The MCBA Startup Challenge
Build a venture, pitch it to a board of investors, and walk away with real funding. The headline event of the Montgomery County Business Leaders Summit.
A real pitch, judged by real investors, for real money
The Startup Challenge is exactly what it sounds like: MCBA members build a venture and pitch it to a board of investors who decide, on the spot, how much to back it with. It's the closest thing to raising a real seed round that a high schooler can do — the stakes, the questions, and the money are genuine.
Every other part of MCBA — the coursework, the competitions, the mentors — exists to get you ready for this room.
total funding pool, awarded live to the ventures the board believes in
- Eligibility
- Active MCBA members
- Where
- The Business Leaders Summit
- Decided by
- A board of investors
How it works
Build your venture
Form a team and develop a real business or startup idea — a product, a service, or a company you actually believe in.
Prepare your pitch
Refine your business model, financials, and deck with guidance from MCBA mentors and the Academy's business-and-finance curriculum.
Pitch the board
Present live to a panel of investors at the Summit, then defend your idea in a real Q&A — the part that separates good ideas from fundable ones.
Win real funding
The board deliberates and decides how much of the $4,000–$10,000 pool each venture earns. Strong pitches walk away funded.
What the board looks for
Fundable pitches tend to share the same four things.
Feasibility
Can this actually be built and run by your team? Investors back execution, not just ideas.
Market & opportunity
Is there a real customer and a real need? Show you understand who you're serving and why now.
Financial realism
Sensible numbers, a clear use of funds, and an honest path to sustainability beat hockey-stick fantasy.
The pitch itself
Clarity, confidence, and how you handle hard questions. The board is buying the team as much as the plan.
Bring a team. Leave with funding.
The Startup Challenge is open to MCBA members. Start a chapter at your school or join an existing one, and get to work on the pitch.