Exactics Wins the 2025 John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge

Exactics, a startup that develops rapid diagnostic tools for infectious diseases, took home the top prize and $135,000 in the 15th John Edwardson, ’72, Social New Venture Challenge. Exactics has patented a 15-minute at-home test for Lyme disease and is currently adapting it to create a multiplex assay for malaria and similarly presenting diseases.
 
The Edwardson SNVC is the social impact track of the University of Chicago’s nationally ranked business launch program, the New Venture Challenge. It is run by the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation at Chicago Booth in partnership with the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
 
This year’s challenge, the 15th, awarded a record $475,000 in investment. All seven finalist teams received funding:

• Rise Reforming won second place and $125,000 for its efforts to decarbonize the chemical manufacturing industry while combating plastic pollution. Note: $50,000 of Rise Reforming’s investment comes from the new Polsky Energy Transition Leadership Program.
• Vidyasha and Abel tied for third place, winning $60,000 each. Vidyasha empowers out-of-school and out-of-job women in India with market-relevant skills in early childhood education; and Abel partners with small businesses in India to help them make smarter decisions to grow their cash.
• Papaya Privacy Co., Emerging Donor Alliance (EDA), and ReLive tied for fourth place, winning $30,000 each. Papaya Privacy empowers web users to take control of their online privacy with a browser-based AI agent and enterprise compliance tools; EDA aims to accelerate proactive charitable giving among young professionals; and ReLive connects retirees in Singapore with purpose-driven, flexible work opportunities and a social network that fosters community.
• Vidyasha also won the Audience Choice Award of an additional $5,000, earning the most votes from an audience of more than 2,100 people. 

 
“The 15th Edwardson SNVC Finals mark a meaningful milestone not only in longevity but also in the scale and impact of student-led ventures we’ve seen over time,” said Rob Gertner, the Joel F. Gemunder Professor of Strategy and Finance at Booth and the John Edwardson Faculty Director of the Rustandy Center. “This year’s teams continue that tradition with bold ideas, rigorous thinking, and a clear commitment to social impact.”
 
In February, 19 teams advanced to the second phase of the challenge and spent Spring Quarter working on launching their nonprofit or for-profit social ventures. Seven teams went on to compete in the SNVC Finals. 
 
At the SNVC Finals, the winners were chosen by a panel of twenty-one  judges—including 16 Booth alumni—who have expertise in venture capital, entrepreneurship, and tech. Read more about the 2025 SNVC judges here.
 
The SNVC is the cornerstone of the Rustandy Center’s Edwardson Social Entrepreneurship Program at the University of Chicago, an initiative named in recognition of a 2016 gift by John Edwardson, ’72, retired chairman and CEO of CDW and co-chair of Advance Illinois. This year’s SNVC sponsors are listed here.
 
“The students who competed in the 15th SNVC demonstrated skill, passion, and a deep commitment to making the world a better place,” John Edwardson, MBA ’72 said. “They make me proud to be part of the Booth community—and confident that our future is in good hands.”
 
The Edwardson SNVC Highlights:

• Since 2011, the Edwardson SNVC has helped jump-start more than 200 companies and nonprofits.
• SNVC companies have gone on to raise more than $260 million in philanthropic dollars, grant support, and venture capital funding.
• Notable alumni include: B2B e-commerce platform for Africa’s informal retailers, Wasoko, solar-powered light company LuminAID, online voter guide BallotReady, Nairobi-based tractor leasing company Hello Tractor, and autism therapy provider AIM Clinics (now Hopebridge Autism Therapy Centers).

 
About the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation
The Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation is the destination at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business for people committed to helping solve complex social and environmental problems. As Chicago Booth’s social impact hub, the Rustandy Center offers hands-on learning opportunities, supports innovative courses, and pursues research—all with the goal of developing people and practices with the potential to solve the world’s biggest problems.
 
About the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago brings the power of ideas in the laboratory, classroom, and community to the world by providing resources to commercialize discoveries, partner with companies, and attract venture capital. The Polsky Center helps foster a culture of innovation that extends across the University, city, and region, including UChicago’s nationally recognized accelerator program, the New Venture Challenge. The mission of the Polsky Center is to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice, idea and action, and research and impact.