SENT Pitch

Competition 2024

Seeking up to 5 teams at the angel, pre-seed, and seed level to pitch their startups to a panel of seasoned investors at SENT Summit 2024. Competition held on September 5th, as part of the Summit (Sept 3 - 6) in Dallas-Forth Worth, TX.

By entering, teams can earn…

  • $10,000 cash prize to the winner

  • $50,000+ of in-kind prizes

  • The opportunity to connect with dozens of values-aligned investors at the SENT Summit and through the SENT platform.

Applications closed

SENT Pitch Competition 2024 is sponsored by:

Logo of CatholicTech, Catholic Institute of Technology in white text on black background.
A man stands at a clear podium holding a microphone, smiling during a presentation or speech in a room with purple lighting.
A woman in a shiny orange traditional outfit sits in a chair on stage, holding a microphone in her right hand, with purple stage lighting in the background.
Two men shaking hands and holding a large check for $5,000 with the words 'to build for His Kingdom' written on it. They are in a room with large windows, flags, and a wooden cabinet in the background.
A man in a navy suit and light blue shirt speaking into a microphone during a presentation or event, with purple and yellow lighting in an indoor setting.
A man with glasses and a beard, wearing a plaid blazer and white shirt, is speaking at a clear podium with the SENT Ventures logo. He has a yellow lanyard and is holding papers, with a microphone in front of him. The background features dark walls an
A man in a dark suit and white shirt giving a speech or presentation on stage, holding a microphone in his right hand with a purple-lit background.
A man standing at a podium with a microphone, giving a presentation in a conference room with a large screen displaying a logo for 'Story Book' with a sleeping dog illustration. Audience members are seated, listening, with purple and white lighting o
A man in a black polo shirt speaking into a microphone at a podium with the Sent Ministries logo, on a stage with purple lighting, with people in the audience in front.
A man in a suit giving a presentation at a conference with a microphone and large lighting setup.
Four people sitting in a conference room, attending a presentation or discussion. The man on the far left has a beard, glasses, and is wearing a black shirt. Next to him, a woman with long blonde hair is smiling, dressed in a white top and has a name
A man holding a microphone and a presentation remote, speaking at a conference with purple lighting and a podium with another microphone.

SENT Pitch Competition Finalists

Poster for SENT pitch competition finalists at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel, Dallas-Fort Worth, featuring headshots and names of five teams, with a purple and pink gradient background.
Photo of two men in suits, smiling, with text indicating they are finalists Bob Hogan and Daniel Cruz at the SENT Pitch Competition 2024, held at Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Dallas-Fort Worth, organized by Presidio Healthcare.
Portrait of Brian Kearney, CEO and Co-Founder, with text indicating he was a finalist at the SENT Pitch Competition 2024, held at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Dallas-Fort Worth, with the Farmland Stock Exchange logo.
A promotional image for the SENT Pitch Competition Finalists at SENT Summit 2024, featuring Viviana and Elie de Laforcade, co-founders of Helo, at Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Photo of Daina Andries and Mark Stephenson, co-founders of Epidaurus Health, at the SENT Summit 2024, with event details and logos displayed.
Promotional graphic featuring two men, Andrew DeBerry and Daniel Catone, smiling, with text announcing their participation as finalists in the SENT Pitch Competition at the SENT Summit 2024, held at Omni Fort Worth Hotel in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Pitch Criteria

Alignment

Does the company advance Catholic values? Does the management team attempt to live out their faith in the operations of the company?

Team

Do these founders make sense for this team? Does their background contribute to the likelihood of success? Do they have the skills internally (or are experienced finding them externally) to advance the product?

Timing

Why this now? What makes this the right time to build this company?

Market

Does the market make sense for the pitch they are making? If pursuing a VC scalable model, is the TAM large enough to justify VC funding?

Traction

Do they have sufficient traction for their stage? If seed, do they have paid contracts/strong user growth? If pre-seed, do they have pilots/beta users? Angel - do they have thorough customer discovery?

“The decision to invest in one place rather than another, in one productive sector rather than another, is always a moral and cultural choice. Given the utter necessity of certain economic conditions and of political stability, the decision to invest, that is, to offer people an opportunity to make good use of their own labor, is also determined by an attitude of human sympathy and trust in Providence, which reveal the human quality of the person making such decisions.”

— Centesimus Annus, Pope St. John Paul II

Pope St. John Paul II

“SENT certainly delivered on bringing high-quality investors to the room. We got at least a dozen investor meetings with top VCs and angels, and one led to an investment. Even more than that, I built rich relationships with other Catholics in the startup world and have benefitted from the support of that community.”

— Paddy McNamara, Founder of Allera Tech

contestant delivering pitch at SENT Summit

Apply Now

Applications closed

audience listening at SENT Summit pitch competition

Get your tickets!

Buy tickets

If you are not able to attend the whole SENT Summit and you can only make it to the Pitch Competition email hello@sentventures.com to purchase a special ticket for this part of the event.

Venture Partners

2024 Venture Partners

Alumni Ventures logo with stylized arrow and text
The number 1517 in white text on a black background.
Company logo with stylized red 'A' and the word 'Alter' in bold white letters.
Black and white logo for The Firefly Group featuring a stylized 'F' within a circle.
Black background with a white outline of a bridge, trees, and the Washington Monument. Text reads 'Potomac Angel Capital'.
The Sovereign's Capital logo in black and white with the words 'Sovereign's Capital' and a horizontal line underneath.
Graph showing fluctuating data with a line graph overlay, green bars indicating volume at the bottom.
Black and white logo of FirstMile Ventures with stylized mountain peaks above the text.
Monon Capital logo with crescent shapes and orange and white colors on black background.
A black and white circular logo with the number '1' and the letter 'F' inside.
Logo with the words "Teamworthy Ventures" in white text on a black background.
Logo of 11 Tribes Ventures featuring the text '11 TRIBES VENTURES' and a circle with three upward arrows inside.
Black background with large white text reading 'G1 collection'.
Large white numbers 1, 5, 1, 7 on a black background.
Logo for Draper Startup House with a stylized letter D inside a circle and the words 'DRAPER STARTUP HOUSE' next to it.
The word 'RISINGS' with a gold circle and blue stylized mountain peak in the center
Black background with a white illustration of a bridge and the Washington Monument, and the words "Potomac Angel Capital".
The Lumos Capital Group logo with stylized text and a graphic element.
Partial view of a logo with stylized leaves and the word 'PASO' in bold uppercase letters.
Logo of EAGLE Venture Fund in black and white, with stylized eagle wings on the left.
Logo for the game 'RISHANGELS' with a stylized gold halo above the letter A in the word.
Text reading 'SENT Ångels' with a golden halo above the letter 'Å'.
Logo of Draper Startup House with a stylized 'D' and the company name.
Logo of PivotNorth Capital with a stylized green and black compass arrow on the left, and the company name in black and green text.

Last year’s Venture Partners included:

Highlight of the Google for Education logo with the word 'Republique' in white text.
Logo with the words 'Teamworthy Ventures' in white text on a black background.
Logo for The Genesis Group featuring a stylized crescent moon and planet orbit with text below.
Text logo reading 'Catholic Angels' with a halo above the letter 'A' in 'Angels'.

Contact

If you’re an investor or potential partner interested in being a Venture Partner, judging, and/or sponsoring the prize, please contact: hello@sentventures.com

For media inquiries, please contact: hello@sentventures.com 

FAQ

  • No! We are seeking Catholic startup founders looking to live and build Spirit-led companies in both secular and faith-tech verticals. You simply have to have at least one Catholic founder on your team and tell us how you are living out your faith as a Spirit-led founder in your application to be considered.

  • We are looking for companies from the MVP to the pre-product market fit stage. You don’t have to have previously raised financing but if you have, we prefer teams that have raised no more than $1mm previously. You don’t currently have to be fundraising but should plan that your next fundraise should be no more than $2.5mm.

  • We will select interview semi-finalists shortly after the application deadline. Finalists will be announced well in advance of the SENT Summit. Specific timeline to be released later.

  • Judges include Catholic angel investors and venture capitalists who invest at the angel, pre-seed, and seed stages.

  • At this time only for-profit startups with venture scalable roadmaps are allowed to participate.

    Non-profit organizations are encouraged to apply to the SENT Mission Showcase if they see a fit there.

  • $10,000 cash prize to the winner

    $50,000+ in in-kind prizes

    The opportunity to connect with dozens of values-aligned investors at the SENT Summit and through the SENT platform.

  • No. We are looking for teams where Catholic values are lived out by the governance of the executive team and in the impact the business makes. We do not require all founders to be Catholics.

  • Finalist will be announced by July 22.

  • Yes, we will hold a 7-day grace period for all applicants to purchase tickets to the SENT Summit if they are not selected as finalists.