The Pitch helps founders create a kick-ass pitch and gives them a platform to use it. Every year, startups across the country have the chance to:
- Pitch to seed investors
- Get coaching and mentoring from leading entrepreneurs
- Meet other amazing founders and build their network
Applications for The Pitch 2021 are now closed. However, if you want to take part in next year’s competition, sign up to our mailing list. We’ll drop you a reminder when the competition is open again!
Watch The Pitch 2021 Final from your own home ✨
Last year, thousands of people tuned in to watch Tersha from Terrible Merch win The Pitch Final. We’ll be streaming this year’s live London event too, meaning you can catch all the action from your sofa!
The Pitch Final boasts an incredible line-up of judges and startups so far, with more still to come. Don’t miss out on watching our top 10 finalists pitch to win the title on Thursday 4th November – register your spot below.
How does The Pitch work?
Every year, we choose startups to work with our pitching coaches and then give a 90-second pitch to investors and journalists at our live regional semi-finals. Our panel of judges choose a winner, plus there’s a People’s Choice vote so fans can get involved.
The semi-finals were hosted in the following places:
- Bristol – Origin Workspace, Thursday 7th October
- London – Huckletree Shoreditch, Thursday 14th October
- Manchester – Huckletree Ancoats, Thursday 21st October
After each semi-final, we share the judges’ feedback with detailed scoring to help startups improve their pitch. Scores will be added to our leaderboard, which will be seen by thousands of people, including investors, journalists and potential customers.
The top 10 startups go on to compete in The Pitch Final. This year, it’s hosted on Thursday 4th November in London – register to watch online here 🏆
Why do founders enter The Pitch?
Don’t just take it from us. Here’s Tersha Willis of Terrible Merch, who won The Pitch 2020, to tell you why startups should enter.
The Pitch offers the advice, support and network you need to take your business to the next level. From free one-on-one coaching sessions to exclusive insights from leading investors, The Pitch programme has a wealth of resources to tap into – and that’s just the start.
What The Pitch community thinks
Here’s Luke Lang of Crowdcube, who is a partner of The Pitch and an investor himself, to tell you why startups can benefit from The Pitch:
The Pitch is a competition that cares about the startups involved. An amazing community has sprung up around the events over the last decade, with lots of founders sharing advice and speaking at events.
All the sessions in the programme were extremely useful. It’s a great opportunity to get inspired, learn from others and to share our experience.
– Oddbox co-founder Emilie Vanpoperinghe
The Pitch was a fantastic opportunity to network and learn. We found the workshops really helpful. We met Crowdcube there and went on to raise £250,000.
– Rockit co-founder Matt Dyson
“I’d never stood up in front of that large of an audience. It was a big crowd at The Pitch Final. But it really felt like The Pitch team were there to support us – at other startup competitions, you just feel like you’re being analysed all the time. That was quite unique.
– The Moment Device founder Lucy Jung
Who’s taken part in The Pitch in the past?
The Pitch brings together startups with amazing ideas who go on to become industry leaders.
We’re incredibly proud of everything our past Pitchers achieve – here are just a handful of the brilliant businesses who have taken part in the last few years.
- 3D holographic business HYPERVSN has been backed by Mark Cuban and has over 100 employees
- Food delivery service EatFirst now delivers nationwide and has raised over £6m in funding
- Small Robot Company has raised £3.2m with The Pitch partner Crowdcube
Need help with your application?
Read our FAQ if you want help – we’ve tried to cover everything – or email Applications@ThePitch.uk.
Want to wax lyrical about your startup or send us a song recommendation? Try Chris@ThePitch.uk.
