Pitch Your Idea, Raise Capital, & cash prize. Qualifying Round.

​Get ready for Sbur’s thrilling three-round investor pitch competition this May! The excitement kicks off with two qualifying rounds on 5/15 and 5/22, where 10 founders in each round will showcase their ideas and compete for votes from both investors and fellow founders. The top 10 finalists will move on to the grand Final on 5/29, held during the prestigious a16z Boston Tech-Week. Once again, finalists will present and be judged by investors and founders. The winner will receive a $3,500 cash prize!

​The following are the Guidelines/Requirements for your pitch deck submission.

​Content. Your pitch deck covers 1) Hook/Problem – personal or customer story of pain points. 2) Solution/Product – Built X that does Y. 3) Traction & Validation – Prove it’s working. 4) Market Opportunity – Big but believable market. 5) Team – Why you and your team? 6) Ask & Close --How much you’re raising and what return an investor can expect.

​Format. Your Pitch Deck should observe the following: 1) Words per slide -- 10-15 max; 2) Total words across full deck – 80-120 words max; 3) Font size –28-36 pt minimum; 4) Image/visual per slide – 1 dominant element; 4) Total words spoken during the 4 minutes – 480-520 words or 30-40 seconds per slide.

​Featured Judges: Bob Garces (Boston Harbor Angels), Joe Zhou (Boston Angel Club), Geoff Oblak (Datapoint Capital) Judging Criteria. Both investors and fellow founders will participate in the electronic voting. Each presentation will be judged based on the following three criteria: 1) Visual Enthrallment, 2) Verbal Captivation, and 3) High-Conviction Bet.

​Deadline for Pitch Deck Submission is April 15, 2026. Please upload your pitch deck to https://forms.gle/RLAPfStLesZCL1Ls9 or https://www.sbur.com. Paid Sbur membership is required for the participation.