2025 NFTE Southeast Regional YEC First Round Judge (Virtual)

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 Southeast 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. 

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 Challenge consists of 4 rounds: the first round will take place virtually (asynchronous) from Thursday, April 10, 2025 through Saturday, April 12, 2025.  The Quarter-final round will take place live (virtually) Wednesday, April 23, 2025 through Friday, April 25, 2025. The semifinal and final rounds will take place live (in-person) on May 13, 2025.

The top Southeast businesses will advance to the National Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge in October 2025 to compete in nationals for a grand prize award for their business. 

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Southeast Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge
First Round Virtual Judging

**Judging Window: Thursday, April 10, 9:00 AM EST – Saturday, April 12, 11:59 PM EST

**Please note:  This is a self-paced, remote, and asynchronous volunteer opportunity.  Register below and you will be able to review the businesses during times that work BEST FOR YOU.  In addition, if you are a judge for the quarterfinals or semifinals round, you will not serve as a judge for the first round in the same sub-regional category, and vice versa.
 

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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, including 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