And the winner is… a tie. Two teams shared the top spot this April in the Lundquist College's world-renowned investment competition, the New Venture Championship (NVC).

The victors—AGcerez, from Thailand's Sasin Graduate Institute of Business Administration, and Awair, from Stanford University—bested thirteen other teams and left Portland, Oregon, with prize money of $17,500 each.

AGcerez's venture centers on a syrup extracted from the longan fruit that stimulates the growth of beneficial bacteria in the large intestine. The Awair team—which also won the elevator pitch award—presented the Wyshbone, a device that delivers local anesthetic to the throats of patients using breathing tubes.

Sponsored by the college's Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship (LCE) and now in its twenty-second year, NVC attracts teams of enterprising graduate students from around the world. This year saw participants from Thailand, and Hong Kong—as well as from universities throughout the United States.

The 2013 contest took place in a new location--the University of Oregon White Stag Block in downtown Portland—and boasted a newly dedicated trophy, the Randy Swangard Elevator Pitch Award. In his former role as LCE managing director, Swangard was instrumental in bringing NVC the recognition and stature it enjoys today.

Visit the NVC website and view photos from the event on Facebook.