Minerva Birmingham Pitch Up, previously known as Pitchfest WM, is a pitching competition for West Midlands businesses. It offers participating businesses the chance to pitch head-to-head to a variety of investors to win a cash prize, as well as the accolade of Pitch Up Champion. 

The competition is a collaboration co-delivered by the Centre for Growth at Aston University, University of Birmingham Enterprise and Minerva Business Angels, part of the University of Warwick Science Park Limited.

It provides the opportunity for ambitious business leaders to improve their ability to win investment while simultaneously boosting their business profile.

Shortlisted applicants will be supported through a workshop to refine their pitch deck, sharpen their pitching skills and receive valuable feedback in order to improve. 

A select number of successful applicants will then advance to the next stage of the competition and have the opportunity to pitch to an investor-led panel to gain more practice and receive more feedback.  

The best performing businesses will then be selected to pitch at the Pitch Up final. This will take place as part of Venturefest WM on Wednesday 1 March 2023 at Eastside Rooms, Birmingham. 

The overall winner will be decided by an audience vote and crowned Pitch Up Champion 2023. They will receive a cash prize and the option of additional support from Minerva Birmingham.

In 2022 Venturefest attracted 600 delegates including investors, entrepreneurs and innovators.

The 2022 champion, Kate Walker of ExpHand Prosthetics Ltd, said:

 “I really enjoyed taking part in the Pitch Up competition last year and being given a platform to pitch in front of investors and organisations from across the Midlands. The support and feedback I gained from the event has helped move us forward and has allowed us to create new partnerships and bring in additional funding.

“There is a diverse selection of people at the event and taking part in the Pitch Up competition gave us a platform to share our vision and journey with all those attending and create new connections that we may not have come across otherwise. Overall, I would definitely recommend taking part in the programme.”

The event has put more than 125 entrepreneurs directly in front of investors and helped bring in excess of £40m of investment to the region’s small businesses to date.

Interested business leaders can find out more about Pitch Up by contacting centreforgrowth@aston.ac.uk or applying here. Applications close on Friday 27 January 2023.