COLLEGE STATION, Texas — The spread of the coronavirus has caused many events to be cancelled or moved online.
The sixth Texas A&M New Ventures Competition will have 16 startups across the state competing against each other over the course of two days.
"We take the top 6 finalists that go through that process are going to split up 400K, the top prize getting 50K. There’s a bunch of other prizes that those top 6 are eligible for plus the rest of the cohort. There’s a myriad of other prizes from law firms, marketing firms, engineering firms, that all go to winners and prizes that those sponsors choose," said Texas A&M New Ventures Competition chair Chris Scotti.
A panel of nearly 45 judges are invited to delegate the competition.
“We invite those judges to listen to these companies, to read their applications and evaluate the team member in such a way so that they can help put their heads together and decide what are the top companies in the state of Texas.. Who is the most likely to succeed," said Scotti.
These startups are involved in all kinds of industries, including healthcare, energy, and transportation.
On top of the 400 thousand dollars that will be split up among the winners, the Brazos Valley EDC, a sponsor of the event, will be giving out another 10 thousand dollar grant to one local startup here in BCS.
“It’s all about job creation and we’re doing that by helping entrepreneurs start their companies from scratch. One of the things about these companies is they’re science and technology based, engineering as well, so they actually are making specific products," said BVEDC CEO Matt Prochaska.
Investing in local startups is one way the organization plants seeds for a financially stronger future.
“We as an organization and TAMU Ventures Competition is focused on the future of creating wonderful companies and working with those wonderful companies to create new jobs that may not even exist right now in the Brazos Valley. And hopefully bring more technology more sciences here," said Prochaska.
The public is invited to watch the final six groups compete on Thursday afternoon via zoom. This year, the other groups that don't make it to the final round will be allowed to give an elevator pitch about their startup to the judges that the public will vote on for the winners.
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