Washington, DC – March 13, 2019 – The 5th Annual National Innovations competition “What’s Your Pitch: Innovations Meet the Market” is open for applications.
Created by the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC), the competition seeks promising and innovative startups from diverse industries. They will pitch their ideas to a panel of judges for a chance to win over $100,000 in prizes.
Participants will also have the opportunity to be coached by venture capitalists, successful entrepreneurs from Silicon Valley and Houston’s technology and business hubs, to network with Fortune 1000 executives and other industry disruptors.
This year, USPAACC partners with Rice Alliance for Technology and Entrepreneurship at Rice University in Houston, to present this competition. Joined by USPAACC Southeast Regional Chamber in Georgia, the Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce, other local Asian Chambers in Texas, the competition has reached another level of growth and prominence. Through this program, USPAACC enables the local chapters and chambers create their own innovation hubs and cultivate their pipeline of rising-star entrepreneurs.
Legacy sponsor of this competition is Wells Fargo, and co-Sponsor is Southern California Edison, at press time. There are more to come.
Committee Co-Chairs are Terry Hsiao, Founder and CEO of Hook Mobile and Head of Strategy at Kaleyra; and Diane Yoo, Director at Rice Angel Network.
Applicants will vie for the top prize by pitching their innovative ideas, products, and services in 4 categories: Consumer Goods, Technology, Life Science & Healthcare, and Energy & Utilities.
Since 2017, alumni from “What’s Your Pitch” competition have raised over $3 million. They have also been featured in Forbes 30 under 30, and delivered keynote speeches in leading industry events around the world. Previous participants also joined the USPAACC Pitch Alums Social Group to create a strong network of Pan Asian American and other minority entrepreneurs to connect and learn from each other.
The competition will have 3 rounds: preliminary, semi-final and final. The preliminary round will be held in Austin, TX, Atlanta, GA, Charlotte, NC and New York City, NY. Five winners will be selected to compete in the Semi-Final Round at Rice University in Houston, during USPAACC’s pre-conference event on June 4, 2019.
The Final Round will be held on June 5 during USPAACC’s 34th Annual CelebrAsian 2019 Procurement + Business Conference at the Hilton Americas-Houston in Texas. CelebrAsian – which runs from June 5 to 7, 2019 – is the country’s largest and most established business-to-business conference convened by Pan Asian Americans.
The judges will be venture capitalists and potential investors, community and corporate leaders, Fortune powerhouse executives, seasoned and successful entrepreneurs, disruptors and more.
Application is open until April 3, 2019.
To learn more or to apply, visit https://celebrasianconference.com/whats-your-pitch/2019
For more information on CelebrAsian 2019 or USPAACC, visit http://celebrasianconference.com or https://www.uspaacc.com
Founded in 1984 in the nation’s Capital, the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC) is the most established and effective national nonprofit nonpartisan organization representing all Asian American and Asian American-related groups in business, sciences, the arts, sports, education, public and community services. Our mission is to promote and propel economic growth and job creation by opening doors to business and professional opportunities for Asian Americans and their partners in corporations, government at the federal, state and local levels, and the small, minority and diverse business communities. For 35 years, USPAACC has served and will continue to serve as the unified voice for equal opportunity in business for Asian Americans, as the gateway to corporate and government contracts, to Asian American suppliers, and information about Asian Americans and the Asia-Pacific and Indian Subcontinent markets.
Our signature annual thought-leadership programs include: College Hallmark Scholarship Program that began in 1989, One-on-One Prescheduled Business Matchmaking Meetings in 1998, Supplier Diversity & Procurement Leadership Caucus in 2004, Federal Contracting Town Hall Meetings in 2005, Fast 100 Asian American Businesses in 2008, Business Executive Coaching: ReadySetGrow in 2011, Chief Procurement Officers Forum in 2011, What’s Your Pitch Innovation Competitions in 2015, Chief Technology & Information Officers Forum in 2017, and Corporate Employee Business Resource Group Leadership Caucus in 2017.
Headquartered in Washington DC, USPAACC reaches Asian American businesses nationwide through regional chapters in California, Texas, New York, Georgia, Illinois and the Washington DC-Maryland-Virginia National Capital Area.
Susan Au Allen, the National President and CEO of US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC), has been named by DiversityPlus Magazine as one of the Top Change Leaders of 2024.According to a statement released by the publication, the annual Top 25 Diversity Change Leaders roster recognizes “exceptional leaders who have made significant contributions to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) within their organizations and communities.”
WASHINGTON (May 30, 2024)—Today the US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC) awarded 15 corporations with its second annual Supplier Diversity Champions Award.
The US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce Education Foundation (USPAACC) presents CelebrASIAN 2024 Procurement + Business Conference, the largest and longest-running business development conference for Pan Asian Americans.
