In a winter 2020 seminar on educational inequality, Jacob Jordan (SESP ’20, School of Professional Studies M.A. ’21) learned access to books for young children in underserved communities was a strong determinant of whether they would graduate college. Jordan returned to his hometown in Maine in March 2020 as the pandemic sent most Northwestern students.
Twenty-five student startups competed in this year’s virtual VentureCat, which involved multiple rounds of pitching before the winner, Por Adela, was selected Wednesday night. Por Adela, a transportation-centered factory solutions startup, took first place at this year’s VentureCat competition, winning a total of $151,000 in prize money. Organized by Kellogg School of Management, The Garage,.
VentureCat, Northwestern University’s annual startup competition, brought together 25 of the University’s most promising startups in a battle for more than $300,000 in non-dilutive prize money.
Evanston Now
A previous year s VentureCat final presentation.
It kind of sounds like baseball. There are “pitching coaches,” “slides,” and even a name which could be straight from the minor leagues: “VentureCat.”
But VentureCat at Northwestern University is anything but the minors for students looking to become entrepreneurs. It’s a competition for those who have created business start-ups and are striving toward the next step to success.
Sixty-five teams, the most since the program began in 2017, have been winnowed down to 25 semifinalists by judges with business expertise. After more rounds of presentations to the experts, winners will be announced May 26.