PROPEL your startup idea
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Hopeful entrepreneurs and investors have until Friday to apply for up to $60,000 from the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber's new PROPEL pitch competition.
Why it matters: The inaugural PROPEL Small Business & Entrepreneur Summit, set for Oct. 28-29, is connecting local startups at various stages of the early process with potential investors, business owners and stakeholders.
What they're saying: "We're really hoping to bring together the small business resource community and these entrepreneurs and founders," Ashley Engles-Ross, vice president of small business for the chamber, tells Axios Huntsville.
- They're also urging hopeful entrepreneurs to sign up for the pitch competition.
How it works: The pitch competition, applications for which are due Oct. 3, has three categories, though only the first two offer up to $60,000 in awards.
- The IdeaSTAGE is geared toward entrepreneurs or teams in the early stages of exploring market problems and brainstorming solutions.
- The NextSTAGE is for companies in need of seed money in the concept or early startup stage.
- The SolutionLAB/MissionMatch category doesn't offer award money, but connects companies with validated prototypes or growth-stage ventures with proven products directly with potential investors.
A two-to three-minute pitch will be followed by a Q-and-A session with a panel of judges, Engles-Ross said, and each team will also be required to have a demo, or booth, so attendees and judges can learn more about the proposal.
Zoom in: Teams will be notified by Oct. 14 if they've been selected for the pitch competition. If not, there will still be time after that date to register as an attendee.
Zoom out: Set for Stovehouse, the event includes panel discussions, networking sessions and keynote speakers. Check out the agenda here.