Startup Lab Pitch Competition at GST Connect

Deadline: 13-Feb-23

Applications are now open for the fifth annual Startup Lab Pitch Competition.

The fifth annual Startup Lab Pitch Competition is returning to Denver, CO from June 5-7, 2023! This exciting feature at their annual user conference, GS1 Connect ®, will showcase 8 startup organizations who are pursuing relevant and disruptive technology innovations. As conference attendees, participating startups will have the opportunity to:

• Engage with attendees, secure connections, and create awareness for their business
• Gain credibility with approximately 1000+ attendees from apparel, consumer packaged goods, general merchandise, healthcare, grocery, online marketplaces, and foodservice organizations
• Pitch their product to an impressive line-up of judges and compete for the chance to win from a $23,000 prize pool

Innovation Topics

• Evolving customer demands and revolutionary innovations are changing how they do business today. With supply chain innovation requiring a strong foundation of unique product identification, GS1 US helps drive business transformations through the 2023 Startup Lab Pitch Competition. In the 2023 competition, participating startups will display their innovations which support the relevance and reach of GS1 Standards within one or more of the market categories below:
  • Consumer and Distribution Logistics Enhancements
    • Enhanced Efficiencies and Personalized Consumer Experiences; Intralogistics Smart Robots and Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMR); Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning; Digital Disruption/Digital Identity
  • Supply Chain Efficiency and Disruptive Innovation
    • Examples may include, but are not limited to: Upstream and downstream Traceability Solutions; Logistics Tracking and Transparency; Emerging Data Carriers – Sensors and Automation; Enhanced Visibility with Internet of Things (IoT), Smart Objects, and Connected Devices (Sensors and Automatic Identification); Modular Supply Chain Networks; Hyperlocalization
  • Sustainability and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance)
    • Examples may include, but are not limited to: Social Transformation; Regulatory Compliance Innovations; Carbon Impact Traceability; Strategic Enablers for Circular Economy; Emissions Reporting and Transparency; Sourcing, Production, and Consumption; Distribution and Recovery/Reuse
  • Industry 4.0
    • Examples may include, but are not limited to: Solutions Linking Digital and Physical Identities; Big Data and Analytics; Data Stewardship and Enhanced Data Hygiene; Autonomous Robots; Simulation/Digital Twins; Horizontal and Vertical Systems
  • Web 3 and Metaverse
    • Examples may include, but are not limited to: Creating, Registering, and Verifying Globally Unique Identities; Logistics within Metaverse Worlds (M-worlds); Interoperability of Digital Experiences; Autonomous Product Authentication; Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), and Mixed Reality (MR); Web3 and Virtual Assets

Benefits & Prizes

• As a selected participant in the Startup Lab Pitch Competition, you will have the chance to network, secure connections, and create awareness with attendees and industry leaders. Perfect your pitch with the GS1 US team and successfully demonstrate your product to potential customers and potential future partners that could change the course of your business! Additional benefits include:
  • (2) complimentary registration per organization, a $3,600 value
  • Pitch Coaching offered to all accepted Startup Lab Pitch Competition participants as part of the program
  • Inclusion as appropriate in GS1 Connect 2023 marketing promotional efforts
  • Winners to be announced at GS1 Connect 2023 in Denver, CO on June 6, 2023
  • (1) 5-minute “lightning talk” with judges’ Q&A to be conducted live
• Prizes
  • The 2023 Startup Lab Pitch Competition finalists will compete for a chance to win from a $23,000 prize pool. Prizes will be awarded in the form of a check/ACH and a whitepaper for the first, second, and third place winning entries. The first-place winner also receives a 1-year Bronze subscription to the GS1 US® Solution Partner Program.
  • First Place Winner: $10,000
    • plus 1-year Bronze subscription to GS1 US Solution Partner Program
  • Second Place Winner: $5,000
  • Third Place Winner: $3,000
  • Fourth-Eighth Place Winners: $1,000
    • to each participating company

Eligibility Criteria

As a potential 2023 Startup Lab Pitch Competition applicant, they invite you to showcase your creativity, innovative skills, and entrepreneurship as you develop, test, and refine your pitch in front of a panel of judges. In order to apply, startup companies must meet the following requirements:

• The company’s product must have launched or will launch between June 2020 – May 2023.
• The company’s product/solution must be innovative, with the potential to make a profound market impact, benefitting GS1 US members from a supply chain/commerce perspective.
• The technology must be demonstrable as a prototype or software mockup at the time of application. The product must be launched prior to May 2023 and be demonstrable on a physical or virtual stage (ppt, website, demo, etc.) at the event. No paper or concept entries will be evaluated.
• The company must not have raised more than $10 Million dollars in funding.
• The company must attend GS1 Connect from June 5 -7, 2023 and participate in the pitch coaching, technical rehearsal and pitch competition video recording as directed by GS1 US.
• Companies who have previously exhibited or been sponsors at GS1 Connect are ineligible.
• Companies who have previously participated in the Startup Lab Pitch Competition are ineligible.

For more information, visit GS1 US.