Rules
Rules
- Applications close on the date shown at the top of this page.
- One application per team.
- 5-minute pitch
- Presenter must be the business owner
- Slide deck required (PowerPoint or Google Slides)
- Judges' decisions are final.
CreatorCon Pitch Battle
The finalists
CreatorCon Pitch Battle
Pitch your business to a live audience of creators, founders, and funders.
Prize
Winner receives a cash prize, a feature in the goodlync newsletter, and one year of premium goodlync tools.
Pitch night
CreatorCon Pitch Battle
Wed, Sep 23, 2026, 6:00 PM
The Overlook · Norton, VA
2026 Finalists
Meet the 5 finalists
Breath of Dawn
Jessica Monroe
Breath of Dawn is an immersive Appalachian tourism destination that blends distinctive lodging, agriculture, outdoor experiences, education, wellness, and local products to create meaningful rural experiences while demonstrating new ways rural land can generate sustainable income.
Lebanon, VA
Fig Tree Flower Farm
Akira Swencki
Fig Tree Flower Farm is a small-scale specialty flower farm and agritourism destination creating locally grown flowers, unique stays and creative farm experiences that give people more reasons to gather, explore and stay awhile in Damascus, Virginia.
Damascus, Virginia
Historic Explorations
Dustin Blackson
Historic Explorations is a public history and research company dedicated to preserving and sharing Appalachian heritage through historical research, genealogy, educational content, digital media, and community-based storytelling.
Virginia
LOVELAND BRAND DESIGN
Aaron Loveland
Pikeville, KENTUCKY
Wise Guy Games
Dustin Cumbo
Wise, Virginia
Timeline
Key dates
Done
Applications open
Wed, Sep 23, 2026
Done
Applications close
Fri, Sep 11, 2026
Done
CreatorCon Pitch Battle
Wed, Sep 23, 2026
About
What this is
The CreatorCon Pitch Battle spotlights standout founders from the Appalachian region. Selected finalists take the stage at CreatorCon for a live pitch in front of judges, peers, and potential partners.
The details
Program details
Eligibility
Eligibility
- Your business must be legally registered.
- Active for-profit business
- Less than 5 years old
- Must have customers
- Prior participants may re-apply with new work.
Pitch tips
Pitch tips
-Practice out loud, on a clock, more times than feels necessary. Five minutes goes faster than you think, and the founders who sound relaxed up there are the ones who rehearsed the most and the ones who win. - Know your business inside and out. The judges' questions are where a lot gets decided, and you want to answer those from knowledge, not from your slides. - Speak with confidence. You know this thing better than anyone in the room - talk like it. - Lead with the problem you solve and who you solve it for. Get that across in the first 30 seconds and everything after it lands better. - Keep your slides simple. The slides are there to support you, not to be read. Fewer the words the better, let yourself be the focus. - Let us know how you're going to use the $5,000 to grow your business
Rules
Rules
- Applications close on the date shown at the top of this page.
- One application per team.
- All founders must be at least 18 years old.
- Judges' decisions are final.