Pitch Contest Finalists
Meet the brilliant innovators who made it to the final round! These trailblazers stood out with their bold ideas, creative problem-solving, and unstoppable drive to make an impact. From groundbreaking startups to visionary concepts, each finalist represents the future of innovation and entrepreneurship.
Growth Village Partners
Growth Village partners are companies and service providers that help entrepreneurs and startups grow — from creative tools and fractional firms to CRMs, B2B solutions, and wellness professionals supporting founders’ mental and professional wellbeing.
Supporting Pitch Partners
The Supporting Pitch Partners program is all about fueling the next generation of disruptors. These partners are the heartbeat of Investment Partner 2025, backing visionary founders, breakthrough startups, and cutting-edge tech that’s shaping the future.
Investment Partner 2025
Get ready for Investment Partner 2025 — where talent, capital, and community collide in one dynamic space. Think of it as your backstage pass to the next wave of innovation.
Job Seeker Support
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 PM | Come hear from these experts on how to get seen and stay empowered while finding your next role.
Community Partners
Our Community Partners are the driving force behind the event — connecting people, amplifying voices, and bringing the energy that makes it all happen. They help bridge talent, founders, and investors, turning this summit into more than just a gathering — it’s a thriving ecosystem. Together, we’re building connections, sparking collaboration, and shaping the future of tech and talent.
Companies Exhibiting (Employers)
Our Exhibiting Companies are the innovators, leaders, and game-changers shaping the future of work. They’re here to connect with top talent, showcase what makes their teams exceptional, and spark new opportunities. From startups to industry giants, these employers are opening doors, sharing insights, and building the next wave of possibilities in tech and beyond.
Time: 1:45 – 2:30 PM | Arizona’s massive investments in fabs and biomedical facilities must be matched with strong startup engines to keep capacity full and ensure the future of innovation
Time: 1:45 – 2:30 PM | How to fund and elevate women-led ventures.
Fundraising Workshop
Time: 12:30 – 1:30 PM | Tactical fundraising frameworks for early-stage founders.
Panel: Expanding & Fundraising Internationally
Time: 11:30 – 12:10 PM | Global fundraising strategies and market expansion.
Panel: The Future of Angel Investing in Arizona
Time: 10:40 – 11:20 AM | Expanding access and visibility for early-stage capital.
Time: 10:00 – 10:30 AM | Sponsored by JPM – Capital Day kickoff.
Tech AZ Advocates Launch @ Player15 HQ
Time: 5:00 – 8:00 PM | Networking celebration – food, art, music + Fireside Chat with Russ Shaw (Global Tech Advocates) and London Tech Week Pass giveaways.
Mini Mastermind: The 90/10 AI Human Philosophy
Time: 12:15 – 12:55 PM | Blending human creativity with AI efficiency.
Time: 10:40 – 11:10 AM | Opening inspiration on innovation and Arizona’s tech future.
Welcome Remarks
Time: 10:00 – 10:30 AM | Kickoff remarks and framing for the day.
Time: 2:30 – 3:00 PM
Tech Talent Career Fair + The Growth Village
Time: 3:00 – 5:00 PM | Meet Employers Hiring and The Growth Village Companies with relevant B2B products and services like fractional firms, creative services and wellness services for CEOs.
Event Sponsors and Partners
The innovators, brands, and changemakers who help turn big ideas into real-world impact. Their collaboration fuels every moment of the event, from inspiring conversations to next-level networking. With their support, we’re able to bring together a community that celebrates creativity, technology, and progress on a global scale.
Global Partners
Our Global Partners represent the heart of collaboration and innovation — a network of visionaries, creators, and industry leaders united by a shared mission to shape the future. Together, they bring world-class expertise, groundbreaking ideas, and global perspective to every initiative.
Our Speakers
This is a summit built for momentum, inspiration and action. Thought leaders from all over the world, present and ready to help amplify innovation and tech in Arizona.
Panel: Building the Tech Talent Nucleus in Phoenix
Time: 11:20 – 12:05 PM | How Phoenix can attract, develop & retain world-class talent through ecosystem collaboration.
Time: 2:20 – 2:50 PM | Scaling SaaS & software companies with strong culture & leadership.
Breakout Session #1: Healthtech Talent Triage
Time: 1:30 – 2:10 PM | Re-imagining the healthcare workforce through innovation.
Opening Night
Opening Night sets the stage for an unforgettable kickoff, celebrating the incredible partners and hosts who make it all possible.
Time: 1:30 – 2:10 PM | This breakout session is led by Kathy Sacks Let's come together to talk money. Success isn't just about working harder—it's about getting paid strategically for the value you create. And high performance doesn't automatically translate to high pay, unless you know how to ask for it.
Time: 1:30 – 2:10 PM | In today’s rapidly evolving workplace, innovation thrives when experience meets fresh perspective. This session explores how bridging generational gaps creates stronger teams, better decision-making, and more inclusive company cultures.
Community Perks
Perks made possible through Freeway’s community partnerships. From exclusive discounts to free tools and event invites, these offers are designed to support your growth as a founder, builder, or creative in the Arizona tech ecosystem.
In-Kind Partners
Thank you to all our In Kind Partners! We appreciate everything you do and your support for Tech Talent - Startup World Cup 2025!
Community Partners
Thank you to all our Community Partners who supported Tech Talent - Startup World Cup this year! We appreciate you.
Event Sponsors
Thank you to all the Tech Talent Summit Startup World Cup event sponsors!
Join us for our second panel focused on how to stay ahead in an AI-driven workforce (upskilling, certs, and more).
Come meet with with founders, hiring teams, and talent leaders and get your questions answered in the areas of Sales/GTM, Growth, Engineering, Resume / LinkedIn Optimization, and Marketing.
Founder Resources
Here are a number of resources from the Startup World Cup community, partners, and resources we recommend to entrepreneurs. If you have any resources that you have found useful to you, or that you've used and you would like to recommend let us know!
Based on the information available, the "ABACA - Startup Judge" GPT is designed to serve as an AI tool for evaluating and scoring startup ventures. Its core function is to act as an "AI judge," providing assessments of startups. This evaluation process is explicitly built upon the Abaca readiness system, a framework developed by Village Capital. The Abaca readiness system itself is a structured framework used to assess the maturity and potential of early-stage companies. It is designed to provide a clear method for understanding a startup's progress across various dimensions critical for success. The system utilizes specific "readiness stages" and "rubric insights" as the basis for evaluation. These stages likely represent different levels of development a startup can achieve (e.g., from ideation to growth), while the rubrics provide detailed criteria and benchmarks within each stage to evaluate aspects such as team, market, product, financials, and impact. The GPT leverages this detailed framework, applying the Abaca stages and rubrics to score startups and provide insights based on its analysis.
Open Access Ventures is hosting a hands-on, founder-focused event and a second chance pitch competition designed to give early-stage startups the direct access to the resources they need to grow. Throughout the morning, you’ll rotate through a series of expert-led stations covering essential areas like product, marketing, legal protection, and more. Each station is crafted to provide practical, actionable guidance to help you tackle current challenges and accelerate your path to success. In addition to expert insights, each founder will be pitching to OAV's selection committee for a chance to win a free scholarship to OAV University. Whether you're looking to refine your product, craft a stronger pitch, overcome fundraising hurdles, or expand your network, this event is for you.
Discover the secrets to building a successful business through the collective knowledge and experiences of the world's most successful entrepreneurs and founders. MIGHTY FOUNDERS COMMUNITY A place where first-time founders find resources, knowledge, & support for raising capital. If you want to become a better founder, hang out with other founders! WE GET IT Raising capital is a chaotic and lonely path for founders. Where do I find capital? WTF is a data room? Am I doing it right? Is anyone else drowning? Check out the community and join today!
The Phoenix tech ecosystem platform: an open-access startup database of all tech actors in Phoenix. Startups, investors, accelerators, universities, corporates.
Code: SWCAZ2025 for two months of Pro for free and one month of Stacklist Concierge for help building and launching your new social profile. Stacklist gives your business one central, easy-to-manage online spot to pull together and display everything you want customers to see. Think of it as a dynamic showcase for your products, services, important links, content you've created, or even things you recommend. It's much more visual and engaging than a simple list of links you might use in a social media bio, and it stays updated as you add new items. This Stacklist profile becomes a go-to place for your customers. They can visit it to quickly see all your key offerings and content, follow your profile to easily keep up with what's new from your business, and even save things they're interested in for themselves. It’s a straightforward way for your business to create a living online presence that goes beyond just a static website, making it simple for people to discover and engage with everything you offer.
Join the exclusive network for top founders & investors Join 400+ verified founders & investors online across 5+ countries, managing $400M+ in assets ✅ Curated Community (no spam, no noise) 🤝 Dynamic networking features 📈 Built for relationship-driven deal flow & growth ___________ Startup World Cup AZ Exclusive Offer: 7 days of PRO for free $24.99 for first month (50% off), then $49.99/mo $239.99 for first year (33% off), then $359.99/yr 2 30-minute 1:1 sessions White glove concierge service An exclusive, collectors’ edition pair of InvestLink Social x Startup World Cup shoes
Top 10 Finalists - 2025 Startup World Cup AZ
We're excited to announce the 2025 Startup World Cup - Arizona Finalists Join us May 9th from 5:00 – 7:00pm where these 11 Finalists will compete for $100,000 and a chance to move on to the next round for a shot at $1,000,000
Join us on May 9th for the "From Capital to Capability" speaker panel. Moderated by Nicole Zeno. Speakers include Steven Gelley, Mira Malek, and Jasmine Bhatti.
SWC Arizona - Judges Panel
Startup Wold Cup Pitch Competition - May 9th, 2025 - Hosted by Arrive.
Hiring Companies
Explore the companies that are actively hiring and growing within Arizona’s innovation ecosystem. From startups to established tech leaders, these organizations are building the future and looking for talent to help them do it.