2025 NFTE New England Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge: QFs Judge (Virtual)

About this Opportunity

The culminating event of every NFTE program is the Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge. You are invited to serve as a judge for this virtual business pitch competition event as a member of the NFTE entrepreneurial community. We are looking for various members of the NFTE volunteer community to review business plans submitted by NFTE students from across the New England region. NFTE judging panels are composed of a mix of investors and industry experts, including venture capitalists, angel investors, investment bankers, seasoned entrepreneurs, and business professionals of all kinds. We seek a good balance of volunteers that mirror and model the demographic diversity of our young entrepreneurs.

Judging Window: Tuesday, May 13 at 9:00 AM ET through Thursday, May 15 through 12:00 PM NOON ET

As a judge, you will have the important role of determining which student business offers the most innovative solution to a real-world problem and demonstrates a strong entrepreneurial mindset. You will also have the opportunity to provide constructive feedback to the student businesses on their business ideas via our judging platform, Reviewr.

This Regional Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge consists of 3 rounds:
1) The Quarterfinal Round (virtual + self-paced): Tuesday, May 13 through Thursday, May 15, 2025
2) The Semifinal Round (virtual via Zoom): Thursday, May 22 2024 2:30 PM-4:00 PM
3) The Final Round (live, in-person): Tuesday, June 3, 2025

Between each round, judges scores will determine the top businesses that advance to the next round. The top New England businesses determined in the Final Round will advance to the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge in October 2025 to compete for a grand prize award for their business.

The National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge is presented by EY and the Citi Foundation.
New England Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge: Quarterfinals Judging

**Judging Window: Tuesday, May 13, 9:00 AM ET – Thursday, May 15, 12:00 PM NOON ET

**Please note: This is a self-paced, remote, and asynchronous volunteer opportunity.  Register below. In addition, if you are a judge for the quarterfinals round, you cannot serve as a judge for the semifinals round in the same sub-regional category, and vice versa.

Your Role
As a judge, you'll volunteer using our online business plan competition platform called Reviewr. You will be assigned 3-5 student business plans to review (pitch decks, executive summaries, and pitch videos) and determine which offer the most innovative solution to a real world problem and demonstrates a student’s strong entrepreneurial mindset. Using our rubric form which we will provide, you will score each presentation and also provide constructive feedback for students on their business plans and presentation skills.

Time commitment: 2-3 hours, but self-paced, virtual, remote, and through the judging window listed above. (Time includes pre-recorded orientation and platform training.)
Tech requirements: Computer and strong internet connection
How to prepare: NFTE staff will provide you with a guide for the Reviewr platform and judge orientation which includes review of student business pitch templates and scoring rubric

2025 NFTE New England Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge: QFs Judge (Virtual)

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