Venture Madness, presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, pits 24 of the most promising startup companies against one another in a single-elimination, bracket style tournament. The Venture Madness Champion is crowned after a month of online competition plus a live, do-or-die event held in late January, featuring an audience of hundreds of guests including past winners, entrepreneurs, active angel and venture capital investors, emerging growth companies, seasoned mentors and expert service professionals.

It is completely FREE to apply for the 2017 Venture Madness Competition, other than your time to complete the application and create your 90-second pitch video. If your company advances to the final 16 firms that participate in the live event, you will be responsible for your travel and accommodations to attend the Venture Madness Conference which takes place March 8 – 10, 2017 in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Companies that present at the conference will not only meet people who’ve been in your shoes (which is invaluable in a startup’s journey), you’ll meet mentors and industry influencers who can help mentor your team and accelerate your growth. You’ll also have the opportunity to network and spend quality time connecting with some of our region’s most active angel and venture capital investors, get mentorship from successful entrepreneurs and past contestants, and connect with other competing companies.

You’ll also network with and learn from a 30+ member selection panel that includes expert investors, investment bankers and seasoned service professionals, in addition to the other entrepreneurial minds and guest speakers who attend the event. Your startup will get national and international exposure through the Venture Madness website leading up to, and throughout the competition, as we promote the event and competing companies online through search and social media, as well as PR exposure through the local and national media.  All 24 participating companies will be mentioned in the conference notebook and the press releases that are distributed to local press and nationally throughout the competition  as well as to more than 300 attendees at the live event. You’ll also receive ongoing promotions and PR following the event via the website, social media and PR.

Invest Southwest will review initial applications, and based on weighted scores, the top 24 will be invited to participate in Venture Madness. Those 64 applications will be placed on the Venture Madness website for review and voting by a selection panel. Read the How It Works section for more information.

Applications are reviewed and evaluated by an expert judging panel and evaluation criteria is based on your solution uniqueness, competitive differentiation, market traction, market opportunity, business model, team strength and presentation quality. Please refer to the competition Terms and Conditions for more details on evaluation timelines.

NEW for 2018!  No pitch videos will be required from 2018 competition applicants, only your online application via our application portal. The link to the online application will be provided at the time the application window opens.

Once you have successfully submitted your application materials, ValidEval will take you to a thank you page confirming your submission. If you apply prior to the deadline and do not see a thank you confirmation page or experience other issues with the ValidEval site, please email Karen Katzorke at karen.katzorke@investsouthwest.org.

An Invest Southwest representative will be in touch with you approximately one month prior to the conference, if your company is selected to present.

An Invest Southwest representative will contact each company to notify them if they are selected to compete in each round. Companies that move on to rounds 2 and 3 will compete based on their original applications. The final 16 companies selected to present at the conference are required to attend:

• Presenting Company Orientation 
• Mentor Team Meetings (ongoing)
• Venture Madness Conference on January 30, 2018 at Galvanize Phoenix (CEO/President is required to present)

If you have a technical difficulty submitting your application through ValidEval, please submit a help request here. If your response is not resolved through ValidEval, please contact Karen Katzorke, Executive Director of Invest Southwest. Please note that Invest Southwest receives a high volume of calls the week prior to the application deadline, and your request will be responded to in the order that is is received.

Yes, conference registration is open to the public. Visit the Registration Page for more information.