Entrepreneurs Invited to Compete for $4,000 in the Upper Shore STRT1UP Roadshow at WC

Washington College and StartUp Maryland are inviting all entrepreneurs on the Upper Shore to register for the 2024 Upper Shore STRT1UP Roadshow. The College will host the first stop of the annual tour on April 9 at 2:30 p.m., where selected applicants will have the opportunity to make 5-minute pitches and showcase their ideas for a chance to win $4,000 to grow their ideas into reality. The runner-up winner will receive a $1,500 cash prize.

Entrepreneurs and start-up companies based in Cecil, Kent, or Queen Anne’s counties are invited to register for the competition. Interested business leaders and innovators can secure a spot now for the chance to pitch by going to https://bit.ly/3uzyiT8. Registration is required to be considered for the competition. The deadline to register is Friday, March 15 at 5:00 p.m.

The competition will require approved applicants to pitch their business by explaining the problem, opportunity, or unmet need that their business will address, and how they will address it through a high-level business plan. Pitches will be judged on:

• Clarity of idea and solution
• Viability of their business idea
• How well the identified problem or opportunity is addressed by their plan
• Impact — either socially or the community
• Innovation

The competition in April — which is sponsored by TEDCO, PNC Bank, the Upper Shore Regional Council, and Washington College’s Department of Business Management — will take place on Washington College’s campus and is open to the public. The StartUp Maryland bus will be onsite during the competition in Martha Washington Square (campus map) and is equipped with a recording studio, where participating entrepreneurs can record their pitch as part of the Pitch Across Maryland competition. For more details and updates on the competition, please visit https://bit.ly/3wq7K7a.