Get out there!
The more startups participate in events and competitions, the greater their opportunities for positive attention and investment funding.
Check out the opportunities below. We update these regularly. This list offers a selection of those opportunities that we feel are most useful to the UArizona startup community.
Events
| Name | Website | Dates | Deadline | Location | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AZ Bio Student Discovery Zone Scholarships | Link | TBD | 9/11/20 | Online | |
| AZ Bio White Hat Investor Conference | Link | 09/15/20 - 09/16/20 | Online | ||
| AUTM Annual Meeting | Link | 03/08/2020 - 03/11/2020 | Online | ||
| BIO CEO & Investor Digital Conference | Link | 02/16/2021 - 02/18/2021 | Online | Conference for investors to connect with biotech companies | |
| Biotech Showcase Conference | Link | 01/11/2021 - 01/15/2021 | Online | Conference for investors to connect with biotech companies | |
| CES | Link | 01/11/2021 - 01/14/2021 | Online | Product launch and networking conference for those in the tech field. | |
| Collision Startup University | Link | 04/22/2021 - 04/22/2021 | Toronto, ON | Business development and tech conference | |
| Defense TechConnect | Link | 11/17/2020 - 11/19/2020 | 10/15/20 | Business conference for those in the defense technology industry | |
| Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program | Link | Application Opens: 09/14/2020 |
11/2/20 | Online | The Flinn Foundation Bioscience Entrepreneurship Program offers up to six early-stage Arizona bioscience firms each year an opportunity to receive $30,000 in non-dilutive funding and a robust package of benefits. |
| Falling Walls World Science Summit | Link | 11/01/2020 - 11/10/2020 | Online, Berlin time | Science and technology showcase conference | |
| Global Corporate Venturing Innovation Summit | Link | 06/09/2021 - 06/10/2021 | 2/16/21 | Monterey, CA | 800+ business leaders from the corporate venturing and innovation 2-day gathering. |
| Int'l Conference on Business Incubation | Link | TBA | TBA | InBIA provides industry best practices through education while enabling collaboration, mentorship, peer-based learning, and the sharing of innovative ideas for entrepreneurs across the globe. | |
| NCET2 Building your startup course | Link | 01/12/2021 - 05/25/2021 | Online | This course is for researchers, future founders, new entrepreneurs, and anyone playing with the idea of creating a startup in 6-12 months or need help with moving their startup forward. | |
| NCET2 How to incorporate your startup | Link | 10/22/20 | Online | This course will walk you through the process of creating your company and what documents you have to prepare. By the end of the course, you will acquire a better understanding of the benefits of incorporation and the steps you need to take to incorporate your company. | |
| NCET2 Startup Pitches | Link | 10/31/20 | Online | A series of online startup pitches to discover startups for corporate strategic partnerships and investment for corporate business units. | |
| Pfizer Investor Day | Link | 9/14/20 | Online | ||
| Science to Startup | Link | TBA | Boston, MA | S2S is a forum for top scientists from around the world to present their ideas and interact with leading investors and executives in the Boston biotechnology hub. | |
| AZ Tech Council: Tech Sector Speaker Series | Link | 10/20/20 | Online | "In this engaging and informative session, a distinguished group of tech experts will shed light on what makes applications cloud-native versus ground-native and how understanding the difference can not only help you survive tech disruption, but also streamline and accelerate your cloud strategy." | |
| AZ Tech Council: Virtual Breakfast Speaker Series | Link | 10/27/20 | Online | "Attendees will hear from a distinguished team of experts as they share insight on how to leverage funding opportunities to chart a pathway for growing and sustaining additive manufacturing in the state, as well as further establishing Arizona as a hotbed for AM driven innovation and entrepreneurship." | |
| AZ Tech Council: Thriving in a Change Era | Link | 10/29/20 | Online | Talk by author Ross Thornley about how to build adaptable and resilient workforces. | |
| AZ Tech Council: Governor's Celebration of Innovation Virtual Awards & Showcase | Link | 11/4/20 | Online | "The Arizona Technology Council and Arizona Commerce Authority honors technology leaders and innovators from across the state with the 17th annual Governor's Celebration of Innovation Awards." | |
| AZ Tech Council: Aerospace, Aviation, Defense, and Manufacturing Conference | Link | 11/12/20 | Online | Conference & showcase | |
| AZ Tech Council: Cybersecurity Summit | Link | 12/2/20 | Online | ||
| AZ Tech Council: After5 Tech Mixer | Link | 2/18/21 | Chandler, AZ | Hosted by Zovio, an education technology services company. Food & drinks included with ticket. | |
| Startup Grind Global Conference | Link | Feb-21 | TBD | Community of startups, partners, investors, thought leaders, and worldwide directors come together for 2+ days of invaluable education, connection, and inspiration. | |
| SSTI Annual Conference | Link | TBD | TBD | SSTI's annual conference focuses on creating a climate where economic growth occurs organically through science, technology and innovation. | |
| VentureWell Open | Link | 03/17/2021 - 03/19/2021 | Online | VentureWell looks forward to gathering representatives from across the innovation and entrepreneurship spectrum to share stories, start new collaborations, and learn emerging best practices in the field of science and technology entrepreneurship education at our annual OPEN conference. | |
| Unleash America 2021 | Link | 05/18/2021 - 05/19/2021 | Las Vegas, NV | HR, staffing , and recruiting conference | |
| Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge | Link | 11/16/2020 - 11/20/2020 | Online | Pitch competition for science and tech entrepreneurs | |
| Hello Tomorrow Investor Days | Link | 11/09/2020 - 11/13/2020 | Online | An entire week dedicated to 1-to-1, online meetings with deep tech startups and investors. |
Pitch Competitions
| Name | Website | Event Date | Apply | Location | Description | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venture Madness | Link | 10/6/2021- 10/7/2021 | TBD | TBD | Early-stage firms compete against one another in a live, pitch style event. | |
| SXSW Pitch | Link | 03/16/2021 - 03/20/2021 | Deadline: Jan 8, 2021 | Online | This year's SXSW Pitch will be part of the SXSW Online digital experience. 2021 SXSW Pitch will feature 40 interactive technology companies from 8 different categories. These companies will virtually pitch and participate in a 5-minute Q&A with three judges. | View site |
| Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge | Link | 11/16/2020 - 11/20/2020 | Closed for 2020 | Online | Pitch competition for science and tech entrepreneurs | |
| Collision Pitch | Link | 04/2/2021 - 04/22/2021 | Now | Toronto, ON | PITCH is the startup competition at Collision that brings together the world's leading startups for an online pitching battle. | Less than $3M in funding (View Site) |
| Cartier Women's Initiative Awards | Link | 2022 (TBD) | TBD | TBD | Startup competition aimed to support and encourage women entrepreneurs. | Must be a women owned and operated early-stage startup. (View Site) |
| U.Pitch Competition & Showcase | Link | 2021 (TBD) | TBD | TBD | U.Pitch is a startup pitch competition that focuses on encouraging and supporting startups whose founders are still in college or just recently graduated from college. | Currently enrolled college student or have graduated within the past six months from college. |
| Code Launch Pitch Day | Link | 2021 (TBD) | TBD | TBD | CodeLaunch Pitch Day is an annual startup pitch competition hosted by CodeLaunch - a startup seed accelerator program. | View Site |
| Arizona Innovation Challenge | Link | Fall 2021 | TBD | TBD | Arizona is the best state to develop and commercialize innovative ideas and products, and our entrepreneurial ecosystem is a key role in driving the economy. The Arizona Innovation Challenge has been serving this ecosystem since 2011, resulting in more than 2,000 applications and 100 awarded companies that are striving to become the industry giants of tomorrow. | View Site |