Hosted by Tech East Midlands & Leicester Startups
📍 The Canopy, 41 King Street, Leicester | 🗓️ Thursday, 19th November 2026 (18:00 – 21:00)
HER Pitch is a high-impact pitch competition empowering female founders across the East Midlands. Presented by Tech East Midlands and Leicester Startups, this event gives your business the platform, audience, and backing it deserves.
Selected applicants will pitch live to a panel of expert judges, regional investors, civic leaders, and an ecosystem audience at The Canopy in Leicester to win an exclusive business growth package featuring high-value professional services (marketing, accountancy, and strategic advisory).
To be eligible for the main competitive showcase, your business must meet the following criteria: • Female-Led: Must be a female-led, female-founded, or female-centred business (including trans and non-binary identities; requires 50%+ female leadership). • Location: Must be headquartered or fundamentally operating within the East Midlands. • Stage & Funding: Open to grassroots and early-stage enterprises. Both pre-revenue and early-revenue startups are welcome!
Our application form is straightforward and takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes if you have your pitch upload ready.
Baseline Business Details & Contact We will ask for basic contact details (Name, Email, Phone, Role) and confirm your female leadership percentage and operational ties to the East Midlands.
Business Vision & Traction You will provide a brief overview of your business model, including: • Your registered/trading name, website, and founding date. • The Core Problem: What specific pain point are you solving, and for whom? • Your Solution: What makes your business different (your USP)? • Traction & Demand: Early sales, waitlists, pilot programs, or key milestones achieved so far. • Support Areas: Which professional service areas (e.g., marketing, legal, accountancy) you are most interested in to accelerate your business growth.
Pitch Material Upload (Required) To complete your application, you must submit ONE of the following supporting materials:
Whether you submit a deck, video, or plan, our review panel will look for clear coverage of these core areas: • The Problem: What specific pain point are you solving, and for whom? • Your Solution & Product: How does your business solve this? Show the tech/product in action. • Market Opportunity: How big is the market, and who is your target customer? • Traction & Validation: Early sales, waitlists, pilot programs, or key milestones. • The Business Model: How do you (or will you) make money? • The Team: Why are you and your team the right people to execute this? • The Ask: What does your business need next (funding, pilot partners, key hires, advice)?
If selected as one of our 5 main competition finalists, your on-stage pitch slot will be 10 minutes long: • 5-Minute Pitch: You’ll have a strict hard limit of 5 minutes to present your vision. Timers are strictly enforced—at the 5-minute mark, your screen and microphone will transition automatically to keep the event running smoothly! Practice your timing beforehand. • 4-Minute Judge Q&A: Immediately following your pitch, our panel of expert judges will ask follow-up questions to dig deeper into your traction, market opportunity, or business model.
Master Laptop Setup You will be required to submit your slide deck prior to the event to allow time for AV testing. All finalist decks will be merged into a single master deck, controlled via a wireless clicker on stage.