The Founder Showcase is a global seed-stage pitch event, and previous Founder Showcase companies have raised over $3 billion. Companies like Udemy, Turo (formerly: Relay Rides), Thumbtack, Kaggle, and more gave some of their first public pitches on our stage. See our Founder Showcase Hall of Fame here.

Applications are now OPEN to apply to a future Founder Showcase. Anyone building a pre-seed technology company with less than $250,000 USD in funding is welcome to apply at http://bit.ly/showcase-pitch. 

Please note that the Founder Showcase allows for a maximum of two non-Founder Institute companies to pitch on each event. Founder Institute Alumni can submit their pitch via an expedited process at FI.co/guides/showcase (you must be logged into your Alumni account to see this).

How does the Public Pitch Application Process Work?

To start your application, visit http://bit.ly/showcase-pitch.

After some basic questions, you will be asked for a: 

  1. One Sentence Pitch: Please follow this format: “My Company, [company name], is developing [a defined offering] to help [a defined audience] [solve a problem] with [secret sauce]”.
    • Learn more and get tips on this format at http://fi.co/madlibs. People that follow this format correctly will be HEAVILY favored for selection on the event.
  2. 3.5 Minute Pitch Video: Your pitch video must have slides, be 3.5 minutes max, show your face, and be uploaded to a site like Youtube or Google Drive.
    • This video will not be shared outside of the Founder Institute team without your permission.
    • Do not worry about production value with your video, we are more interested in you and your company than the “style” of your video. 
    • Light editing is okay, but do not “over-edit”. In events like these, pitches that seem natural (one-take) are infinitely better than those with significant editing. 
    • Video must be in English, and show product.
 
Evaluation Criteria

Most of the companies that will pitch on the Founder Showcase will be Founder Institute Alumni. However, we do allow for a maximum of two non-Founder Institute companies to pitch on each event.

We judge all pitches based on (in no specific order):

  1. Pitch Quality (clear pitch, compelling narrative, etc)
  2. Presentation Quality (deck design, speaker delivery, etc)
  3. Business Growth Potential and Fundability
  4. Adherence to our rules, deadlines, and feedback

For updates on future events, sign up here.