Regional Pitch Competition
Get ready to showcase your company and its IMPACT!
The 2026 WBEC Florida Regional Pitch Competition serves as a qualifying round for the National WBENC Semi-Finals.
WBENCPitch is a signature WBENC program featuring a series of educational sessions and pitch competitions to help WBEs hone their business pitch, gain meaningful exposure, and compete for grants and other prizes to invest in their business.
The 2026 WBENCPitch IMPACT competition is focused on storytelling and impact. In this ever-changing business landscape, it is critical now more than ever for business owners to effectively communicate beyond their capabilities or the problems they solve.
The competition will feature two separate categories: Products and Services. Each category will award two (2) winners.
1. First Place: $20,000
2. Runner Up: Complimentary registration to the 2027 WBENC National Conference
How the Competition Works:
FIRST ROUND: IMPACT YOUR AUDIENCE
The first round includes a one-minute (60-second) pitch and 3 minutes of Q&A from the judges in front of a live virtual audience at the WBEC Florida level.
This takes place at the regional level, so you'll be pitching to judges with WBEC Florida. You will use storytelling techniques to clearly describe who you are and what youre business does. The key is to deliver your message in a way that creates memorable and lasting IMPACT on both the judges and the audience.
You will pitch before a panel of judges who will select 5 contestants to go to the Second Round: 2 product businesses, 2 service businesses, and the 2026 WBE Star.
First Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch make a memorable IMPACT and leave the audience wanting more information?
SECOND ROUND: ELEVATE YOUR IMPACT
The second round includes a 90-second pitch and a one-question Q&A from the audience during a live virtual event at the national level.
You must elaborate on either the metric-driven or mission-driven impact your business creates.
Semi-Final Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch highlight the company’s meaningful or measurable impact?
FINAL ROUND: HONE YOUR IMPACT
In the final round, you will spotlight one IMPACT category, in a 2-minute pitch and a 2-minute Q&A with the judges in a live virtual event at the national level.
In the IMPACT category you choose, you must illustrate meaningful and measurable examples of how your company has created and continues to create powerful and lasting impact.
Final Round Judging Criteria:
- Introduction and Closing - Did the pitch have a thoughtful and unique introduction that grabbed and held the audience's attention, and a powerful closing?
- Problem and Solution - Did the pitch feature a clear business description including a problem/solution?
- Value - Did the pitch explain the company value and competitive advantage?
- Presentation - Was the overall presentation powerful, captivating, and professional?
- Impact - Did the pitch clearly define and elaborate on one specific IMPACT category?
Pitch Criteria
Interested in competing? You must meet the following criteria:
- Submit an entry video to apply. The video must be no longer than 1 minute. Longer videos will be disqualified.
- Submit a one-page capabilities statement.
- Focus the pitch on communicating the company’s story in a creative and compelling way.
- Pitch an existing product, service or business solution that is currently in the market or ready for market (not a future idea or endeavor).
- Must be a WBENC Certified WBE whose certification is in good standing.
- Must be a female owner of the company.
- If the solution is the result of a joint venture between multiple WBE companies, or if the business has more than one female owner, the application must be submitted on behalf of only one of the WBE companies or owners. Only one WBE will be permitted to pitch in each round, and it will need to be the same WBE in each round.
Judges' Scoring Criteria
Here is a comparison of the scoring criteria judges will use for each round of the competition leading up to the final choices of WBENC Pitch Competition winners. Note that the first four criteria stay the same throughout, while the fifth element, impact, changes with each round.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who are the judges?
What are the deadlines?
What are the criteria for the pitch?
Application Requirements
How long is the pitch video?
How do I submit my pitch video?
Resources
Check out these books and links to help you prepare for your pitch.
TedEx Talk: The elevator speech is out of order: Michelle Golden at TEDxCitadelPark
Click on Book Cover to learn more about that title.
