FAQs

Gender Identity: Applicants must self-identify as either female or non-binary. If selected to pitch, cofounders are invited to join you on the stage only if they, too, identify as female or non-binary.

Location: Applicants must be based in DC, Maryland, or Virginia.

Role & Equity: Applicants should be a founder with at least 25% equity stake and hold a C-suite executive position in the company they are representing.

Venture-Ready Scale: The company should demonstrate the potential for venture-scale growth, indicating a capacity for rapid expansion and significant market impact. (Note: Founders of consultancies or other businesses that do not meet this criteria are welcome to reach out to explore other paths for involvement.)

Business Type: The company must be incorporated as a for-profit entity.

Funding Restrictions: The company should not have received more than $500,000 in institutional capital and must have raised less than $1,000,000 in total investor capital.

If you have any questions about your eligibility, please reach out.

Finalists are selected by our investor committee. In order to be eligible to win, finalists must pitch live to our community the evening of May 8 in downtown DC. Our investor committee will then decide on the ultimate winner.

March 27: Application closes

April 24: Announce finalists

May 8: Pitch event

Your application will be reviewed by the Agora team for completeness and eligibility. If you meet our eligibility criteria, your application will then be reviewed by at least 2 members of our investor committee. The most promising companies will be discussed live with our full investor committee, which will then select finalists to pitch.

One winner will receive a $10,000 check, awarded as a non-dilutive grant.

Anyone who applies will also be eligible for in-kind contributions from our partners, including a 12-week tech advisor placement and in-kind technical interviews for first hires. We have also recruited a slate of founder mentors who have set aside time to meet with interested applicants. Finally, we are asking all applicants to tell us how we can be helpful! We’ll then do our best to make connections that will bring you closer to your goals.