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Awards

PitcHER™

PitcHER™ is an annual pitch competition bringing leading women and nonbinary entrepreneurs to Grace Hopper Celebration – the world’s largest gathering of women and nonbinary technologists – with the goal of supporting, encouraging, and providing new funding opportunities to these entrepreneurs.

PitcHER
Award Packages

Apply for a Chance to Win

1st Place

$50,000

One year of mentorship from competition judges

Complimentary registration to attend PitcHER™ at GHC25 as a featured guest

2nd Place

$30,000

One year of mentorship from competition judges

Complimentary registration to attend PitcHER™ at GHC25 as a featured guest

3rd Place

$20,000

One year of mentorship from competition judges

Complimentary registration to attend PitcHER™ at GHC25 as a featured guest

Who Can Apply

Requirements

1

Executive Team

You (the applicant and, if selected as a finalist, the pitch presenter) must identify as a woman or nonbinary, be the founder of your business, and be part of the current executive team (e.g. the CEO or CTO).

2

Stage

Your startup is in its early stage of development (seed): You have a minimum viable product (MVP) and have gotten some user feedback. Revenue is not required.

3

Funding

Your startup has raised less than $2 million in total funding including self-funding, friends and family, angel investors, grants, etc.

4

Location

Your startup is based in the U.S. and serves the U.S. market (although it may also be international).

5

Return of Capital

(For-profit startups only) Your startup provides compelling evidence that it will be profitable enough to reward investors for risk.

6

Scale of Impact

(Nonprofit startups only) Your startup provides compelling evidence that it will have an impact that aligns with its mission.

Selection Criteria

Finalists will be selected based on a range of criteria. To help our team better understand your business model, these criteria vary for for-profit and nonprofit applicant.

Innovation

What is new or innovative about your tech product or service?

Impact

What positive impact does your business have on women and/or families and children?

Business Model (For-profits Only)

Your startup is “venture-scalable;” there is potential to grow into a billion-dollar venture.

Theory of Change (Nonprofits Only)

Your startup has a strong and clear theory of change; there is contextual knowledge of public policy, economics, and/or technology.

The Process

Our Application Timeline

March 11

General Applications Open

April 12

General Applications Close at 5PM PT

April 22

Semifinalists Decisions Announced

May 17

Semifinalist Applications Due

May 29

Finalist Decisions Announced

2023 PitcHER™ Winners

Meet Our Past Winners

Aasiyah Abdulsalam

FIRST PLACE

Aasiyah Abdulsalam

CEO | The Renatural

Teryn Thomas

SECOND PLACE

Teryn Thomas

Founder & CEO | EdLight, PB

Debbie Dickinson

THIRD PLACE

Debbie Dickinson

Founder & CEO | Thermaband

Brianne Caplan

AUDIENCE FAVORITE

Brianne Caplan

Founder Executive Director | Code Your Dreams

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything You Need to Know

The eligibility criteria to apply to be a part of the annual AnitaB.org PitcHER™ competition are outlined on this page for your Executive Team, Stage, Funding, Location, Return of Capital, and Scale of Impact. This competition is sector agnostic; we welcome all entrepreneurs who are leading early-stage technology startups and who meet the listed criteria to apply.

Application closes on April 12, 2024, at 5 pm PT.

Semifinalist candidates will be announced on April 22, 2024, and provided with group coaching from PSL.

The 10 finalists will be announced on May 29, 2024, and invited to pitch at GHC 24.

Applications will be reviewed against the criteria outlined on this page including Innovation, Impact, Business Model (For-profit startups only), and Theory of Change (Nonprofit startups only).

All applicants will be notified of decisions via email; finalist decisions will be announced to the public prior to GHC 24.

Semifinalists will be asked to submit a Semifinalist Application that will include their pitch deck and a set of short-form questions. It is up to the applicant whether they would like to make edits to their pitch deck before resubmitting.

Finalists will be required to submit a final pitch deck that will be utilized at the PitcHER™ competition at GHC 24. Selected finalists will have the chance to participate in one-on-one coaching from PSL before submission to enhance their pitch decks.

Finalists will be judged on their overall content and presentation. Judging criteria will be aligned to the application criteria. All coaching provided by PSL will aim to help finalists prepare their pitches in alignment with competition judging criteria. Applicants will be provided with a copy of the judging criteria upon reaching the semifinalist stage.