Venture Madness, presented by Invest Southwest in partnership with the Arizona Commerce Authority, pits 15 – 30 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 the first quarter of every year, 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 2019 Venture Madness Competition, other than your time to complete the application and create your pitch deck. If you advance as one of the final companies that participate in the live event, you will be responsible for your travel and accommodations to attend the Presenting Company Orientation and Reception (see latest agenda for dates and locations) and the live Venture Madness Conference in 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 the 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 15-30 will be invited to participate in Venture Madness. 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.

Note for 2019! As with our 2018 event, no pitch videos will be required competition applicants for our 2019 contest, only your online application via our application portal which needs to include all completed information as well as your pro forma financials and your initial pitch presentation (in PowerPoint .PPTX format). Apply online December 14, 2018 through January 10, 2019. Please note that late submissions will not be accepted for the competition.

Please check back on December 14, 2018 for a link to the online application portal.

Once you have successfully submitted your application materials, our online application system 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 application 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. At that point you’ll receive all needed instructions on your participation in the event.

An Invest Southwest representative will contact each company to notify them if they have been selected. The 24 companies selected to present at the conference are required to attend.

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. The event registration typically opens in December.