Pitch competitions · United States
5 programmes. Of these, none says it takes no equity, and 3 have applications open.
A business plan and pitch competition at Baylor University for student and recent-alumni ventures from universities worldwide. The top 10 compete at the April finals for more than US$200,000 in cash and prizes.
US$50k prize · equity not published
A student startup competition at Rice University in Houston. Invited university teams compete over three days for investment and cash prizes, and every team wins at least one prize.
Funding not published · equity not published
The education startup pitch competition at SXSW EDU in Austin. Selected early-stage edtech startups pitch on stage to judges and an audience for three awards, and get festival credentials, coaching and a startup bootcamp.
Funding not published · equity not published
An annual startup showcase at SXSW in Austin where selected finalists pitch new technology to judges and investors across eight technology categories, plus a student category.
Funding not published · equity not published
A pitch competition for University of Texas System graduate students, held in the fall and the spring at UT Austin. Semifinals and finals run on one day, and the winner takes a US$15,000 grand prize.
US$15k prize · equity not published
We list 5 programmes: Baylor New Venture Competition, Rice Business Plan Competition, SXSW EDU Launch Startup Competition, SXSW Pitch and Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition. Each listing links to the programme's own pages and shows the day we last verified it.
None of the 5 says it takes no equity. 5 do not publish their equity terms, so ask before you apply.
Applications are open for SXSW EDU Launch Startup Competition (closes 1 November 2026), Texas Venture Labs Investment Competition (closes 8 November 2026) and SXSW Pitch (closes 13 November 2026). The deadlines page lists every date we track.
Austin (3), Houston (1) and Waco (1). Delivery varies: each listing says whether the programme runs in person, remotely or both.
Send us your dates and terms and we will publish them with a link to your own pages.