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.

Young 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.

Age 25 and under Applicants must be 25 years old or younger.

Apply to the pitch competition (opens in a new tab) How it works

Applications close October 17.

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

The opportunity

10K

Total cash prizes across the top three winners.

Semifinalists
20
Live finalists
10
Live competition
Oct 30
Age limit
25

The 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 one‑minute elevator pitch.

    Applications close

  2. Top 20

    Twenty founders move forward.

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

    Semifinalists announced

  3. Public vote

    Everyone 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.

For applicants

what you’ll submit.

Age 25 and under Applicants must be 25 years old or younger.

  1. Company and founderWho you are and what you are building.
  2. TractionProgress so far, in whatever form it takes.
  3. Elevator pitchOne minute.
  4. Executive summaryProblem, solution, market, execution plan.

One application. Closes .

For 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.

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.

Apply to the pitch competition (opens in a new tab)

Open to founders age 25 and under.