Ventures
Events · Ventures Business Pitch Competition

A launchpad for the next founders.

On April 18, 2026, Ventures hosted its first Business Pitch Competition at BuildRTP in Durham, North Carolina. More than 50 teams entered, ten finalists pitched in person, and the winners left with seed capital.

50+Teams in the preliminary round
10Finalist teams on stage
$4,000+In prizes
5Awards presented
Siddharth Sazzala welcoming the teams
Siddharth Sazzala welcoming the teams
A finalist team presenting their customer segments
A finalist team presenting their customer segments
A finalist team pitching a mobile app
A finalist team pitching a mobile app
The first place team
The first place team
The second place team
The second place team
Teams preparing between pitches
Teams preparing between pitches
Siddharth Sazzala with a participant
Siddharth Sazzala with a participant
The judging panel

Pitched to people who make real decisions.

Finalists presented to a panel of CFOs, a former Director of NetApp, a former German banker, and professors from UNC Chapel Hill and NC State. Every pitch was scored out of 50 across ten criteria, followed by live questions from the panel.

Siddharth Sazzala presenting to the judging panel

What the judges scored

  1. 01Problem & market need
  2. 02Solution effectiveness
  3. 03Unique value proposition
  4. 04Market opportunity & customer definition
  5. 05Business model & revenue strategy
  6. 06Implementation potential
  7. 07Sustainability plan
  8. 08Traction & validation
  9. 09Pitch quality
  10. 10Q&A response quality
The business evaluation scoring sheets used by the judges
Awards

$4,000+ in prizes and seed capital.

Sponsored by LaunchpadMG, an Indiana-based startup incubator, with The Seed List as competition partner.

First place
$1,500 seed capital
Second place
$300
Third place
$200
Community Impact
Certificate
Honorable Mention
Certificate
Beyond the competition

Personalized strategy, 1-on-1 guidance, and ongoing support

The competition is a starting point. Ventures works with founders as they take an idea from a pitch to a product with paying customers.

Next up: the Ventures International Business Pitch Competition, in partnership with The Seed List, opening the same opportunity to young founders beyond the Triangle.

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