3,000
Other small awards may be granted.
Problems Statements
If you already have a venture or solution that addresses carbon reduction or sustainability, you are allowed to use it for your this competition. Otherwise, you can use the following problem statements as an inspiration for a starting point:
High Level Problem: How can you help Boise State reduce it’s sustainability score?
Boise State recently scored at 48.87 (out of 100) for it’s sustainability performance. They are looking to improve their score in the near-term; however, secondary education and institutions can be deathly slow moving - especially if it requires multi-departmental approval, size-able budget, or new resources.
We suggest your solution offers the following:
Solutions that will not require multi-departmental changes or need significant time for approvals.
Little to no budget. You could suggest re-allocating costs to fund your idea, but we suggest not trying to increase the existing budget.
Boise State is especially interested in spreading awareness amongst students - with the intentions of changing students' behaviors and habits.
Specific Problems
Problem Selection Tips
Important Dates & Schedule
Tentative and subject to slight changes.
Out of Town Check-In: 3:00-5:00
IEC Teams Dinner and Introduction: 6:00-7:00
Pitch Practice: 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Schedule for Thursday, April 7th
Tentative and subject to slight changes.
Pitch Competition: 9:00-1:00
Your team will pitch 3 separate times to 3 different groups of judges
JUMP Slides Open for Students: 1:00-2:00
Lunch: 1:00-3:00
Tabletop Presentation (mini-tradeshow feel): 3:30-4:30
Awards Ceremony and Final Pitch Competition: 4:30-6:30
and getting them involved.
A solution that would be easy to test and collect results (to see if it justifies investing more time or effort).
Specific Problem Areas
Boise State’s sustainability score is comprised category and subcategory scores.
Categories:
...
Examples of Sub Categories:
Each category’s score can be expanded to see the sub-category scoring.
...
Learning About Each Sub Categories:
When you click on a sub category, you will find more information that Boise State self-reported. In addition to figures and data, Boise State provides a description of what they are currently doing (or not doing).
...
Suggesting for Exploring Solutions
Sometimes the easiest solutions are ones that have already been proven out in other markets (i.e. universities), but have not been applied locally. You can do this in a few easy steps:
1. Research what other schools are doing
We encourage you to research what other schools and universities are doing to score higher in sustainability
...
2. Each subcategory lists the main contact from each school:
These are industry experts that can give you more insight and help.
...
3. A quick Google search should provide you the person’s contact info so you can reach out and try to schedule a time to talk:
You can look for an email or reach out via LinkedIn.
...
4. Be professional and polite when reaching out to industry experts. An example email might look like this:
Mr. Miller,
I am a Boise State student competing in a sustainability competition for $20,000. I am specifically trying to help Boise State raise their STARS score for Waste Management and Diversion. I saw you helped the University of Connecticut receive a 4.0 score. I also read your detailed descriptions and had a few follow-up questions.
Would you be open to a quick phone call so I could get more insights to help with my Waste Management and Diversion solution for the competition?
Thanks,
Ryan
Other Competition Tips & Suggestions
We encourage participants to work on interdisciplinary teams, and to look beyond their own institution to find the right partners for their team.
Venture College will help match students to teams when the program begins. If you don’t have a team in mind, not to worry, as we will help!
Main Contacts
Beyond your university or college’s coach, we are here to help you with any questions.
...
Name
...
IEC
...
...
Link to Schedule Zoom Meeting
...
Ryan Vasso
...
Pitch Practice
Questions about the competition
Questions about judges & scoring
...
...
https://calendly.com/ryanvasso/iec-follow-on
...
Cara Van Sant
...
Help setting up Zoom dry-runs
Scheduling
Collecting logos, photos, etc.
...
...
https://calendly.com/caravansant/15min
...
Nic Miller
...
Pitch Practice
...
...
https://calendly.com/nic_miller/iec-pitch-practice?month=2022-03
Schedule for Wednesday, April 6th
Tentative and subject to slight changes.
Out of Town Check-In: 3:00-5:00
IEC Teams Dinner and Introduction: 6:00-7:00
Pitch Practice: 7:00-10:00 p.m.
Schedule for Thursday, April 7th
Tentative and subject to slight changes.
Pitch Competition: 9:00-1:00
Your team will pitch 3 separate times to 3 different groups of judges
JUMP Slides Open for Students: 1:00-2:00
Lunch: 1:00-3:00
Tabletop Presentation (mini-tradeshow feel): 3:30-4:30
Awards Ceremony and Final Pitch Competition: 4:30-6:30
Items We Need From You by March 15th
Company logo
Brief company description
20-30 Second intro video
Provide a headshot or photo of your team that will be appropriate for social media and our program
Sign and return the photo release form
Other Deliverables Needed Before the Competition
...
Minimally schedule at least 1 pitch practice with Ryan Vasso or Nic Miller from the Venture College team (we recommend more than 1)
...
Schedule a logistics-walkthrough with Cara Van Sant
Completed Pitch Deck sent to Cara Van Sant
...
Get stared before the competition! You know the problems - so get to work learning more about it before Sprint Week.
Pitch Details
All pitches will be 4 minutes or less
Pitch decks will need to be sent to Cara Van Sant prior to April 6ththe competition.
Please follow the general pitch-deck outline
Please note the template is merely a suggested guide You may:
Change the order of the slides
Brand the slides with different colors, titles, etc.
No videos are allowed in the slides
Pitches will be followed up with a Q&A session with judges for 4 minutes or less
If your team has multiple members, it is not required that they all present during the 4 minutes. It’s your choice.
Each team will pitch three times during the pitch off. If you take 1st place in your track, you will pitch one more time (against the other track winners) in the Final Pitch Competition.
Scoring Rubric
IEC This competition places a heavy emphasis on companies ideas that are progressing and show traction (i.e. not simply an idea competition). Pitches will be scored on six criteria sectionsrealistic, easy to launch and could scale at Boise State. In addition, there is an emphasis on demonstrating progress and validation during the “sprint week.” The judges rubric will have the following six questions:
How well do they understand and address the market and/or customer segment they are going after?Do they have any uniqueness or competitive advantages articulate the sustainability problem they are trying to solve?
Is their solution realistic and/or unique enough that would make them more likely to succeed?
How much progress/traction have they demonstrated before the competition or during Sprint Week?
How likely is the team to launch their idea into the market within the next 3-6 months? How realistic is their business model (including costs/financials, etc.)Have they clearly defined next steps needed?
How likely would Boise State allow them to quickly launch and test their venture within the university? If it shows signs of success, how likely would Boise Sate allow their venture to scale and become bigger?
How was the overall quality of their pitch presentation and Q&A performance?
...
Keep your slides simple, with minimal words. You are doing the presenting, not your slides. See pitch deck examples.
See comparable examples of IEC Finalists Pitches in IEC 2019 :
Table Top Presentation
Between the normal pitching rounds and the finals' pitch-off, each team will stand and present at your table top presentation. There will be two teams to a table. You may decorate or add visuals to your half of the table as you would like, including:
Banners
Poster board
Flyers
Demo of a physical Prototype
Here are pictures from the 2019 Table Top presentation:
...
2022 Tracks & Teams
...
SOFTWARE
...
School
...
Description (Coming Soon)
...
Findr
...
BYU Idaho
...
ChatterQuant
...
Boise State University
...
Pet-Tastic
...
CWI
...
TAC Security
...
Boise State University + CWI
...
Guide Pass
...
University of Idaho
...
Medimom
...
University of Idaho
...
Tech Products
...
School
...
Description (Coming Soon)
...
R2 Wheeling
...
Boise State University
...
VARScent Reverse Alzheimer
...
Boise State University
...
Sun Valley Solar Solutions
...
CSI
...
Dharma Dr.
...
Boise State University
...
VandalEyes
...
University of Idaho
...
Inflatable Swimsuit
...
University of Idaho
...
Manufactured Goods
...
School
...
Description (Coming Soon)
...
The Bee Team
...
Boise State University
...
Voguish's Tinker Shop
...
Brigham Young University - Idaho
...
Elite
...
University of Idaho
...
Happy Trails
...
University of Idaho
...
Cops and K-9’s
...
Idaho State University
...
GOAT Backpack
...
Idaho State University
...
Services
...
School
...
Description (Coming Soon)
...
Maggie
...
Boise State University
...
CD Master Center
...
College of Idaho
...
Refresh Office Assembly, LLC.
...
CWI
...
Zibe Design
...
Idaho State University
...
Orbis
...
Boise State University
...
Lower Gear Cycles
...
Main Competition Contacts
We are here to help you with any questions.
Name | IEC | Link to Schedule Zoom Meeting | |
|---|---|---|---|
Ryan Vasso |
| ||
Cara Van Sant |
| ||
Nic Miller |
| https://calendly.com/nic_miller/iec-pitch-practice?month=2022-03 |