• BoomStartup invites all startups who created software or hardware technology at its innovation core to power, design, or deliver their solution to the market.
• Companies with prototypes to generally available products are invited to participate. An aspect of the solution will be expected to be demonstrated in a video.
• The business must make under $250,000 USD in the last 12 months. Companies who have not attained revenue from their solution are also accepted.

This competition is about pitching companies that create innovations, so the narrative of your pitch should be more like speaking to an investor, rather than a customer. For example, focus on your company and how it’s solving a big problem instead of trying to sell the innovation itself.

We encourage founders from diverse backgrounds to apply.

Don’t be shy about entering the PitchUp competition if your startup isn’t earning revenue yet. Yes, we do ask about historical financials, but it is okay to say there is no revenue!

If you want to share your costs or investments to date, please do. We would like to see your financial projection for the next year or two, if possible. It can be as simple as Number of Units sold or Customers, multiplied by Sale Price (equaling revenue), then subtracting out Cost of Goods Sold, to estimate your company’s profitability. 

Need help with building your financials? Check out this Financials training module.

Step 1: Complete the entry form below.

Step 2: Download the PitchUp competition material and download the slide template and demo template to begin creating your pitch materials.

Step 3: Upload your pitch deck and 90-second video to complete your submission. 

The submission process is straightforward. 

You must complete the Entry Form telling us about who is presenting, the company, and the category you are entering.

Then we strongly suggest that you FOLLOW the Pitch Deck Template (we tell you exactly what slide to provide and in what order) and attach an UP TO 90 SECOND Demo Video so the first round judging can learn and understand more of your product.

All of this material is DUE BEFORE the Submission Date which is midnight on March 14.

PitchUp competition is FREE to enter. Entrants can only apply to compete in ONE category.

We ask you to agree to our terms of service and privacy policy. You will also be considered for the BoomStartup Accelerator program based upon the information that you provide us.

The cost of the competition is covered by our sponsors, so please show them your support.

There are seven competition categories: Climate and Sustainability, Education and Intelligence, Health and Wellness, Logistics and Transportation, Enterprise Solutions, Finance, Digital Toolkits.

You’ll want to customize your pitch presentation and demo to emphasize the influence this category has upon your company and innovation.

After reviewing all submissions, we will rank and interview the top contenders to compete in each category.

The Final Pitch Competition will be hosted virtually. Winners will be selected after presenting at the live, online competition. The finalists will present a condensed, three-minute business pitch and host a two-minute demo, for a total of 5 minutes on stage. Our judges will then have the opportunity to ask the presenter up to three questions, and presenters have up to three minutes for their response. Response quality, personality, and precision will influence the final vote.

Each category winner will receive $1,000 USD.

Judges will review the material submitted (the entry form, pitch deck, demo video) and rank each submission, considering every submission in the category.

Scoring is based on Professionalism, Traction, Viability, Reach, and most importantly, Innovation.

The top three in scoring will proceed to the finals. Finalists will get support from BoomStartup mentors on their final pitch delivery. Finalists pitch live virtually over Zoom to the judges and to a live audience.

We are often asked if people should produce a professional video or get artists to help out with their deck.

We think you should do the best you can with the resources you have. It is a competition but this is not a funding pitch. If you record a demo on your mobile phone and send that to us, that’s fine!

Please upload both the pitch deck and demo video at the same time on this page: https://boomstartup.com/pitchup3-upload/

If you make it to the finals, congratulations! You are about to experience a really fun time.

You will get 3-minutes to present to the judges and to the voters in the audience that you should win your category and the popular vote.

This is a free-form time where you are on camera, can share your screen or do an actual demo. We recommend that you script and time it to make sure you are under the three minutes or else we will cut you off (it’s embarrassing).

Then the judges will ask you questions for the following 2-minutes to see how you respond on the fly. 

After the top three category winners present, the judges will vote and at the end of the final event a category winner will be announced.