The Bitcoin Conference 2023 Pitch Day was a platform for the next generation of Bitcoin startups to test ideas and products in a competitive format. Taking place on Enterprise Day, the Pitch Day competition featured companies in three categories: Mass Adoption, Lightning, and Infrastructure, pitching to three judging panels made up of the best investors in the Bitcoin ecosystem – including some of the VCs the most active, angel investors and tech company executives working with Bitcoin internally.
Building on the inaugural version of Pitch Day at Bitcoin 2021, finalists were chosen from a pool of over 500 applicants from around the world. Twenty-one startups representing all the major continents were chosen and evenly distributed across the three divisions, with each company having 15 minutes to present their pitch and answer questions from their section’s jury.
Mass adoption
The first “Mass Adoption” segment included the companies Coinchange, Finnt, GoSats, Arkadiko, FriendsVow, Stacker News and The Bitcoin Company. While the missions of each company varied, they all came together under the umbrella of advanced hyperbitcoinization.
The judging panel included Stillmark lead investor Vikash Singh, OP Crypto founder and general partner David Gan, XBTO Humla Ventures managing partner Greg Carson and Galaxy Digital vice president of mining Cassie Clifton.
The Bitcoin Company, represented by CEO Ben Price, won the section with GoSats, represented by CEO Roshan Aslam, finishing second. Carson of XBTO said of the first two: “Both had great pitches, great markets, great vision; it’s all about adoption. From their experience, Aslam, who says he “came all the way from India for the Bitcoin 2023 Pitch Day,” also highlighted the benefit of the spotlight saying that GoSats “got great relationships with the investors and strategic partnerships with other companies” by participating.
Flash
The “Lightning” segment featured companies building at the forefront of Lightning Network development and using the Lightning Network in broader business models.
Judge Rohit Dave, Business Development Manager at CashApp, said: “The Lightning pitch session was electric. Companies create innovative products to solve real-world problems. It was both a treat and a challenge to judge because the contestants set and reached such a high bar.
Participating companies were Lightning Escrow, Pouch, Hexa Wallet, Alby Inc., VIDA.live, ItchySats and Moon. The judging panel included Dave de CashApp, managing partner at UTXO Management Tyler Evans, managing director at Trammell Venture Partners Christopher Calicott, managing partner at Ten31 Grant Gilliam and founder of Hivemind Ventures Max Webster.
Alby, represented by co-founder Moritz Kaminski, won the section with VIDA.live, represented by CEO Lyle Pratt, finishing second.
Infrastructure
The “Infrastructure” segment highlighted companies that create products that are core to Bitcoin infrastructure and companies that create products that connect Bitcoin to traditional financial rails and services.
Participating companies included CryptoProof, BioFuel Mining, Nunchuk, Moon Mortgage, Guardrail Mining, Distributed Charge and D2X Group. The panel of judges included Kevin O’Leary, venture capitalist and judge on ABC’s Shark Tank, chairman of Bloq Matthew Roszak, director of Castle Island Ventures Ria Bhutoria, head of corporate finance and investments at Nexo Tatiana Metodieva and CEO of Ballet Bobby Lee.
Nuncuck, represented by co-founder Darren Pham, won the section with Distributed Charge, represented by founder Andy Schroder, was runner-up. According to Judge Roszak, Nunchuck, which offers multi-signature coordination software, was the “unanimous winner” exhibiting “a ton of utility”, and Distributed Charge “has the bones of something special”.
Although they did not finish in the top two in the section, Paul Morris of Guardrail Mining said of the competition, “It was a privilege to participate in Pitch Day at Bitcoin 2023. The opportunity provides exposure to leading investors and was the catalyst. for discussions with many other venture capitalists. If you are a founder ready to raise capital, I encourage you to apply as it was an amazing experience for our entire team.
John Riggins of BTC Inc, host of Pitch Day, noted of the event that it “clearly showcases the densest collection of new talent, vision and ambition within the ecosystem” and that it was “special to see this fit with capital allocators who have a passion for accelerating their growth.
If you are interested in being considered for a spot on stage, we encourage you to apply here for Bitcoin Pitch Day 2023! The settings for entrants are open and flexible, so feel free to apply – whether you’re an individual with an idea, a company raising a Series B ride, or somewhere in between.
Bitcoin 2023 is part of the Bitcoin event series hosted by BTC Inc, the parent company of Bitcoin Magazine.