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The Pitch

Startups

The Pitch is back: Meet the star startups shortlisted for November

We’re excited to announce the shortlist for 2024’s final instalment of the Pitch, our early-stage startup competition: a proven pipeline for fundraising startups.
Simon Crerar
Simon Crerar
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The Pitch finalists, ready to pitch live on November 28, 2024. Source: SmartCompany

SmartCompany is very excited to announce the shortlist for 2024’s final instalment of the Pitch, our early-stage startup competition that is a proven pipeline for successful startups.

These five brave businesses will pitch live to our expert guest judging panel on November 28 at The Commons George Street, bang in the centre of Sydney’s financial district. 

Our panel includes venture capital luminaries Kirstin Hunter, MD at Techstars, Maja Enander, Head of Venturing at x15ventures, Raaj Rayat, investor at AirTree and William Hasko, small business marketing director at event partner Dell Technologies.

We receive around 200 application for each pitch event, so the founders who make each shortlist are already winners. And the Pitch has a track record of success.

Previous pitchers Diolog (founded by Amy Benson) and SeenCulture (founded by Nikki Tugano) have both completed $1m raises within a year of participating. 

The winner of last November’s Pitch was AI glaucoma screening startup Eyeonic. Founder Simon Skalicky met an investor at the event who went on to play a key role in Eyeonic’s recent $2.6 million seed round. Early-stage founders will find the event a tremendous networking opportunity.

the Pitch oltre
(L-R) Oltre founder Kirby Roper and SmartCo Media editor-in-chief Simon Crear. Source: SmartCompany/Marie -Luise Skibbe

Housing design startup Oltre won the most recent Pitch event in Melbourne in September, earning plaudits for its architectural vision and commercial prospects.

Shortlisted startups for November 2024’s Pitch, in alphabetical order:

ivygo

Making EV charging convenient and accessible for all, by connecting those with private chargers to EV drivers in need of hassle free charging solution. Hosts set the price and availability of their charger turning it into a source of income. Guests book a charging session in advance at a location that’s convenient for them. Ivygo’s mission is to support the transition to an electric future.

Men of Manners

A gamified subscription based academy for male teens to properly know ‘the rules of engagement’ across social graces, confidence, purpose, deportment and behaviour, Men of Manners is a pioneering online youth mentorship academy dedicated to fostering respect, civility, and positive masculinity for the 1.9 million high school age Australian boys. Men of Manners brings a compassionate approach to helping young men navigate a digital and physical world.

Pikkl

Adopting affordable and clean energy is the key to the green transition. Pikkl is working on this using sustainable algae biotechnology, where they envision a future where green fuel is a decentralised resource allowing autonomy over energy generation and usage. Through their unique novel process, Pikkl empowers farmers and remote communities to produce their own biodiesel and fertiliser from algae grown on-site.

Refilled

The three leading plastic polluters worldwide are beverage companies and unfortunately, we are now at a point where we are spewing out an astonishing 481 billion single-use plastic bottles every year. Refilled is on a mission to change the way people drink beverages on the go. Their product is designed with a circular economy in mind, encompassing a fleet of smart drink dispensers, QR-enabled drink bottles and a companion app to gamify and track your positive climate impact. Refilled help partners turn the everyday act of drinking water into climate action by attempting to save the planet from plastic, one refill at a time.

Yakka Labour

A marketplace connecting construction companies to local workers looking for short or long-term jobs, Yakka Labour helps increase accountability by ensuring everyone involved in a project is aware of their responsibilities and the actions they are taking, to reduce the risk of delays and budget overruns. The app also aims to reduce gender bias in the hiring process by automating certain aspects, such as shortlisting candidates based on their qualifications and experience, rather than their gender.

The winning startup will take home a bevy of prizes, including a $10,000 technology hardware pack and access to mentoring program from Dell Technologies and Dell For Startups. 

The People’s Choice Award will also return.

Want to come along, see the innovation on show, hear the judges’ insightful feedback and help pick a winner? Register now to save your spot.

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Explore the series

The Pitch
  1. How to make a winning business pitch
  2. The Pitch 2023: SmartCompany is looking for Australia’s best early stage startups
  3. “Start on some chewing gum and sticky tape”: Tractor Ventures co-founder Jodie Imam says now’s the best time to launch your startup
  4. Web3 and renewables: Four investment trends you can expect in 2023
  5. Blackbird’s Christie Jenkins on the commitment, resilience and addiction to feedback shared by athletes and founders
  6. Be self-aware and honest: Main Sequence’s Jun Qu on why it’s important for startups to know where they need help
  7. the Pitch shortlist: Meet the six shortlisted startups competing for $100,000 in prizes in Melbourne
  8. Diolog wins the Melbourne Pitch, taking home prize of up to $100K
  9. Judges called her pitch “explosive”. Here’s how startup founder Amy Benson won the Melbourne Pitch
  10. The Pitch is back for part three! Don’t miss the chance to give your startup the boost it needs
  11. “You’re likely to get it wrong on the first try”: the Pitch winner Amber Linz on Zipr’s change of direction
  12. No more drinking from the VC tap: Jill Berry on the importance of profitability at new startups
  13. Network, believe and forget the aesthetics: Amy Benson’s four tips for early-stage startup founders
  14. What are your value inflection milestones? x15’s Laura Faulconer shares pitching advice for startups
  15. Investors, employees and mum: Raaj Rayat on how startup founders must be able to adjust their pitch
  16. “A big milestone”: the Pitch winner Amy Benson on Diolog’s hard launch
  17. Meet the Pitch shortlist: The six startups about to pitch for $115,000 in prizes
  18. nVest wins the Sydney Pitch, takes home prize of $115,000
  19. The story of nVest, Sivan Atad’s startup that won the Pitch
  20. The Pitch is back in Melbourne soon! Enter now to win big in November
  21. What’s your startup genesis story? Rachel Yang wants founders to get better at telling it
  22. Start small and play the long game: Lessons for Gen Z founders
  23. Six successful Shark Tank Australia entrepreneurs share their top pitching tips
  24. Don’t overcomplicate: Skalata VC says there’s too much in your pitch
  25. Your chances of winning at the Pitch just doubled with the People’s Choice Award
  26. Meet the Pitch shortlist: Five early-stage startups ready to win big this month
  27. Inneurva co-founder shares how a friend’s back pain inspired the medtech startup
  28. Too many glaucoma cases go undetected. Medtech Eyeonic wants to change that
  29. Meet Spool AI, the startup curing ‘corporate amnesia’
  30. Why Yoochooz founder Maggie Ciobanu left corporate finance to take on cyberbullying
  31. How Farm Automation’s drones and AI are saving dairy farmers’ precious time
  32. Eyeonic wins grand prize at the Pitch, with La Foundary named People’s Choice
  33. La Foundary co-founder explains the mushroomy future of packaging
  34. Four lessons Diolog founder Amy Benson learned since winning the Pitch
  35. Pitch like a pro: Top tips from Diolog’s Amy Benson and SeenCulture’s Nikki Tugano
  36. The Pitch is back: Meet the superb startups shortlisted for September
  37. Oltre wins the Pitch with pledge to make architecture easier for homebuyers
  38. Peak Medical targets 1.4 billion market with AI-powered post-op care
  39. Less is more: Why new dating app Humpday says fewer matches equals more dates
  40. How Restify plans to end the stigma around death by future-proofing families
  41. Why startup Oltre wants to renovate the relationship between homebuyers and architects
  42. How Grapevine aims to close the inaction gap to help consumers shop sustainably
  43. How Oltre is growing after founder Kirby Roper’s win at the Pitch
  44. The Pitch is back: Meet the star startups shortlisted for November

About the author

Simon Crerar

Simon Crerar

Editor-in-chief, SmartCompany

Simon Crerar is editor-in-chief of SmartCo Media. Previously, he was the founding editor and then GM of BuzzFeed Australia. He began his career on Fleet Street as a tech reporter for The Times, and has also worked for the Sydney Morning Herald and News Corp Australia. He is co-founder of *PS Media, a collaborative local news startup, lives on LinkedIn @simoncrerar, and very occasionally tweets/Xs at @simoncrerar.

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