Pitch your venture for the opportunity to secure funding to accelerate your growth!
The EntreFEST Pitch Competition allows early-stage Iowa businesses to showcase their business, connect with industry leaders, and compete for funding to take them to the next level.
- Friday, June 13th, 2025 at 4:00pm
- Big Grove Brewery in Cedar Rapids
- Free to Attend for the public
- Must be a ticketed EntreFEST attendee to apply to pitch
Rules for entry and application process
Thank you for your interest to participate in The EntreFEST Pitch Competition Presented by Hy-Vee!
To qualify for participation:
- Your business must be Iowa-based
- In operation less than 3 years
- You must be registered to attend EntreFEST 2025 – Get Your Tickets
- You must complete the following application with a copy of your pitch deck by midnight on June 1, 2025 (if you need help with your pitch deck, please contact us).
Five finalists will be selected based on a combination of criteria to include the following considerations: revenue generation (if any); business viability (does it look like a good idea, could it succeed?); positive social and economic impact; quality of pitch deck; solid leadership team; and how winnings will be used.
Finalists will be announced during the concluding Keynote presentation on Thursday, June 12 and will receive email confirmation and instructions immediately following this announcement.
The five (5) finalists will pitch to judges at 4:00pm on Friday, June 13 at Big Grove Brewery in Cedar Rapids.
- Final pitches will be 3 minutes long with 2 minutes Q&A.
- After deliberation – Winners will be announced and cash prizes will be awarded to 1st ($7,500), 2nd ($3,500), 3rd ($1,000) and people’s choice award ($3,000).