Welcome to the dedicated home for pitch competitions for entrepreneurs and small business owners in West Virginia. It is our goal to provide a one-stop location for all of the pitch competitions going on throughout the year to make it easier for entrepreneurs and small businesses to find access to these competitions. Please be patient as we continue to build out this page to be all-inclusive. If you know of a pitch competition that isn’t listed please let us know by sending us an email at info at wvbusinesslink dot com.
Build-Up Berkeley
The BCDA will take registrations from businesses located in Berkeley County from August 11th at 8:00 a.m. until August 25th at 5:00 p.m. The program is limited to 10 participants who will be notified by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 1st. The educational sessions will take place once a week from September 14th to October 26th. Participants who complete the educational sessions will receive credit through Blue Ridge Community & Technical College and will also receive professionally edited headshots provided by SC Studios. Business plans will be submitted by October 26th at 5:00 p.m. and competitors will pitch to the panel of judges on November 2nd with winners being selected that same evening. This event is open to the public from 6:00 p.m.-9:00 p.m.
For more details read the full article here on WV BusinessLink.
Pitch Southern West Virginia
Save the date: October 12th
Application Period Opens August 14th – September 14, 2023
The WV Hive Network, in partnership with WVU Tech Launch Lab, is excited to announce the return of Pitch Southern West Virginia, a business idea competition encompassing thirteen counties in southern West Virginia. The upcoming competition, to be held at WVU Tech in Beckley, WV, is open to residents and businesses located in Raleigh, Fayette, Nicholas, Summers, Webster, Pocahontas, Greenbrier, Monroe, Mercer, Wyoming, McDowell, Logan and Mingo Counties and WVU Tech students, faculty and staff.
A grand prize of $2,000 will be awarded. Second and third place winners will receive smaller awards. Prize money for the non-student division must be used to further the business idea. Top prize for the student division is $1,000 which can be used to further the business idea or education at WVU Tech.
Every member of the audience gets to vote for their favorite pitch and the audience favorite will win $250! For more information on the event, eligibility requirements, and registration, please click here.
The deadline to apply is 5:00pm, Thursday, September 14, 2023.
View/download the application here.
Please email applications to Diana Woods at [email protected].
Vetrepreneurs Pitch Competition
Thursday, September 14th 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm EST
Open to veterans and military family members. Win up to $15K in brand/website development and marketing. Register to attend.
The Vetrepreneurs Pitch Event is a rapid style “shark tank” like event with some of our most exciting entrepreneurs who are veterans and from military families. You will learn about their exciting ideas and watch as they answer questions from our judges. (If you would like to apply to pitch your business, apply here before August 31, 2023).