SPC/IPC Application

 Call for Participation: Startup Pitch Competition and Idea Pitch Competition at UKC 2023

 The Korean-American Scientists and Engineers Association (KSEA) hosts 5th Startup Pitch Competition and Idea Pitch Competition on August 4 and 5, during the UKC 2023 that is held at the Hyatt Regency DFW, Dallas TX. The competition aims to provide promising early-stage companies from the US and Korea with the platform to pitch their innovative solutions, ideas, and technologies to a captivated audience of industry professionals and acclaimed Investors, especially promoting US-Korea cross-border startups that would maximize the synergy between the two countries. This year features two categories of competition, the Startup Pitch Competition (SPC) for early-stage startups and the Idea Pitch Competition (IPC) for future startups. Of the many that apply, about 20 - 30 applicants will be invited for the IES DEMO session to present a short pitch on August 4. 10 finalists will be selected by SPC judges and invited to SPC on August 5 to compete for various types of rewards including cash awards.

Selected Benefits to Invited Companies

• 1:1 meeting with a matched venture capitalist

• Booth presentation during the entire IES and UKC 2023 periods to those who are invited - investors, technologists, industry veterans, UKC 2023 participants

• Networking events with investors and potential partners

• Scale-up opportunities through partnership with KSEA and its affiliated professional societies

How To Apply

Interested? We’d love to see you pitch! We request all applicants to submit a short video (video link) that gives us a sense of who you are and how your solution would be propelling the future of the world. Video submissions should cover the following points in less than 5 minutes:

• Your startup’s value proposition

• Problem(s) your product and/or service is solving

• Why your startup is a good fit for the KSEA StartUp Pitch Competition

Eligibility

Eligible startups must meet the following criteria as of June 15, 2023:

• Have not received more than US$7.0 million in diluted funding

• (Category 1 - Idea: US$200K, Category 2 – Startup & W-Startup: US$7.0M)

• Are less than 7 years old

Timeline (11:59 PM in US Eastern time)

• Application due                    July 7th, 2023

• Invitee notification            July 8th, 2023

• Idea Pitch competition          August 4th, 2023

• Startup Demo                       August 4th, 2023

• Startup Pitch competition      August 5th, 2023

• Winners announcement       August 5th, 2023

How to Win

• Competition Finalists are expected to prepare a presentation showcasing the company’s innovative solution, idea, and/or technology. Finalists will pitch in English or Korean.

• Each pitch will be timed to 5 minutes. At the end of the pitch, the panel of judges will be given additional 3 minutes for Q&A (up to three questions).

• Finalists will be assessed by a dedicated panel of judges consisting of acclaimed investors and industry professionals, and the results will be announced at the Award Ceremony & Closing Session on the same day.