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PITCH YOUR IDEA TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE AT ONE OF DSW’S PITCH COMPETITIONS IN 2022

Is your startup going to be the next big thing? If you are ready to share your idea with not just Denver, but the WORLD, join the best and brightest of the entrepreneurial community in our seventh annual Pitch Competition. Check out our handbook here, and get started on your application here.


The seventh annual Denver Startup Week Pitch Competition, sponsored by VF Venture Foundry, will highlight and harness our city's entrepreneurial energy as part of the 10-year anniversary of Denver Startup Week. This year’s challenge takes the typical pitch competition and spins it on its head, inviting thousands of attendees at DSW to cast votes to determine the final six contenders. With a prize package consisting of cash, in-kind services and products, this pitch competition will showcase some of the most innovative and creative startups at an event built by and for the community!

WHAT IS VF VENTURE FOUNDRY?

VF Venture Foundry was founded in 2021 by VF Corporation, parent company of Vans, The North Face, Timberland, Dickies, Supreme and more. As the internal venture studio of VF Corporation, VF Venture Foundry strives to identify, grow, and support the most promising startups and founders in the active wellness space, with a special interest in digital products and new, impactful business models. We partner with a diverse set of passionate and thoughtful founders working relentlessly to connect individuals and communities more deeply to themselves and others via nature, body, and mind—with a focus on accessible and sustainable solutions.

Collaborative and human-led, we deploy resources and capital to create and accelerate future-facing ideas—all backed by VF’s 120+ years of experience building the world’s most iconic brands. Let’s build the future of wellbeing, together.

OUR OPPORTUNITY SPACES:

  • NATURE: Services, experiences and products designed to help individuals and communities find physical, mental, social and communal wellness via connection to the outdoors and nature.
  • BODY: Services, experiences and products designed to help individuals and communities nourish, move and better understand their bodies.
  • MIND: Services, experiences and products designed to help individuals and communities understand, tend to, deepen and express their complex inner worlds.

ABOUT THE PITCH COMPETITION

The Denver Startup Week Pitch Competition offers you an opportunity to sell your big idea on a big stage. Submissions are entered by Denver startups looking for the opportunity to prove their idea’s worth, and each round of the competition will be judged by members of our community that have expertise in startup development, business, and growth. Be prepared to put your company's best foot forward, and go head to head with many other hungry entrepreneurs.

This year, all applicants must submit a 90-second video (maximum) about your company with your application. This video should convey your mission, inspiration, and team dynamic. This is your moment to shine, and to get the community excited about your company and pitch. Check out this video if you need some inspiration.

A committee of judges will narrow the applicants down to 18 semi-finalists. Anyone who is officially registered on the Denver Startup Week website can then vote for their favorite pitch. The final 6 winners of the Semi-final round will be selected to pitch in the Finals on September 22nd, Thursday afternoon of Denver Startup Week.

Denver Startup Week 2022 will take place in-person with a live audience. Startups that are selected to participate will pitch in-person to a small group of judges. Attendance in-person at Finals Night is required for finalists.

Although only one company can win the final prize of each competition, the Denver Startup Week Pitch Competitions offer exposure to a global and diverse audience, an introduction to the world of venture capital and angel investment, as well as a chance to build relationships as you vet the framing of your ideas and dial your sales pitch.

If you have any questions, please reach out to info@denverstartupweek.org. Any Denver-area based startup with less than $2 million in outside investment is eligible to compete. To apply for the pitch, please tell us more about your idea here, and check out our handbook here.

EQUITY PITCH COMPETITION

Denver Startup Week is also thrilled to announce our 2nd annual Equity Pitch Competition, taking place on Tuesday, September 20 from 6 - 8 PM. We encourage entrepreneurs from underestimated and underrepresented communities to present their business concept during this opportunity to a panel of judges for the opportunity to win a cash prize or investment capital, along with a spot in the main Pitch Finals on Thursday, September 22nd. The EQUITY DSW Pitch Competition is open to all Denver Metro based for-profit companies and non-profit organizations. Apply online here and find more information about the Equity pitch here.

THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPORTERS

This year's Denver Startup Week Pitch Competition is sponsored by VF Venture Foundry:

Built with the backing of the world’s most iconic brands and the game-changing expertise shaped by 120+ years of business innovation.

We’re in the business of building new, disruptive business models in high-growth space. VF Venture Foundry will anticipate and meet the quickly evolving needs of consumers by creating new ways of engagement and transaction (services, experiences, marketplaces, platforms).

Furthermore, VF Venture Foundry will emphasize opportunities for high growth that advance VF’s purpose to power movements of sustainable and active lifestyles for the betterment of people and our planet.

Learn more about VF Venture Foundry here.


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