NextGen Summit is on October 30.

A founder stands alone on a dark stage under a single hard spotlight, one hand open mid-sentence.

NextGen Summit Pitch Competition

your idea belongs on stage.

Maryland founders: apply to pitch your startup at NextGen Summit. Twenty semifinalists will be featured online. Ten will pitch live on October 30 for a share of $10,000 in cash prizes.

Get the application link How it works

Applications close October 17. The application form opens shortly — join the list and we’ll send you the link the moment it does.

A packed auditorium seen from the edge of the stage, faces lit by a beam of light through haze.

01The opportunity

10K

Total cash prizes across the top three winners.

Semifinalists
20
Live finalists
10
Live competition
Oct 30
Founders
Maryland

02The journey

the path
to the stage.

Five steps. One stage. Apply once. A committee selects 20 semifinalists. The public helps send one founder to the live final while judges select the remaining nine.

  1. Apply

    Tell us what you’re building.

    Founder and company information, your traction so far, a short executive summary and a two‑minute pitch video.

    Applications close

  2. Top 20

    Twenty founders move forward.

    A review committee reads every application, weighing innovation, growth potential, founder execution and Maryland impact.

    Semifinalists announced

  3. Public vote

    Maryland gets a voice.

    The Top 20 profiles are published for public voting. The founder with the most eligible votes takes the People’s Choice place in the live final.

    Voting –

  4. Top 10

    The final lineup is revealed.

    One finalist qualifies through People’s Choice. Nine more are selected by the judging committee.

    Finalists announced

  5. Live final

    Pitch on the main stage.

    The Top 10 pitch live at NextGen Summit, in front of an executive panel and the whole room.

    Live

A founder rehearses her pitch alone in an empty room, one hand raised mid-gesture, notes in the other.

03For applicants

what you’ll submit.

  1. Company and founderWho you are and what you are building.
  2. TractionProgress so far, in whatever form it takes.
  3. Pitch videoTwo minutes. Filmed on anything.
  4. Executive summaryProblem, solution, market, execution plan.

One application. Closes .

04For semifinalists

how the final ten
are chosen.

1 People’s Choice finalist

The Top 20 founder with the most eligible public votes advances to the live final automatically.

9 Judges’ finalists

The committee selects nine more founders on business merit and stage readiness.

If the People’s Choice winner is already inside the judges’ original nine, the next highest‑ranked founder takes the final judges’ place. Ten founders pitch either way.

Three judges at a long table in a dark auditorium, listening to a pitch off frame.
A founder seen from behind at the centre of a stage, facing a full auditorium, a microphone in front of him.

05 Live competition

three minutes
to make your case.

The ten finalists pitch to an executive panel and the NextGen audience. Final scores combine 60% judges’ scoring and 40% live audience scoring. The top three share the $10,000 cash prize pool.

  1. 3minPitch
  2. 3minPanel Q&A
  3. 1minAudience score + reset
  4. 7minTotal per finalist

Applications close

your idea
belongs on stage.

Get the application link

The application form opens shortly. Join the list and we’ll send it to you first.