⚡︎ Applications Open

⚡︎ Applications Open

A graphic logo of a lightning bolt with black and yellow border above the words "LIGHTNING ROUND" in bold black letters, with the word "ROUND" in smaller font.

WHERE THE NEXT WAVE OF Breakout Companies are shown

Make the cut and take the stage. The top five founders will pitch live during the Lightning Round Pitch Competition for investment up to $100k.

Want in? Apply now!

Apply to pitch
rsvp to watch

🏆 first place gets:

  • Moved to final round of diligence for 1752 Accelerate

  • Press release to hundreds of news outlets (global distribution)

  • Spotlight in our 100k newsletter (400k + monthly views)

  • $1M+ perks package + investor/mentor network access

  • Media spotlight across our channels

🏅All top 5 finalists get:

  • Sponsored entry into one of our startups programs

  • $1M+ perks package

  • Media spotlight across our channels

About Lightning Round

A woman in a black top and red skirt giving a presentation to a group of young people seated in white chairs, with a large screen displaying a slide about scaling pharma inventory and supply chain optimization.
A woman speaking into a microphone at a panel event with a digital screen behind her that reads "Welcome to Early-stage VC Panel & Networking Event". The audience is seated in white chairs, listening attentively.

Lightning Round is 1752’s signature pitch event designed for bold, early-stage founders.

The winner goes beyond cash: a full PR push plus a feature in our 100k+ subscriber newsletter - something that every consumer founders dreams of! Awareness, clicks, and conversion!

And it doesn’t stop there. Every finalist receives over $1M in perks, access to 1752’s resources, and much more!

3D bar chart with blue, red, and yellow bars on a white background
Illustration of a beige money bag with a yellow dollar sign and a tied top.

Traction – real revenue and sustained growth—sell-through, repeat purchase, and velocity that prove demand.

A contract with a handshake graphic on it, indicating an agreement signing.

Investment – Potential direct investment of 100k

Acceleration – Fast-tracked growth and opportunities, no wasted time.

People attending a conference, sitting and clapping in a modern, wood-beamed room with gray cubicles in the background.

Who Should Apply?

The Lightning Round Pitch Competition is built for founders who are redefining how businesses operate through AI. If you’re building an AI-native product with real traction and a bold vision to transform the way companies work, sell, hire, support customers, or make decisions—this is your stage.

Apply if you are:

  • Building an AI-first B2B product with the potential to become category-defining in SaaS or the Future of Work

  • An early-stage founder or team with meaningful traction (revenue, pilots, active users, strong technical advantage, or enterprise demand) and a scalable business model

  • Ready to accelerate growth with capital, mentorship, distribution support, and high-impact operator guidance

  • Seeking exposure to leading AI investors and operators who specialize in scaling infrastructure, workflow automation, and enterprise applications

We welcome applications from diverse founders and teams who thrive at the intersection of innovation, execution, and rapid learning. If you’re ready to turn traction into breakout dominance and step into the spotlight, apply now and pitch where the next wave of iconic AI companies begins.

Apply now

how it
works

  • Open to all founders. To be considered, founders must submit complete application here.

  • We will invite select founders to an interview round, then narrow to the top five finalists based on (a) strong early-traction signals, team, and market sizing

  • Selected top 5 finalists will have 7 minute to pitch over Zoom, followed by 5 minutes of Q&A.

    Judges evaluation criteria:

    (1) Pitch Clarity: can the founder clearly communicate the vision, problem and solution;
    (2) Investor Readiness: Is this startup at stage where investors would seriously consider funding?
    (3) Potential Impact & Scalability: Can this become a category-defining company/brand?

  • The winning startup is fast-tracked to 1752’s Due Diligence round, giving them direct access to potential investment of up to $100k, mentorship, and our national investor network.

    Additionally, the winner receives a press release spotlight and media coverage across major outlets, including AP News.

    Besides also receiving $1M in exclusive perks package, and being spotlighted in our monthly investor and LP newsletter and social media channels.

Apply now

Past Lightning Round Winners

  • A logo with a pill bottle containing a red 'Rx' symbol, an arrow pointing to the right, and the word 'Post' in large teal letters.

    RX Post

    Winner of Lightning Round I

  • ReaKey logo with the word 'ReaKey' in white text on a blue background, featuring up arrow integrated into the letter 'a'.

    RealKey

    Winner of Lightning Round II

  • Logo with the word 'stiiira' in white lowercase letters on a purple background.

    Stiira

    Winner of Lightning Round III

  • PlayMaker logo with black text and an arrow pointing to the right

    Play Maker

    Winner of Lightning Round IV

  • Logo for Avocado Health featuring a stylized avocado with a heart-shaped pit and the text 'avocado HEALTH'

    Avocado Health

    Winner of Lighting Round V

  • Logo for Shiki Wrap featuring stylized text and a black silhouette of a wrapped item with a leaf on top, inside a white circle.

    Shiki Wrap

    Winner of Lighting Round Vi, CPG Edition

  • A digital sign displaying the word 'LOADING...' with an incomplete battery icon below it, on a dark background.

    TBD

    Winner of Lightning Round VII

Current & Previous Participating Firms

  • Crosscut Ventures
  • Hawke Ventures logo with a red eagle and black text.
  • Black and white vector of the word 'VOTE' with a checkmark replacing the letter 'O'.
  • Mucker Capital logo with a stylized letter 'M' inside a circle, next to the text 'Mucker Capital'.
  • Verizon Ventures logo in red text on a white background.
  • Black background with white text that reads 'PRECCELERATOR' and a circular, geometric design surrounding the letter 'O'.
  • Logo of the game 'Plug and Play' with stylized text in black, blue, red, and green.
  • Logo for Protea Labs featuring a stylized pink protea flower with green leaves and the company name below.
  • Greycroft logo in black text on a white background.
  • Logo for Social Start S, featuring interconnected cubes in shades of blue and gray.
  • A logo featuring a barcode above the text 'TenOneTen'.
  • Techstars logo with a green star above blue mountains and the word 'techstars' in lowercase letters.
  • Sway Ventures logo in black and white text
  • Logo for Founders Boost, a global tech startup pre-accelerator, featuring a stylized rocket and gear icon with the words 'Founders Boost' and the tagline 'A Global Tech Startup Pre-Accelerator'.
  • Synchony logo with black text and yellow graphic elements
  • A black and gray logo with the text 'GRID 10' displayed in bold capital letters.
  • Silhouette of the Los Angeles skyline with the text 'Los Angeles Venture Partners' below.
  • Pasadena Angels logo with the slogan "It's more than the money" and TCA Venture Group logo indicating membership.
  • The logo of TCA Venture Group featuring stylized golden lines resembling a flame or wave, with the text 'TCA Venture Group' in blue.
  • Logo for Meda Angels featuring a large blue 'M' and 'A', a stylized human figure with multiple arms, an EKG line, the text 'Meda Angels', and smaller text indicating a connection to TCA Venture Group.
  • Logo featuring concentric circles with a black dot inside, and the text 'Innovent Capital Group' below.
  • Animated logo for 2045 Ventures with the numbers '2', '0', '4', '5' in large bold font, with 'VENTURES' written below.
  • The word "HALOGEN" in large blue letters with a stylized circle around the letter "O," featuring plus and minus signs inside.
  • Logo for Steamwork Ventures with stylized text and a blue spherical icon.
  • Nvidia logo with a stylized eye and green and black colors.
  • Black background with the word 'MORPHEUS' in white capital letters and a small diamond shape to the right of the text.
  • Shopline logo with the letter O replaced by a stylized tag icon.

  • These are the five best companies I've seen in the last two years. I would take them all into diligence.

  • The Lightning Round gave us rapid access to a pipeline of startups we would never have found on our own.

  • I walked away with more actionable insights in one hour than from weeks of traditional demo days

  • The curated selection meant we saw only the most investment-ready startups.

  • I’ve attended many pitch events, but Lightning Round’s energy and quality stand out.

For startups:

Want to pitch?

Apply now

For investors:

Want to access?

RSVP