Boise Entrepreneur Week pitch competition

What Boise Entrepreneur Week pitch competition does

Boise Entrepreneur Week (BEW) is an annual 5-day community-driven entrepreneurship event organized by Trailhead, a Boise-based nonprofit that operates a downtown coworking space and entrepreneur support infrastructure. Founded around 2015-2016, BEW positions itself as Idaho's largest and one of the West's largest entrepreneur events, serving early-stage founders, food and beverage entrepreneurs, student entrepreneurs, and growth-stage businesses in the Treasure Valley and broader Idaho. Its core products are a portfolio of pitch competitions — the flagship BEW Pitch Competition ($50,000 grand prize, $5,000 runner-up, non-dilutive), Trailmix (food/beverage with Albertsons shelf placement), Youth Innovation Challenge, Health Tech Challenge, Hacking for Homebuilding, Military Pitch Competition, Scrap to Sculpture, Block Party, and a Dodgeball Tournament — alongside educational programming across 14 tracks covering START, GROW, FOOD, TECH, YOUTH, CAPITAL, CORPORATE INNOVATION, HEALTH TECH, CYBER, SMALL BUSINESS, MILITARY, and CREATIVE.

The event is delivered through in-person attendance at Jack's Urban Meeting Place in downtown Boise and virtual attendance via the Dionysus ticketing and event-management platform, with general admission free and pitch applications submitted through web forms. The business model is sponsorship-funded rather than ticket-funded: BEW is supported by a Title Sponsor (Idaho STEM Action Center), Platinum sponsors (Alturas Capital, Scoggin Capital Investments, Zions Bank), Gold sponsors (Perkins Coie, Vynyl), and GTM partners (Albertsons for Trailmix, Bloomberg Television for 2 Minute Drill national exposure), with strategic academic and community partners including Boise State University Venture College, University of Idaho, Health Tech Idaho, Institute for Pervasive Cybersecurity, and Mission 43. Notable alumni include Adam Stock (Cargo Made-EZ, 2021 BEW winner who subsequently won $50,000 on Bloomberg's 2 Minute Drill) and the 2025 winners Chris Dagher and Oliver Macdonald of QTex AI (an AI-powered microchip search engine). Since inception BEW has awarded over $300,000 in non-dilutive funding to startups and early-stage entrepreneurs.

Name

Boise Entrepreneur Week pitch competition

Legal name

Boise Entrepreneur Week

Website

https://boiseentrepreneurweek.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Boise Entrepreneur Week is an annual 5-day community-driven entrepreneurship event organized by Trailhead, offering pitch competitions, educational programming across 14 tracks, and $150K+ in non-dilutive prize money to Idaho-based early-stage founders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Entrepreneurship Events

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Business Planning, Pitching & Competitions (Pitch Decks, Demo Days) (EDAMAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Youth Business Incubators & Accelerators (EDAMAHAC), Entrepreneurship, Startup Incubation & Pitch Programs (EDAMAKAK), Entrepreneurship Foundations & Startup Basics (EDAMAHAA)

Keywords

• Pitch competitions
• Entrepreneurship events
• Startup competitions
• Small business programs
• Founder education

Headquarters

HQ city

Boise

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Event Sponsorships: Corporate sponsorship tiers including Title Sponsor, Platinum, Gold sponsors providing funding for prize money and event operations
2. Pitch Competition Entry Fees: Application fees for Main Pitch Competition and Trailmix food/beverage competition
3. Registration Revenue: Free registration model with virtual and in-person attendance options
4. Prize Distribution: Non-dilutive prize money awarded to pitch competition winners ($50,000 grand prize, $5,000 runner-up for Main Pitch)

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Boise Entrepreneur Week is a five-day annual community-driven entrepreneurship event that runs multiple pitch competitions awarding non-dilutive prize money (over $150K in total) to early-stage entrepreneurs across Idaho. The event combines pitch competitions, educational programming across 14 specialized tracks, mentorship, and networking opportunities for startups, food/beverage entrepreneurs, students, and growth-stage businesses. The program is operated by Trailhead, a Boise-based nonprofit entrepreneur support organization, and offers pathways to national exposure through partnerships including Bloomberg Television's 2 Minute Drill and Albertsons retail shelf placement.

Product overview

Boise Entrepreneur Week is Idaho's largest community-driven, entrepreneur-focused event featuring a portfolio of pitch competitions and programs. The core offerings include the main BEW Pitch Competition (non-dilutive prize money up to $50,000), Trailmix (food/beverage pitch competition with retail shelf prizes), Youth Innovation Challenge (student-focused problem-solving), Health Tech Challenge, Hacking for Homebuilding, Military Pitch Competition, Scrap to Sculpture, Block Party, and Dodgeball Tournament. The event spans 14 tracks covering topics from startup fundamentals to specialized industries including Tech, Food, Health Tech, Cyber, Capital, and more.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• BEW Pitch Competition The main pitch competition of Boise Entrepreneur Week, awarding $50,000 in non-dilutive grand prize money and $5,000 to the runner-up. Open to early-stage entrepreneurs who apply through online applications with annual deadlines. Winners gain visibility and pathway to Bloomberg 2 Minute Drill national competition.
• Trailmix A food and beverage pitch competition that helps food entrepreneurs take products from the farmers market to the supermarket. The grand prize winner receives cash plus shelf space at the Albertsons Broadway store in Boise, with potential expansion into other regional stores based on sales performance.
• Youth Innovation Challenge A competition allowing students to propose solutions to real-world problems facing Idaho. Teams form during the event and submit a video pitch for the Youth Innovation Challenge.
• Health Tech Challenge A statewide competition offered in partnership by Health Tech Idaho and Boise State University's Venture College, focused on health technology innovation challenges.
• Hacking for Homebuilding A reverse pitch competition in which participants choose a problem provided by industry partners and propose a solution, partnered with Boise State University Venture College.
• Military Pitch Competition A pitch competition supporting veteran entrepreneurs and military-affiliated businesses, in partnership with Mission 43.
• Scrap to Sculpture A challenge designed for budding artists, craftspeople, or anyone with a knack for building things, focused on the CREATIVE track.
• Block Party Community event component of Boise Entrepreneur Week featuring networking and celebration of Idaho's entrepreneurial ecosystem.
• Dodgeball Tournament Recreational competition event that creates community engagement during Boise Entrepreneur Week.

Quantifiable outcome

• Largest entrepreneurial event in Idaho with thousands of attendees annually
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• AlbertsonsflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026Presenting sponsor for Trailmix competition. Grand prize winner receives cash prize AND shelf space at Albertsons Broadway store in Boise, with potential for expansion into other regional stores if sales are strong. Albertsons provides unique retail distribution pathway for food entrepreneurs.
• TrailheadcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTrailhead is the organizing entity behind Boise Entrepreneur Week. Their mission is to help entrepreneurs succeed by providing knowledge, tools, resources, and networks through educational programs, mentorship, and their downtown Boise coworking space. BEW is a Trailhead program.
• Idaho STEM Action CentercoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTitle Sponsor of Boise Entrepreneur Week, supporting STEM education and entrepreneurship in Idaho.
• Bloomberg Television NetworkflagshipGTM or Marketing PartnerBEW pitch competition winners automatically qualify for Bloomberg's 2 Minute Drill season finals with $50,000 prize, providing national TV exposure for Idaho entrepreneurs.
• Boise State University Venture CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Health Tech Challenge and Hacking for Homebuilding competitions, providing industry problems and academic resources.
• Health Tech IdahominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Boise State Venture College for Health Tech Challenge statewide competition.
• Institute for Pervasive CybersecurityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Cybersecurity Entrepreneur Challenge with Boise State University Venture College.
• University of IdahominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Elevator Pitch Competition presented by University of Idaho.
• Mission 43minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for Military Pitch Competition supporting veteran entrepreneurs.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• TechCrunch Disrupt: TechCrunch's flagship startup conference features the Startup Battlefield pitch competition with major cash prizes and investor exposure — the closest direct analog to BEW's Main Pitch Competition, scaled to global.
• TiECon: TiE's annual entrepreneur conference features pitch competitions, multi-track educational content, and sponsor stacks — comparable in scope to BEW but at significantly larger national/international scale.
• IndieBio Demo Day: IndieBio's Demo Days showcase cohort startups pitching to investors — a focused, vertical-specific (biotech) analog of BEW's industry-themed pitch competitions (Health Tech, Cyber, Military, Food).
• Startup Grind Global Conference: Startup Grind's annual global gathering combines founder education, networking, and pitch elements with a community-chapter model that mirrors BEW's relationship with Trailhead's coworking community.
• Y Combinator Demo Day: YC's biannual Demo Day is the gold-standard startup pitch event — though investor-facing rather than community-facing — and offers the benchmark for what BEW's Main Pitch aspires to in outcomes for early-stage founders.
• Techstars Startup Week: Techstars' community-driven, multi-day entrepreneurship weeks share BEW's exact format — local organizing, multi-track programming, pitch competitions, and sponsor-backed prizes. BEW's structure mirrors a single-city instance of this franchise model.

Broad incumbents

• Slush: Helsinki-based Slush is a major global startup event combining pitch competitions, investor meetings, and community programming — analogous model at international scale and a useful benchmark for what scaled BEW alumni could aspire to.
• Collision Conference: Collision (Web Summit's North American counterpart) brings together startups, investors, and sponsors with pitch components — relevant incumbent benchmark for sponsor-tier economics at multi-thousand-attendee scale.
• SXSW: SXSW's Austin event encompasses pitch competitions, multi-track educational programming, and major sponsor activation — a much larger incumbent that sets the upper-bound aspiration for what a regional entrepreneurship event can scale to.
• Web Summit: Web Summit is one of the world's largest tech/startup conferences with PITCH competition tracks and sponsor-driven prize pools — the global scale BEW's pitch-and-sponsor model would need to reach to transcend regional status.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BOIEntrepreneur
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCdJLpAyRZaDnwjP7NJaT_-w
• Facebookfacebook.com/Boiseentrepreneurweek
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/boise-entrepreneur-week
• Instagraminstagram.com/boientrepreneurweek

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments6 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Boise Entrepreneur Week pitch competition