16 startups went head-to-head in the toughest startup pitch competition in San Diego! The tournament was hosted LIVE at San Diego State University and our all-star judges chose which founder would advance through the four rounds. The last one standing would win the $10,000 grant sponsored by Aleph One, a pitch appointment with Nufund Venture Group, office hours with Logicboost Labs , and bragging rights!
Our All-star Pitch Competition Judges included:
- Christina Bibler, Economic Development Director, City of San Diego
- Chris Staszak, Chief Technology Officer, LogicBoost Labs
- Stanislav Synko, CEO, Aleph One
- Hala Madanat, VP of Research & Innovation, San Diego State University
- Serhat Pala, Co-founder & General Partner, Cross Ocean Ventures
- Brian Lamb, Co-founder & Chief Strategy Officer, Trust & Will
And our Emcees for the night and tie-breaker judges:
- Ryan Kuder, Managing Director, Techstars Anywhere
- Caitlin Wege, President, Nufund Venture Group
After 4 rounds of elevator pitches, 2-minute deck presentations, rapid-fire questions, and mic drop 30-second pitches we found our winner, Vistim Labs led by James Hamet!
“This was our first Startup Week – and wow, such an incredible experience! Rarely do you find a high-quality community of students, professionals, investors, and entrepreneurs, who all have something to teach you. I particularly appreciate the volunteers and presenters who prepared a fantastic program for us. In just a few days, I made new friends, mentors, and partners in the Startup San Diego ecosystem. Those of us in the accelerator program finally had a chance to meet in-person and challenge each other face-to-face in the thrilling, tournament-style heavyweight pitch competition.
This competition had each of us on our toes, anxious to see who would advance to the next round, earning a few more minutes with the audience and judges to make their case. I am also grateful to everyone who helped us prepare – that preparation was key to coming out 1st in a group of remarkable startups and their visionary founders. Thank you for the opportunity. Looking forward to being back next year!” – James Hamet, CEO at Vistim Labs
Congrats James and huge appreciation to the rest of our pitch competition finalists! It takes a lot to get in front of hundreds in such an intense battle.
Cheers to our runner-ups:
- 2nd: Aleria – Lisa Russell
- 3rd: Panic Panties– Maria-Nicole Marino
- 4th: Shore Buddies – Malte Niebelschuetz
Here are your 2022 Startup Week Pitch Competitors:
- Aleria – Lisa Russell
- Cleandrops – Ekaterina Salcedo
- Craft Your Bra – Rachael Lafenhagen
- DeepWater Exploration Inc. – Jiajer Ho
- Ebike Cargo Products – Brian Hoffman
- Knowtex – Caroline Zhang
- Leah – Mariah Mendez
- MeCo Diagnostics – Adam Watson, PhD
- New Voice Learning – Matt Sussman
- One OM One – Hajime Ito
- Panic Panties– Maria-Nicole Marino
- Purposer – Joline Mann
- Sensoride – Daniel Moradi
- Shore Buddies – Malte Niebelschuetz
- Smart Border Systems – Eduardo Cabrera Castillo
- Vistim Labs – James Hamet
Thank you to everyone that came out to watch this amazing event! You can watch the full competition on our Instagram page. We can’t wait to host another pitch competition next year and have more prizes for our competitors.
