Rules for FIU Track

• Entry deadline: Emailed by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, 2023
• FIU Track is open to all CURRENT FIU Students, Alumni & Faculty.
• For-profit business ideas only.
• If competing as a team, at least one member must be a current FIU Student, Alumnus or Faculty.
• The Founder(s) must be South Florida resident(s) living in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe or Palm Beach counties.
• If you are entering an existing business, it must be based in South Florida.
• An entry consists of a pitch-deck of 10-20 slides that explains your product, growth strategy, marketing plan, team members, and financials.
• The product can be a proposed business or one that is already in development or operation. However, if your business launched operations prior to January 1, 2020, it is not eligible.
• The applicants cannot enter the Community track and the FIU track with the same idea
• Finalists will be required to present their pitch to the judges. Judges will consider the pitch in their final ranking. If a finalist is unable to attend the judging session, the next highest ranked plan will be deemed a finalist and be awarded the opportunity to compete in the pitch competition.
• The winner will receive exposure throughout Miami Herald’s platforms and have the opportunity to participate in a Miami Herald in-person event highlighting the winners and the competition.

Rules for the Community Track

• Entry deadline: Emailed by 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, March 1, 2023
• The Founder(s) must be South Florida resident(s) living in Miami-Dade, Broward, Monroe or Palm Beach counties.
• Entrepreneur must be a founder.
• Company must be based in Florida.
• If the business launched operations prior to January 1, 2020, it is not eligible.
• The company must be making at least $50K in ARR up to $1M in ARR.
• All industries are welcome to apply as long as the solution is tech-enabled and not service-based.
• The applicants cannot enter the Community track and the FIU track with the same idea.
• Finalists will be required to present their pitch to the judges. Judges will consider the pitch in their final ranking. If a finalist is unable to attend the judging session, the next highest ranked plan will be deemed a finalist and be awarded the opportunity to compete in the pitch competition.
• The winner will receive exposure throughout Miami Herald’s platforms and have the opportunity to participate in a Miami Herald in-person event highlighting the winners and the competition.

About the Miami Herald Startup Pitch Competition

In January, Miami Herald launches its signature entrepreneurship outreach program, the Miami Herald Startup Pitch Competition. For more than 20 years, the competition has fostered new opportunities for South Floridians: from writing a business plan to executing on it, starting and scaling a business, and creating an economic impact in the community.

The six-week challenge accepts entries in two tracks:

• Community Track: Open to all the community, focused on key industries vital to South Florida’s economy.
• FIU Track: dedicated to students, faculty and alumni of Florida International University

Panels of expert judges name a winner in each track based on the quality of the idea, the submitted pitch deck and -- for those who move forward to the final round of the competition -- a live judging pitch presentation. The competition receives editorial coverage in print, online, and social media with judges, mentors and winners profiled in the Miami Herald’s Business Section.