WMNtech Pitch Competition

03/28/2024 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm CST

3 hours

  • Early Stage
  • DEI
  • Funding
  • Pitch competition
  • Women

Calling all women early-stage tech founders! Get the funding & support you need to drive your business forward by pitching your startup for our 3-round pitching competition. Top 5 finalists will pitch for the chance to receive investments and services from some of the leading venture firms and corporations in the nation.
Free to enter and open to the public, no 1871 membership needed!

Event Start Date:
March 28, 2024
Event End Date:
March 28, 2024
Event Venue:
Hybrid

Important dates

  • Startup application deadline – 2.18.24
  • Semi-finals – 3.14.24
  • Finals – 3.28.24

Supported by

Corporate
Venture Capital

Tim & Stephanie Barry

Angel Investors

Pitch Competition
Breakdown

Applications closed

1.22.24 - 2.18.24

The applicants are screened and the top 20 are notified if they will move to the semi-finals. The competition is open to 1871 members & non-members across the US. See eligibility before applying.

Semi-finals

3.14.24 | Virtual

The top 20 founders will virtually pitch to a panel for a chance to win a finalist spot in the final phase. Only the top 5 will advance to our final event. This round will be closed to the public. 

Finals

3.28.24 | PM CST | Hybrid

Top 5 finalists will participate by pitching to a panel of judges consisting of business leaders and major VC’s in our network for funding & awards. Hybrid options will be available for those pitching as a finalist and attending as audience members.

🏆 💰 🎉

Funding & awards

The top 5 finalists will compete for the chance to receive:

  • $30k minimum committed prize money, which will be distributed between finalists at the final event, consisting of both cash & equity investments from our sponsoring VC partners.
  • $20k in development credits from Aloa, which will be distributed between finalists at the final event.
  • 6 months of virtual membership to 1871 for each finalist.

Eligibility to enter

Free to enter and open to the public, no 1871 membership needed!

  • Need to have a deep understanding of the problem they seek to solve and for whom
  • Clear definition of their user and key value propositions
  • Have developed a highly effective go-to-market strategy and have tested and verified these strategies
  • Clear and defined business model that ties into the overall strategy of the business
  • Need to show some traction with your business through customers success
  • Applicants are no longer eligible if you have already closed a series A funding round

About WMNtech @ 1871

Our WMNtech initiative supports women-identifying entrepreneurs & leaders with regular programming, tailored resources, mentorship, & community events designed to help them embrace their unique strengths & break down the barriers they face.

Why is it important?

On average, less than 3% of all VC investment went to women-led companies and the average deal size for women-founded or co-founded companies is less than half of only male-founded startups.

Our WMNtech Pitch Competition This event activates our community of early-stage startups, corporate partners, venture capitalists and the wider tech ecosystem. As a collective we aim to deepen the pool of funds that women-identifying founders can access and receive.