APPLY NOW
We are thrilled to announce that ł.pitch Start-up Challenge is back and applications are now open!
Any start-up in a pre-seed, seed and post-seed stage can apply for a chance to pitch their business to venture capitalists, join a network of like-minded entrepreneurs and win a prize of £3000. This year, start-ups can enter our mentorship programme which includes meetings with industry experts that can help improve business strategy and accelerate growth.
This year, the final of the competition is taking place in London on 4th March during the LSE Polish Economic Forum 2023. The jury will include Mateusz Zawistowski from ff Venture Capital, Aleksander Dobrzyniecki from Black Pearls VC and Rafał Celej from Kondracki Celej.
To apply for ł.pitch, fill in the application form bit.ly/łpitchapplication or https://app.vestbee.com/org/lpitch where you will need to attach a pitch deck.
The only pre-requisite is that there is at least one Polish person on the founding team.
Follow our social media accounts and visit our website to find out more about the competition! Lsepbs.lpitch
Polish Economic Forum 2023
Ł.pitch is the fastest growing project of the LSE SU Polish Business Society. It is a competition for start-ups at every stage of growth: pre-seed, seed and post-seed. The only requirement is that at least one member of founding team is Polish. Participating businesses have a chance of winning a financial prize but also get a unique opportunity to network with potential investors. Ł.pitch 2023 introduces new initiative – mentorship programme. A pool of start-ups will be offered a meeting with our mentors that include investors or potential business partners to discuss business strategy. This year, we will collaborate with VCs from both Poland and the UK.
Motivated by the success of previous competition’s winners, we decided to further develop the ł.pitch Startup Challenge. The real impact of our competition is already visible. The winner of the 2020 edition, GGPredict, recently collected funding of USD 1 million for further development and expanded into the US and Scandinavian markets. The 2019 winner, Comixify, went through the Space3ac acceleration program where it had the opportunity to spend PLN 200 000 in development after it signed a contract with one of Poland’s biggest companies, PKN Orlen.
V Edition ł.pitch Startup Challenge
This year, we aim to select, reward, and help the best Polish startups in the pre-seed, seed and post-seed financing stages to grow their businesses. Three start-ups will qualify for the final of the competition, which will take place on March 4th 2023 in London during the LSE SU Polish Economic Forum. Each of the finalists will pitch their idea to potential investors and conference participants. Then in the „Dragon’s Den” formula will be evaluated by the Jury including investors from leading VCs.
This year, the application window will open at the beginning of January and close in mid February. After a start-up submits his application, we will try to find a match for a mentor and notify the representative of the start-up once successful.
History of ł.pitch
As a pioneer of the oil industry and the inventor of the kerosene lamp, Ignacy Łukasiewicz significantly contributed to the development of entrepreneurship in Poland. He was also an important social activist. His figure inspired us to name our competition ł.pitch in order to show that its mission is to promote entrepreneurship in Poland and abroad.
The two previous editions received vast support from the investors and aroused tremendous interest among start-ups. During all editions, the chosen finalists presented their ideas at the LSE SU Polish Economic Forum (PEF) in front of investors and other professionals.
Then, the jury, which included such renowned industry leaders as Sebastian Kulczyk, Krzysztof Krawczyk, Tytus Cytowski, Marcin Kowalik, Wojciech Szaniawski, Karol Górnowicz and Jan Habermann, questioned and assessed the finalists’ ideas in a Dragons’ Den formula, and awarded prizes. The competition attracted extensive publicity, with numerous articles covering the initiative and its winners appearing in leading media outlets such as Forbes and Business Insider
Contact:
Start-up challenge
l.pitch@polish-business.org