Collegiate startup challenge

Pitch Oregon Collegiate Startup Challenge

The TiE Collegiate Startup Challenge is a new, statewide pitch competition for Oregon and SW Washington college and university entrepreneurs—including students, faculty, and alumni—who are ready to showcase their startups and gain exposure.

Companies compete for equity investments, cash prizes, as well as in-kind services provided by local businesses. Additionally, the event offers a great opportunity to increase the visibility of the businesses to both investors and the general public.

Who Should Apply?

We welcome applications from any industry and stage, as long as your company is traded sector and technology or tech-enabled. Ideal ventures include:

  • Student-founded startups developing apps or software

  • University spinouts launching innovative products

  • Early-stage ventures scaling new technologies or services

Part of the Pitch Oregon Series
The Pitch Oregon Collegiate Startup Challenge is 1 of 3 Pitch Oregon Pitch Competitions taking place in the Portland Metro area including Washington and Multnomah county, spanning into SW Washington to include Clark County. In hosting the new Collegiate Startup Challenge, Pitch Oregon will cover and recruit top-startups statewide in Oregon.

** Investments will only be made if the winning companies and the investors agree to the terms and conditions of the investments **

  • Qualifications

    To participate in this pitch competition, ventures must meet the following criteria:

    Funding Stage: Have raised less than $1 million to date and not yet completed a Series A round.

    Business Stage: Be past the concept stage — with a prototype, beta in testing, or early customer feedback underway.

    University Affiliation: At least two team members must be affiliated with an accredited Oregon or Southwest Washington university or college (students, faculty, or alumni).

    Team Requirement: Startups must be team-led — single-founder ventures are not eligible.

  • Timeline

    October 10: Application Deadline

    October 10 – November 3: First round interviews

    November 20: Announcement of Top 6 Finalists

    November 20 – December 1: Pitch Practice & Mentorship Sessions

    December 6: TiE Collegiate Startup Challenge Event

    APPLY

Make a donation or become a sponsor

Whether you plan to sponsor or contribute a tax-deductible donation, TiE Oregon ensures that your support is contributing to our next generation of innovators and strives to grow a workforce that understands the global marketplace and entrepreneurship.

Click below to get more info on sponsorship, or contact Kari.Naone@oregon.tie.org for more information.

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

Jill Jeske
TiE Oregon Angel Associate
jill.jeske@oregon.tie.org

CONTRIBUTE AS AN INVESTOR:
Ben Nahir
TiE Oregon Angel Chair
ben.nahir@oregon.tie.org

SPONSORS

2025 Columbia River Pitch Finalists

  • DigiFab.ai is an AI consulting and education company founded by Dr. Isil Berkun, a former Intel staff AI engineer and recognized expert in artificial intelligence. This company specializes in empowering manufacturing and industrial businesses to adopt and integrate AI-driven solutions for smarter, more efficient operations.

  • Mickelberry Gardens specializes in natural wellness products inspired by the gifts of honeybees. Co-founded in 2011 by Madelyn Morris, the company crafts a range of herbal honey tonics, raw honey, beeswax-based skincare, oxymels, and bee pollen products, all made with whole food ingredients and a focus on self-care and holistic health. Their mission is to make affordable, healing herbal products accessible to individuals and families, while also promoting pollinator conservation and sustainable practices.

  • Ranger EV is a climate-tech startup focused on making electric vehicle (EV) charging accessible, easy, and profitable for hosts of vacation rentals, small businesses, and homeowners. Founded by Brian Clark, he and his team have developed a platform that allows property owners—such as Airbnb hosts, hotels, and RV parks—to turn any existing outlet or EV charger into a bookable, fee-based charging station for EV travelers, without requiring new hardware installations.

  • Skyfarer Academy is a modern aviation training platform that connects aspiring pilots with certified flight instructors (CFIs) and flight schools for both live online and in-person instruction. The platform, co-founded by Nick Tsang, is designed to make pilot training more accessible, and tailored to individual needs, serving students at all stages—from private pilot license (PPL) seekers to those pursuing advanced ratings like instrument, commercial, multi-engine, and even unmanned aerial systems.

  • Toast (a.k.a Toastwear) is an innovative outdoor apparel and technology company. Founded and led by a small team of engineers—including Technical Director Gerald Recktenwald, a retired Portland State University professor—Toast focuses on developing wearable devices designed to dynamically increase comfort in cold weather. Their products leverage engineering expertise to create solutions that help outdoor enthusiasts stay warm, combining advanced heating technology with practical, user-friendly design.

  • Yak Technologies, founded by Shannon Smith, is a modern audit and compliance platform designed to streamline and automate the audit process for firms and organizations. Yak focuses on making compliance for audits smarter, faster, and more efficient by reducing manual tasks and simplifying complex workflows. Key features include centralized, secure document management, one-click report generation, audit framework control management, seamless client collaboration, and a collaborative test paper editor for comprehensive documentation.

2025 WESTSIDE Pitch Finalists

  • BLKBOOK is a virtual speed networking platform optimized in real-time by AI to address the problem of time-consuming and ineffective professional networking and sales outreach. This solution allows users to uncover hidden career and business opportunities through 1-to-1 video chats with targeted prospects to instantly assess relevance and build stronger relationships faster.

  • Lac to Love aims to empower mothers to breastfeed with confidence by addressing the challenges and lack of support many experience. Lac to Love offers a solution through an "AI Lactation Coach" and a unified support system that includes physicians and lactation consultants, accessible via the internet and social media.

  • Sez Us is a new pro-democracy social media platform built on a reputation engine prioritizing respectful communication in a bot-free environment, where consumers own their data, can eventually move seamlessly through platforms, and facilitate a new transparent, healthy reputation-based economic model for creators and advertisers.

  • Surgivance is a medical technology company specializing in advanced surgical visualization and navigation solutions. Their flagship products use cutting-edge imaging and augmented reality technologies to help surgeons see critical anatomical details in real time during complex procedures.

  • Tortis Sportswear aims to provide women with the best swim, cycling, and run apparel all in one place. Tortis focuses on addressing the frustration female endurance athletes face when trying to find suitable gear, as the endurance sports industry has traditionally focused on men's needs, often overlooking women's shopping behaviors and specific apparel needs.

2024 Clackamas County Pitch FINALISTS

  • Alpha Speech is revolutionizing aerospace communication by empowering non-native English speakers to achieve their fullest potential through improved clear speech.

  • Artclever.com is an award-winning design career-focused LMS platform powered by AI-driven technology, enabling the creation of personalized career roadmaps for design professionals and entrepreneurs in creative tech.

  • CareSpace is the launchpad for (AI-powered) mobility improvement. The CareSpace platform digitizes musculoskeletal care via a mobile or webcam powered by visual (AI-powered) learning to measure, record, and recommend personalized care pathways to improve outcomes at population health scale.

  • FANWAGN is a re-commerce platform that serves as the ultimate connection point for fans of teams and athletes, enabling them to discover, purchase, and re-sell fan apparel. FANWAGN’s "Second Fan Fashion®” platform provides sellers with a dedicated marketplace to engage sports enthusiasts in search of authentic, second-hand gear.

  • EverFull is an sales-enablement platform for the experience economy (brick+mortar with camps, classes, events), combining Canva, Shopify, and Mailchimp to simplify offer creation, sales, and engagement.