NBA to host pitch contest for Hoosier startups on All-Star weekend
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The NBA and the NBA Foundation are teaming with several Indianapolis-based organizations to present a business pitch competition for diverse-led Hoosier startups.
Pacers Sports & Entertainment, Elevate Ventures, the Be Nimble Foundation and Sixty8 Capital are working with the NBA and its foundation to host the event, called the All-Star Pitch Competition.
Startups have until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday to apply for the contest. It’s being held in connection with the 2024 NBA All-Star Weekend, which takes place Feb. 16-18 in Indianapolis. From among the pool of applicants, six finalists will be selected to receive coaching and pitch prep from Be Nimble, Elevate Ventures and Sixty8 Capital.
The six will then deliver their pitches in a live event Feb. 17 at the Indiana Convention Center, and the winners will receive a total of $150,000 in cash grants.
The contest is geared toward diverse-led Hoosier startups, which the NBA Foundation is loosely defining as startups led by women and/or those led by someone who is Black, indigenous or a person of color, said Genisha Metcalf, who is the partnerships lead at the NBA Foundation.
During an online Q&A session last week, Metcalf said that though the NBA Foundation was created specifically to advance economic opportunities for Black youth, the organization decided to broaden the scope of this contest. “…We do understand that there are multiple aspects that contribute to the lack of funding within diverse communities, so the real intention here is to support those underrepresented entrepreneurs.”
In order to participate, startups must be an Indiana company launched no earlier than January 2019, have raised no more than $3 million in capital and have total gross revenue of less than $2 million.
Candidates should be what the NBA Foundation calls an innovation-driven enterprise, including sectors such as sports and entertainment, consumer packaged goods, social innovation and wellness.
Find complete contest rules and a link to the online application portal here.