The Best Entrepreneur Competitions To Pitch Your Startup Idea

Entrepreneurs often have to tap unorthodox sources of money to get their new business idea from the conceptual stage to actualization. In fact, launching a startup may feel like entering a distinct subculture with its own rules and logic. Within that subculture, there are a number of different ways to get your foot in the door for financing.

One popular way for innovative startups to gain visibility and funding is to enter an entrepreneurship pitch competition.

What Is A Pitch Competition?

A pitch competition is a contest where entrepreneurs present their business concept to a panel in the hope of winning a cash prize or investment capital.

Pitch competitions all have specific parameters and rules, but no matter what, business owners will be up against any number of other entrepreneurs with their own business ideas. Even if you don’t win, the pitch competition can be a way to introduce yourself to the elite world of venture capital and angel investment.

Best Pitching Competitions To Enter

Business pitch competitions happen frequently throughout the year, with most taking place annually. Here are some popular options to get you started.

AATCC Concept 2 Consumer Student Design Competition

• Entry Requirements: Be an undergraduate or graduate; be a member of AATCC
• Website: https://www.aatcc.org/students/competitions/c2cdesign/

Student entrepreneurs are challenged to create resort wear that incorporates sustainable fibers, dyes, or printing technology.

Arch Grants Global Startup Competition

• Entry Requirements: Must be a for-profit startup with a plan to scale to national or international impact
• Website: https://www.heysuccess.com/opportunity/The-Arch-Grants-Global-Startup-Competition-7006

This equity-free $75,000 grant competition is open to startups from around the world. Winners must relocate their headquarters to St. Louis for at least one year (additional funding is provided for relocation).

Baylor New Venture Competition

• Entry Requirements: Be an undergraduate, graduate, or recently graduated alumnus from an accredited not-for-profit university
• Website: https://www.baylor.edu/business/newventurecompetition/index.php?id=93663

Student entrepreneurs from across the globe are offered expert feedback, coaching, and a prize package of cash and crucial in-kind business support services to launch and grow their ventures.

Cartier Women’s Initiative Awards

• Entry Requirements: The business is generating revenue but has raised less than $2 million, one to six years in registered operation, and must be woman-owned
• Website: https://www.cartierwomensinitiative.com/regional-awards

This is a worldwide competition for women entrepreneurs who have been in business for over a year. Competition is broken down into nine regions. The grand prize is a $100,000 grant for the winner from each region.

Citizen Entrepreneurship Competition

• Entry Requirements: Age brackets separate youth and adult (30+) competitions
• Website: https://www.entrepreneurship-campus.org/about-the-competitions/

This is an international competition for businesses pitching ideas that target social, environmental, health, and governmental challenges.

CodeLaunch

• Entry Requirements: The startup must be dependent on software development expertise
• Website: https://www.codelaunch.com/

CodeLaunch provides seed services to early-stage startups. Several events are held throughout the year in different locations.

TechCrunch Disrupt

• Entry Requirements: Early-stage startup; must have some tech component to the business idea
• Website: https://techcrunch.com/events/

TechCrunch Disrupt brings together investors, entrepreneurs, and developers from around the world.

Founders Live NYC

• Entry Requirements: Join the Founders Live group
• Website: https://www.founderslive.com/

Multiple events are held featuring five founders giving 99-second pitches, and viewers pick the winner. The organization is active in 120 cities across 46 countries.

Hello Tomorrow Global Summit

• Entry Requirements: Must be in early stages (up to Series A), not a subsidiary or spin-off of an existing company, must be a team of 2+ people, and must address an industrial, societal, or environmental unmet need or create a new market
• Website: https://hello-tomorrow.org/summit/

This is a worldwide competition, with startup categories in energy, agriculture, healthcare, AI, new materials, and more.

Milken-Penn GSE Education Business Plan Competition

• Entry Requirements: Your business idea must be education-oriented
• Website: https://www.educationcompetition.org/

This is a competition dedicated to addressing problems and trends within education around the world.

New Venture Championship

• Entry Requirements: Must be a graduate or undergraduate
• Website: https://business.uoregon.edu/nvc/

This is an annual, six-round competition for students from around the world.

Rice Business Plan Competition

• Entry Requirements: The project is student-created or managed and has not raised more than $250,000 in equity, or generated more than $100,000 in a 12-month period prior to the application
• Website: https://rbpc.rice.edu/

This is Rice University’s internationally-recognized graduate entrepreneurship competition.

TCU Neeley School Of Business Values & Venture Competition

• Entry Requirements: Undergraduates only; no nonprofits
• Website: https://neeley.tcu.edu//vandv/

TCU’s undergraduate contest is open to undergrads with business ideas that contribute to innovations in health, life, or energy.

FTxSDG Seedstars Challenge

• Entry Requirements: Received less than $500,000 in funding to date and must be scalable
• Website: https://www.seedstarsworld.com/ft-x-seedstars-challenge/

This a worldwide contest that recognizes winners in areas including climate action, gender equality, reduced inequalities, and quality education.

SPIE Startup Challenge

• Entry Requirements: Must have an optics or photonics technology or application
• Website: https://spie.org/industry-resources/industry-events/spie-startup-challenge

This contest focuses on healthcare and deep tech. Applicants choose from one of two tracks based on their development stage. A cash prize of $10,000 is presented to the first place winner.

SXSW Pitch

• Entry Requirements: The product must be recent (see guidelines) and have raised no more than $10 million in funding; each company may enter no more than one product
• Website: https://www.sxsw.com/awards/sxsw-pitch/

This contest includes nine different categories. Some of those categories open to the pitch competition include AgTech, HealthTech, and Security.

Y Combinator Demo Day

• Entry Requirements: Invitation only; invitations are software generated and based on recent investments in YC startups
• Website: https://www.ycombinator.com/demoday/

Y Combinator is one of the premier startup incubators. Companies that have made it through the program can apply to demo their business concept on Demo Day, which occurs twice a year over the course of three days (yes, it’s not really a “day.”) The third day, called Investor Day, lets entrepreneurs sit down with investors and pitch their ideas.

How To Improve Your Chances Of Winning A Pitch Competition

Regardless of whether or not you win, entrepreneurship pitch competitions can be a positive experience for you and your company. Nevertheless, you enter these competitions to win them.

So how can you increase your chances of prevailing against some of the toughest competition around? Here are Merchant Maverick’s tips for improving your pitch competition presence.

Be Concise

In any pitch competition, you’re going to be sharing the spotlight with many other entrepreneurs and their businesses. Attention will be at a premium, so you want to make the most of whatever time the judges/investors will have their attention focused on you.

Refine your elevator pitches: short, snappy, and to the point. Make sure the basic concept of your business is easy for someone outside your area of specialty to grasp. Focus on what you want the person to take away from your conversation or presentation.

Know Your Audience

While you are around people in your field, it may allow you to communicate ideas more precisely and signal your belonging to the tribe.

However, your specialized lingo may sound like completely alienating gibberish to someone outside of your field. Know when to sound like a specialist and when to sound like a human being.

Make Contacts

You may have the best idea in the world, but that doesn’t mean much if you can’t get access to the resources you need to realize your vision.

Building a good rapport with other contestants, judges, and even the audience can make an enormous difference in how your business concept is received.

Apply Early

You may think you have everything you need ready to go for your application, but maybe you missed some small clause hidden deep within the website or documentation.

Some people do well under intense pressure, but you’d generally be better off spending time refining your application pitch than scrambling at the last minute to make sure you submit a high-quality application.

Be Ready To Answer Questions

Assume you’ll get a lot of questions about your business idea. Have some snappy, easy-to-understand answers ready.

Be familiar with the types of questions you’ll be asked, so you won’t be caught completely off-guard.

Ignore Online Advice & Be A Maverick

The problem with lists like these is that you’re not the only person reading them. In fact, I can guarantee the other contestants have read the exact same advice that you have. That means that sometimes it’s better to be memorable than to appear competent but predictable.

If you’re a person of exceptional charisma or quirky enough that people can’t stop talking about you, use that to your advantage and make an impact.

Pitch Your Way To A Successful Startup

Pitching and startup competitions can be a great way to get your foot into the door to the investment world. You’ll have a captive audience and the opportunity to make connections that can aid your business endeavors far into the future.

Other ways to get money to fund your startup is through small business grants. As with pitch competitions, competition is pretty fierce, but it doesn’t hurt to apply for grants (provided you meet the requirements). Start searching for business grants in your area get your idea or business off the ground. Good luck!

Pitch Competition FAQs