Startup 302 is ready to fund your business - are you ready to apply?
Wilmington, DE
01/12/2023 03:35 PM
Startup 302 is officially open! The application (LINK ) opened on 1/9 and will be open until February 24, 2023. The application is all online, via Gust, and while quite comprehensive, will allow applicants to access a (still growing) prize pool that’s currently over $185,000. Please share with those that you think would be a good candidate to apply.
As a reminder/For additional background information:
Startup 302 is a community-organized pitch competition, based in Delaware but open to companies from around the country, focused on startups led by founders from underestimated groups. The competition, which offers non-dilutive cash grants as prizes, is open to early-stage, venture scalable companies, led by founding teams including women, Black, Latinx, Native-American, and LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs. The competition’s application and first two rounds of review will be virtual, and the finals will be held in person, in Wilmington, DE, on 4/27/23.
This year’s prize tracks include:
- Early Stage - cash prizes awarded to very early-stage, high-growth startups who've generated less than $10,000 in annual revenue and have raised less than $50k in funding (including dilutive & non-dilutive sources).
- Fintech - cash prizes awarded for innovations across sectors, with a main focus on FinTech, automation, big data, SaaS, and ecommerce innovations for financial services.
- Life Sciences - cash prizes awarded to startups in therapeutics, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, nutrition, industrial biotechnology, and other startups enabled by the life sciences.
- Clean, Green, and Blue - cash prizes awarded to startups in agtech, cleantech, chemical ingredients that are naturally derived sources, ocean safe products that are focus on the holistic and environmental impact.
- Delaware Tech-Enabled - cash prizes awarded to startups that reside in Delaware that are tech-enabled, and don’t fit one of the above categories. Tech-enabled companies aren't building the internet, mobile devices or social media platforms; they're using those technologies.
Our incredible sponsors include: DE Division of Small Business, DPP, Discover, Horn Entrepreneurship at UD, JP Morgan Chase, FMC, Highmark Delaware, DuPont, M&T, Delaware Innovation Space, and DE State University.
The organizing partners who put this competition together, and are working with us to pull it all together include: First Founders, DESCA, Horn Entrepreneurship, DSU, the Emerging Enterprise Center, the DE SBDC, DE Innovation Space, the Women’s Business Center at True Access Capital, and StartOut.
Please spread the word! We’re happy to field questions from you or those within your community. Looking forward to another great competition!
Reference
Erica Crell
302-576-6565
