Prize funding for founders

Startup Competitions & Pitch Contests

Browse startup competitions, pitch contests, and business plan challenges that award cash prizes and resources without taking equity. Bootstrap Directory organizes contests from universities, accelerators, governments, and corporations into searchable founder-friendly pages.

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Sources include Grants.gov, SAM.gov, SBIR.gov, CareerOneStop, state agencies, universities, and verified organizations.

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Listings are checked weekly where source data allows, with stale or closed programs removed from public results.

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Featured funding opportunities

Rice Business Plan Competition

Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship (Rice University)

COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free

Students only

$200,000Rolling

Verified Jul 21, 2026

Berkeley LAUNCH Startup Competition

Berkeley LAUNCH (UC Berkeley)

COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free

School-affiliated

$60,000Rolling

Verified Jul 21, 2026

VentureCat

Northwestern University

COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free

Students & alumni

$100,000Rolling

Verified Jul 21, 2026

3D Surface Fuels & Vegetation Modeling Prize Challenge

U.S. Federal Government

COMPETITIONFEDERALEquity-Free

$85,100Open

Verified Jul 21, 2026

Hello Tomorrow Global Challenge

Hello Tomorrow

COMPETITIONPRIVATEEquity-Free

Amount variesRolling

Verified Jul 14, 2026

Georgia Tech InVenture Prize

Georgia Institute of Technology

COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free

Students only

$20,000Rolling

Verified Jun 16, 2026

University of Pennsylvania Venture Lab Startup Challenge

Penn Wharton Venture Lab

COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free

School-affiliated

$150,000Rolling

Verified Jun 16, 2026

Carnegie Mellon Swartz Center McGinnis Venture Competition

Carnegie Mellon Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship

COMPETITIONUNIVERSITYEquity-Free

School-affiliated

$60,000Rolling

Verified Jun 16, 2026

Community College Innovation Challenge

American Association of Community Colleges

COMPETITIONPRIVATEEquity-Free

Students only

Amount variesRolling

Verified Jun 16, 2026

SXSW Pitch

SXSW

COMPETITIONPRIVATEEquity-Free

Amount variesRolling

Verified Jul 14, 2026

Cleantech Open Accelerator

Cleantech Open

COMPETITIONPRIVATEEquity-Free

Amount variesRolling

Verified Jul 14, 2026

TechCrunch Startup Battlefield

TechCrunch

COMPETITIONCORPORATEEquity-Free

$100,000Rolling

Verified Jul 14, 2026

Why enter startup competitions

Competitions offer cash prizes, mentorship, press exposure, and investor access. Winning or even placing builds credibility you can leverage in future grant applications and fundraising rounds.

Who runs these contests

Pitch contests and business plan competitions are hosted by universities, accelerators, economic development agencies, corporations, and nonprofit foundations — often targeting specific industries, regions, or founder backgrounds.

How to find the right competition

Filter by your state and industry to surface contests you're eligible for. Many competitions are regional, so local and state-level contests are typically less crowded than national programs.

How we keep listings useful

Listings are published only when they include enough detail to act on — application URLs, deadlines, eligibility, and prize information — and stale or closed contests are removed from public results.