Launched in 1996, the Edward L. Kaplan, '71, New Venture Challenge (NVC) is one of the US premier business competitions, allowing entrepreneurs to act upon their business ideas within a supportive and highly rewarding environment. The NVC expanded globally in 2008 to allow entrepreneurs from around the world to participate. Judging sessions for the Global NVC semi-finalists take place in London and Singapore, with finalists presenting before a panel of judges in Chicago in March.

The ESTC Innovation Seed Camp is a business plan competition organized by Austria wirtchaftsservice (AWS) and held at the European Semantic Technology Conference. It provides
innovative business ideas, involving the use of semantics or Internet technology, the chance to reach out to the exploitation network of experts and investors.