Home renovation tech company bidmii presenting in Toronto
One of the best things you can do for your startup is to get access to non-dilutive funding. This allows you to kickstart the venture with some basic funding you need to get the ball rolling to cover your costs such as servers, email marketing, incorporation, and many more. You have to be prepared to go down before you go up in a startup as the first few years will be challenging.
While there are tons of resources on the internet, it literally takes hours to navigate and find the right opportunity. We did all the heavy lifting for you as we bring you the top startup competitions to help you win some non-dilutive funding for your startups. Some competitions such as Dragons’ Den are dilutive, but worth the mention as the exposure and PR sometimes can make sense for the startup.
Other examples include Collision Pitch Competition, which takes place in the summer. Previously, it featured some highly innovative companies such as Bidmii. This is a real estate tech platforms that streamlines the process of bidding and paying for home improvement jobs, making life easier for both homeowners and contractors. Bidmii is disrupting the home improvement industry, one project at a time.
Overall, startup competitions can bring the startup much needed exposure, funding, and some network as well. Of course, it’s worth noting it’s only through paying customers that one can build a sustainable business. The complete list of startup competitions is here below along with some highlighted ones. Majority of these competitions are deadline sensitive so be sure to apply early as we have them all together.
🗓️ January
FoundersBeta Top 100 (Global)
Deadline: TBD
Curated list recognizing top startups globally.
Apply
McGill Dobson Cup (Montreal)
Deadline: January
University competition with up to $200K funding.
Apply
Startup of the Year (USA)
Deadline: January
National startup competition with strong exposure.
Apply
VivaTech Startup Challenges (Paris)
Deadline: January
Corporate-backed global innovation challenges.
Apply
Web Summit Pitch (Lisbon)
Deadline: January
Top global pitch competition.
Apply
TNW Pitch Battle (Amsterdam)
Deadline: January
Startup battle at TNW Conference.
Apply
EU Startups Summit (Malta)
Deadline: January
Pitch competition at a major EU startup event.
Apply
TechChill Fifty Founders Battle (Latvia)
Deadline: January
European startup pitch competition.
Apply
Upstart Concordia (Montreal)
Deadline: January
Student startup competition.
Apply
5 Across Pitch (Kentucky)
Deadline: January
Monthly pitch competition.
Apply
Web Summit Rio Pitch (Brazil)
Deadline: January
Latin America startup pitch event.
Apply
Thiel Fellowship (Global)
Deadline: Year-round
$100K fellowship for founders building instead of attending university.
Apply
🗓️ Late January (Exact Dates)
EPiC Elevator Pitch (Hong Kong)
Deadline: January 8
Global pitch competition with major prizes.
Apply
FemSTEM (Toronto)
Deadline: Jan 12–28
Supports women in STEM and healthcare.
Apply
Young Entrepreneur Scholarship (UofT)
Deadline: January 14
Funding for student entrepreneurs.
Apply
PITCH With a Twist (Mississauga)
Deadline: January 15
Local pitch competition.
Apply
MassChallenge (Global)
Deadline: January 18
Zero-equity accelerator.
Apply
Canada’s Total Mom Pitch
Deadline: January 19
Supports mom entrepreneurs.
Apply
WISE WeInvest (USA)
Deadline: January 24
VC incubator for women founders.
Apply
OpenAI Startup Fund
Deadline: January 26
AI-focused funding program.
Apply
T-Mobile T Challenge
Deadline: January 26
Telecom innovation competition.
Apply
Hinge One More Hour Grant
Deadline: January 30
Supports Gen Z community initiatives.
Apply
Rice Business Plan Competition
Deadline: January 31
Top global student startup competition.
Apply
Grand Challenges Canada
Deadline: January 31
Funding for global health innovation.
Apply
🗓️ February
Big Bang Competition (UC Davis)
Deadline: February 4
Top U.S. university startup competition.
Apply
InsurTechNY (NYC)
Deadline: February 7
Insurance-focused startup competition.
Apply
MIT Water Innovation Prize
Deadline: February 9
Climate and water innovation competition.
Apply
Startup Columbia (New York)
Deadline: February 9
Columbia University competition.
Apply
EFFERVESCENCE Pitch (Montreal)
Deadline: February 12
Medtech startup pitch competition.
Apply
Falcons’ Fortunes (Canada)
Deadline: February 12
Life sciences funding competition.
Apply
INNOVATEwest (Vancouver)
Deadline: February 14
Western Canada pitch competition.
Apply
VenturePack Challenge (NC State)
Deadline: February 18
University startup competition.
Apply
1871 WMNtech Pitch
Deadline: February 18
Supports women-led startups.
Apply
Arch Grants (St. Louis)
Deadline: February 20
$100K equity-free funding.
Apply
Utah Entrepreneur Challenge
Deadline: February 21
Student startup competition.
Apply
Transit Tech Lab (NYC)
Deadline: February 28
Supports transit innovation startups.
Apply
🗓️ March
Startup World Cup (Global)
Deadline: March
Global pitch competition with investment prize.
Apply
VentureCat (Northwestern)
Deadline: March
University startup competition.
Apply
MN Cup (Minnesota)
Deadline: March 11
One of the largest U.S. startup competitions.
Apply
Podim Startup (Slovenia)
Deadline: March 15
European startup competition.
Apply
Galaxy Grant (USA)
Deadline: March 31
Supports women and minority founders.
Apply
🗓️ April
K-Startup Grand Challenge (Korea)
Deadline: April
Global government-backed accelerator.
Apply
🗓️ May
TechCrunch Startup Battlefield
Deadline: May
Elite global pitch competition.
Apply
Cartier Women’s Initiative
Deadline: May
Global program supporting women founders.
Apply
43North (Buffalo)
Deadline: May
Major startup investment competition.
Apply
Entrepreneurship World Cup
Deadline: May
Global startup competition with multiple stages.
Apply
🗓️ June
Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge
Deadline: June
Deep tech startup competition.
Apply
🗓️ July
Startupfest (Montreal)
Deadline: July
Canada’s leading startup festival and pitch event.
Apply
🗓️ September
Slush 100 Pitch (Helsinki)
Deadline: September
Top global startup pitch competition.
Apply
🗓️ October
MIT $100K Competition
Deadline: October
Prestigious university startup competition.
Apply
🗓️ November
SXSW Pitch
Deadline: November
High-profile startup pitch event.
Apply
🗓️ December
Sauga Pitch (Mississauga)
Deadline: December 1
Local startup pitch competition.
Apply
Startup Day (Estonia)
Deadline: December 17
European startup pitch event.
Apply
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