Fall 2026 Pitch Night
Give the GIFT of Innovation at the da Vinci Center’s Fall Pitch Night!
The da Vinci Center Pitch Night, previously named "Demo Day," is a bi-annual pitch competition held each fall and spring semester at The Retail Lab's Feedback Friday events. At Pitch Night, VCU students, alumni, and Richmond community members deliver elevator pitches to compete for up to $5000 in seed funding and resources for their entrepreneurial ideas and innovative ventures.
Building a business and presenting your idea takes courage, and entrepreneurs shouldn’t have to do it alone! All friends, family, and community members are welcome and encouraged to attend and cheer on the pitches. Following the pitches, everyone is invited to stay for an awards ceremony and networking session.
NOVEMBER 13, 2026 | 4-7pm | The Retail Lab at VCU
Sponsored by
Present at Pitch Night
Whether you’re in the early phase of a concept, or an active business owner in the community, you’re invited to present at Pitch Night and grow your venture!
Participants have the chance to win sponsored awards from Capital One, Judges’ choice awards in each category, and People’s choice awards voted on by attendees. All participants have the opportunity to receive up to $5000 total in funding for their ideas!
This year's categories are…
- Innovative Ideas - 60 second pitch, no slides
- Early stage ideas & proofs of concepts
- Emerging Entrepreneurs - 3 minute pitch, with slides
- Pre-Launch product/services/ventures that have not yet gone to market
- Active Ventures - 3 minute pitch, with slides
- Products/services/ventures selling or operating in the market
Application deadline: Monday, November 2nd at 11:59 pm
Information Sessions
Want to learn more about Pitch Night before you apply? Join us for a virtual informational session!
- Tuesday, October 27th, 4:30-5:00pm
- Wednesday, October 28th, 4:30-5:00pm
- Thursday, October 29th, 12-12:30pm
- Friday, October 30th, 12-12:30pm
For more information, you can also reach out to our Program Manager, Ashley Wenger (wengeran@vcu.edu), with questions.
Agenda
Kick off Pitch Night by setting the stage for an evening of bold ideas, student innovation, and cross-disciplinary collaboration and hear from our title sponsor, Capital One.
Big ideas take the stage! This session showcases early concepts with bold potential, competing for funding and your vote.
Growing ventures share their prototypes and MVPs as they compete for funding and audience support.
Selected ventures take the stage to showcase established businesses and real-world traction as they compete for funding and recognition, with the audience casting votes to support ventures ready to scale.
Celebrate standout ventures as funding and awards are announced to help take their ideas to the next level.
Wrap up the evening by connecting with students, alumni, and community members building what’s next.
From past awardees...
Winning funding at Demo Day gave us the confidence and the resources to take our idea seriously. What started as a class project turned into an actual product!
Demo Day was a turning point for our venture! The funding helped, but the real impact was the validation and feedback we received.