Judging

Business Track

Super Saturday

Super Saturday is the first round of live judging of Student Business Track. The judges for this round of the Business track are venture capitalists, past winners, serial founders and angel investors. These investors are looking for ideas that have potential to become the next big idea with significant economic impact. Companies may also have a social mission but are primarily focused on building high-growth profit-oriented businesses.

Semifinal & Finals

Semifinal and Finals Judges are Managing Directors and General Partners of some of the top venture capital firms in the US. Also included are some of the most successful Harvard Business School (HBS) entrepreneurs from top companies.

Criteria

Judging criteria is focused on Customer Value Proposition which includes size of market, competitive landscape, and clear differentiation, Economic model of the venture, go-to-market plan and the capabilities and background of the team. You can learn more about the judging criteria through our New Venture Competition (NVC) 2025 Judging Rubric (pdf).

Finals Judges

Business Track, 2025

  • Aaron Michel, Relentless Capital

  • Brian Hollins, Collide Capital

  • Daniel Nowiszewski, Highland Capital Partners

  • David Cancel, Olo, Inc.

  • Diego Rodriguez, TrueCar & LendingTree

  • Jackie Shoback, 1414 Ventures

  • Oisin Hanrahan, Keychain

  • Patrick Chung, Xfund

  • Peter Bell, Amity Ventures

  • Rags Gupta, Aktiia

Super Saturday Judges

Business Track, 2025

  • Adam Medros, Spark Networks

  • Alex Herzlinger, Highland Instruments

  • Alireza Masrour, Plug and Play

  • Andre Rocha, ChaosSearch

  • Andrea Riposati, Dante Genomics

  • Andy Macey, EPAM Systems

  • Anne Dwane, Village Global

  • Anthony Franklin, Spearhead Capital Partners

  • Barbara Finer

  • Barbara Piette, Avoca Partners

  • Brittany Yoon, ex Uber, ex NFX

  • Chee We Ng, Oakseed Ventures

  • Christy Sheehy-Bensinger, C. Light Technologies, Inc.

  • Connie Cocroft, Trailhead Capital

  • Daniel Arnold, Medality

  • Daniel Oliver, Rejuvenate Bio

  • Dave Terry, Stealth HC StartUp

  • David Ronick, Everywhere Ventures

  • Doug Romanoff, Parameter Ventures

  • Durjoy Bhattacharjya, MedicalRecords.com

  • Frida Polli, MIT

  • Gustavo Cavalcanti, Aaron Bell International

  • Harman Kochar, ERA

  • Heb Ryan, Boston Post Partners

  • Ian Levine, Launchpad Venture Group

  • Illai Gescheit, Gescheit & Partners

  • Javier Segovia, Mirador Tech

  • Jessie Reniere, Hinckley Allen

  • Jie Li, Reflextion Capital

  • John Piret, AAAS (DoE)

  • Jonathan Spier, Rev

  • Jong Lee, Day Zero Diagnostics

  • Justin Crandall, Kyody Robotics

  • Karla Friede, Nvoicepay

  • Kate Putnam, Golden Seeds

  • Kathy F. Rocha, Pulpit Rock Investors

  • Kwesi Acquay, Redpoint

  • Lewis Long, Long Gallery Harlem

  • Lex Zhao, One Way Ventures

  • MaryAnne Gucciardi, Wealthmind Financial Planning

  • Pam Randhawa, Empiriko Corporation

  • Paul Baier, GAI Insights

  • Paul Ognibene, Urban Spaces

  • Ramon Blanco, Bewater Funds

  • Ravi Kyasaram, Edward Jones

  • Richard Lawson, HBS Alumni Angles New York

  • Ross Kudwitt, ALO.ai

  • Ryan Davis, People First

  • Sarah Pierson, Margaux

  • Sarayu Srinivasan, Intel, Pepsi, KAARGO

  • Sascha Mornell, Getmyboat

  • Scott Healy, Psych Hub

  • Sean Lanagan, CAMP Systems International

  • Shivam Goyal, Endeavor Capital

  • Shravan Narayen, IVP

  • Simeon Bochev, The Compute Exchange

  • Sooah Cho, SignalFire

  • Stan Fung, FarSight Ventures

  • Stephanie Rowe, Deloitte

  • Teri Shipp, Shipp Consulting

  • Theresa Tribble, Droplet Biosciences

  • Timothy Scales, Indiana University East

  • Vrinda Agarwal, Penny Jar Capital

  • Yu Chen, Potluck Tech