Tech Bloc Now Accepting Applications to San Antonio’s Largest Business Startup Pitch Competition
SAN ANTONIO (Monday, August 15, 2022) – Today, Bexar County and Tech Bloc, a San Antonio tech industry advocacy non-profit, announced a call for applications to TechFuel, a $100,000 startup pitch competition for early-stage tech ventures in San Antonio and across Texas. The deadline to apply is September 25, 2022.
Following this open call for applications, Tech Bloc will select twenty-five semifinalists to pitch to a panel of judges in one of five brackets. One winner from each of the five brackets will then advance to compete as a finalist in the grand finale startup pitch event, scheduled for Friday, October 21 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Tobin Center for the Performing Arts. The TechFuel competition will be a featured premier event during San Antonio Startup Week (SASW). SASW 2022, a week-long, program-filled celebration of San Antonio’s startup ecosystem, will run from October 16-22, 2022.
A SASW 2022 afterparty and TechFuel Winners Circle Celebration will also be held in the TechFuel event space directly following the competition. The afterparty event will be free and open to all attendees and potential investors.
About TechFuel
Originally launched in 2016 as a $50,000 competition, TechFuel doubled the prize money in 2019 powered by Bexar County’s Innovation Fund. Each fiscal year, $1 million in economic incentive funds are allocated by the County to the Innovation Fund. Created in February 2016, the purpose of the fund is to foster local job recruitment, talent development competitions, business expansion and technical workforce training for targeted technology-based industries.
One of the unique aspects of this competition is the public’s involvement in selecting the winners. A panel of judges comprised of local and regional venture investment experts will select the five finalists for the pitch event. Judges will also select the grand prize winner of the competition. However, a portion of the prize money during the event will be awarded based on votes from the audience in reaction to the pitches. The pitch competition event will be free and open to the public.
Companies interested in participating can submit their applications at: https://www.satechbloc.com/sa-tech-fuel. The submission deadline for applications is at midnight on Friday, September 25, 2022.
“The County has worked closely with TechBloc since 2016 to develop the highly successful TechFuel pitch competition to help invigorate our San Antonio startup scene,” said Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff. “Over 70 startups applied during last year’s competition and the County awarded prizes to five great local, early-stage tech companies. We continue to be impressed by TechFuel’s impact in drawing state-wide attention to our startup community and increasing local and regional participation in our startup ecosystem. This is an important part of the mission of the County’s Innovation Fund, and we are excited to bring TechFuel back in 2022.”
About the Bexar County Innovation Fund
The Bexar County Innovation Fund is used to accelerate the growth of our digital information technology sector by funding recruitment, expansion, talent development competitions, professional and technical training, and brand-building initiatives. Wherever possible, collaborative, multi-agency applications are strongly encouraged and will be looked upon more favorably. The County collaborates with our Technology Ecosystem and economic development partners to identify and vet prospective applications and determine appropriate grant amounts. Grant amounts will depend on the strength of the project’s positive impact on the Technology Ecosystem, available Innovation Funds, funding or other incentives provided by other partners, and is subject to Commissioners Court approval. For more information, see https://www.bexar.org/2795/Innovation-Fund.
About Tech Bloc
Tech Bloc is a tech industry advocacy non-profit working to make San Antonio a city of choice for tech job creation and careers. With over 5,000 members, we are San Antonio’s IT industry trade association, helping unify the SA tech community into a single public voice. For more information, see www.SATechBloc.com
