The Pitch is a free competition that helps startups create a kick-ass pitch and gives them the platform to use it. And it works – our finalists from the past few cohorts have raised millions since taking part.
The Pitch was launched in Bristol in 2008 and has since grown into one of the UK’s biggest startup events. Over the years, The Pitch has helped thousands of small businesses succeed, and in that time we’ve done a fair bit of growing ourselves. Since starting as a traditional pitching competition, we’ve evolved into a complete programme of support.
We’re on a mission to get 3,000 startups investment-ready this year. In addition to free resources and webinars to help you raise funding, we’re running a series of live events where the top 50 startups will pitch to panels of entrepreneurs and investors.
Learn more about The Pitch 2021 finalists, and our winner!
How does The Pitch work?
Every spring, businesses are invited to apply to The Pitch online, which helps our judges assess the potential for the business and what has been achieved so far. We then choose the top 100 applications to progress to the semi-final stage. Finalists then attend an online pitching workshop with one of our pitching coaches, before competing in a live event, giving a 90-second pitch to investors and industry experts.
After the session, we’ll share the judges’ feedback with the finalists. Judges mark each of the finalists on four categories: The idea, Proof of traction, The team and the pitch. Videos of the pitches and the scores will be added to our top 100 leaderboard, which will be seen by thousands of people.
We select the top 10 businesses to give a three-minute pitch at The Pitch Final, where our judges will select the champion.
Find out more about where our past winners and finalists are now
Get involved
Want to support The Pitch 2022 or get involved in next year’s competition? Email chris@thepitch.uk if you’re interested in learning more about the programme.
The Pitch is run by Inkwell. We work with companies like Microsoft, TSB and Deloitte to help them start conversations with small business owners.
Got a question? Check our FAQs or pop us an email at hello@thepitch.uk.
