Hello startup people! Here’s the latest drop on Grants, Pitch Competitions, Awards, and Summits.
~Diane
💪 The Biggies
Are you in an accelerator? Forward to your cohort peers, or connect me with your Managing Director. I’ll post the top opportunities in your community for free.
Newly Added:
🎤 Pitch Competitions
Build Her Pitch Competition 2026 – Cash prizes
Arkansas; Women-led | Sept 18 (my guess) | Apply
Bosses in Heels Pitch Competition – $5,000
Women-led | Sept 25 (my guess) | Apply
El Pitch Global – Pitch at BIME Bilbao
Music Tech | Sept 25 | Apply
Whole Foods Q4 Pitch Day – Pitch to Whole Foods
CPG; Food & Bev | Sept 25 | Apply
2026 Fayette Pitch Contest – $12,000 total pool
Georgia | Oct 13 | Apply
Blake Family Military & Veterans Pitch Competition – $25,000 total pool
Military or vet-led | Oct 16 | Apply
NatWest Accelerator Pitch – £100,000 total pool
UK | Oct 16 | Apply
💼 Event
SpacePower Conference - Orlando – Keynotes; Networking
Space Tech; Mil Tech | Dec 8-10 | Apply
🔨 Challenge
Arizona Innovation Challenge – $100,000
SaaS | Sept 28 | Apply
SEMIC 2026 Pitching Corner – Present at SEMIC 2026
Europe; Interoperability; GovTech | Oct 31 (my guess) | Apply
xTech|Search 10 – $1,000,000 total prizes
MilTech; Def Tech; Dual Tech | Oct 19 | Apply
Restack Healthy Open Internet Stack – €50,000
Open source | Nov 3 | Apply
IAA Conference 2027 Call for Speakers – Speak at conference
Sustainable mobility; Smart cities | Nov 30 | Apply
🏆 Award
True Zero Global Prize – $75,000 total pool
Sustainability; planetary health; Energy storage | Sept 28 | Apply
2026 Materials Today Agents of Change Awards – $20,000 total pool
Inclusive materials research | Sept 30 | Apply
Startup Refugees Entrepreneur Awards – €50,000 total pool
Finland; Immigrant-led | Oct 4 | Apply
Stelios Awards for Young Entrepreneurs – €200,000 total pool
Cyprus | Oct 31 | Apply
🧰 Pilot
GoBeyond 2026 Call for Startups – €50,000 + €25,000 Pilot funding
Italy | Oct 25 | Apply
Closing Soon! Last Chance!
🤩 View the full list of 100+ open opportunities - including all Last Chance Opportunities - by signing up here.
Starbucks Global Cold Cup Innovation Challenge – $100,000 total pool
Next-Gen Materials | Sept 14 | Apply
AI Startup Pitch Competition – up to $250,000 investment
AI | Sept 15 | Apply
EU-India Recycling of EV Batteries – €5,000,000
EU; India; EVs; Batteries | Sept 15 | Apply
Beyond the Deal Room curates grants, pitch competitions, awards, and tech summits for 13,000+ founders, VC’s and startup organizations. Over $100M global opportunities, mostly non-dilutive, are available across all verticals each year.
For Startup Organizations: Bring this list to your newsletter and community groups for FREE. Reply to this email for details.
Disclaimer: I receive no compensation for promoting any of these events. While I try to be as accurate as possible when posting requirements such as deadlines, it’s your responsibility to confirm all requirements.
📣 Who am I? Your biggest cheerleader. Startup operator, accelerator operations leader, and advisor to early-stage founders. Named a Top 100 Women Tech Leader (2024). I help founders tap into non-dilutive funding—grants, competitions, and beyond—to build traction between VC rounds. Connect with me on LinkedIn.
