First-time founders with an idea who want honest feedback from mentors, judges and other founders before they build too much.
Early teams getting ready to raise a first round, join an accelerator or find a pilot customer.
Students and researchers turning a project into a company, who need to know which programs will take them.
Mentors, angel investors and the people who run startup programs, looking for where new founders gather.
Pitch competitions, demo days and accelerator deadlines
Three kinds of listing here ask more of you than buying a ticket. This is what each one is, and how to get ready for it.
Pitch competition
Founders present their startup to a panel of judges in a short, fixed slot, answer questions, and the judges pick the winners. Prizes can be cash, services, a place in a program or introductions to investors; the official rules say which, and who may enter.
How to prepare
Read the eligibility rules first: stage, sector, country and company age often decide who can apply.
Rehearse out loud to the exact time limit, and cut until the problem, the solution and your ask fit.
Have short answers ready about your customers, your competitors and how you make money.
Demo day
The closing event of an accelerator or incubator cohort, where each startup in the program shows its progress to invited investors, partners and press. Only startups in the program present; some demo days also let visitors register to watch.
How to prepare
As a visitor, read the list of presenting startups beforehand and choose who you want to talk to.
As a presenter, lead with what changed during the program: users, revenue, partners or product milestones.
Follow up within a few days with a short note and your deck, while the conversation is fresh.
Accelerator application deadline
The last day to apply for the next cohort of an accelerator, a fixed-length program of mentoring, workshops and sometimes investment that often ends with a demo day. Applications usually open for a limited window before each cohort, so the deadline is the date to plan around.
How to prepare
Start a few weeks early: forms often ask for a deck, a short video, team details and any numbers you have.
Answer plainly and specifically: who has the problem, what you have built and what users have taught you.
Ask a mentor or a past participant to read your answers before you submit.
From an idea to a pitch-ready plan and site
01Describe your idea in a sentence
A team of AI specialists researches the market, checks feasibility and plans the budget and brand, so you can see whether the idea holds up before you pitch it.
02Turn it into a pitch deck
Create an editable investor deck from your idea, refine the slides and export to PowerPoint or PDF, with anything still unknown clearly labelled.
03Put a website behind the pitch
Build a working draft of your website, so the judges and investors who look you up after the event find a site that matches what you told them.
Each week the research starts with Saudi Arabia, in English and in Arabic, then covers the other Gulf states and the wider Middle East and North Africa, before moving on to the rest of the world.
Startup programs in the region are run by government agencies, universities, investors and companies, and many are announced in Arabic or only on the organizer's own channels. Searching there first, in both languages, finds listings a general search can miss.
Founders elsewhere are covered too: Europe, the Americas, Asia and Africa are searched every week, and the filters show what is close to you.
How the calendar is made
Every Monday Hatchio searches the web, in several languages, for startup conferences, pitch competitions, demo days, accelerator deadlines and founder meetups, starting with Saudi Arabia and the region, and refreshes this list; events that have ended drop off. Each listing links to the organizer's own page, and the map pins the venue where its coordinates are known, or the city center where they are not.
The description and city of each new listing are translated into the other nine languages Hatchio speaks. Free or paid is shown only where the organizer's page says so. Dates, prices and venues can change, so check the organizer's site before you book or travel.
Questions founders ask about startup events
How do I choose which startup events are worth my time?
Start from what you need next. Raising money: look for demo days and pitch competitions that investors attend. Looking for customers: go where your buyers go, such as industry conferences. Still exploring: founder meetups let you learn from people a step ahead. Then weigh the date, cost and travel against what you expect to gain.
Do I need a finished product to apply or to pitch?
Not always. Many pitch competitions and accelerators accept startups at the idea or prototype stage, while others ask for a launched product, users or revenue. The eligibility section on the official page says which, so read it before you prepare.
Is it worth going if I am not pitching?
Often, yes. Watching other founders pitch shows you what judges ask and what convinces them, and many introductions happen in the breaks between sessions. Arrive knowing two or three people you want to meet and one question you want answered.
What do judges and investors usually look for?
A problem real customers have, a solution they would pay for, a market large enough to matter, a team able to build it, and evidence such as users, pilots or sales. They also listen for a specific ask: how much you are raising or what help you need, and what it will achieve.
Do accelerators and pitch competitions take equity?
Some do and some do not. Certain accelerators invest in exchange for a share of the company, while others, often run by governments or universities, take no equity at all. Prizes can come with conditions too. Read the terms on the official page before you apply, and ask the organizer if anything is unclear.
Which language should I pitch in?
The language the event runs in, which the official page or application form usually states. International events are often held in English. Keeping your deck in English and in the language of the market you sell to, such as Arabic, prepares you for both kinds of room.