2024 Patriot Pitch Competition

Register now to secure your spot to watch the 2024 Patriot Pitch Competition. This event supports idea and early-stage business ventures and is open to current Mason students and recent alumni from all majors/fields of study.

This year’s competition is being led by the Costello College of Business and includes interdisciplinary teams from across campus. Finalist teams will participate in mentoring sessions this March. Finalists make their pitches in front of a live audience on Thursday, April 11 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. in the JC Bistro on the GMU Fairfax campus.

Our esteemed keynote speaker will be Seth Goldman, please see more information about him below. This is a tremendous opportunity for the Mason community to hear from someone who is both a very successful entrepreneur and someone widely recognized for his impact.

A light custom kabob menu from HUNGRY will precede the pitches. HUNGRY provides office and event catering by providing exclusive access to top chefs making incredible food. They have a network of hundreds of top local chefs in 11 different cities across the US. Eman Pahlavani, COO and Founder is a proud Mason alumnus and is also serving as one of our mentors this year.

The event is at no cost to event attendees. We even have a “Mason’s Choice Award,” which allows the audience to vote on their favorite pitches and join in on the fun! Only registered attendees are allowed to vote, so be sure to register early.

There will be 2 teams pitching in each of the 4 tracks: Public Engagement, STEM, Social Impact, and General Entrepreneurship. An awards ceremony and networking opportunity for competitors, judges, mentors, and audience members will follow.

Don’t miss this chance to connect with local entrepreneurs and your fellow innovators on campus!

Registration is complimentary and must be completed in order to attend.

2024 Patriot Pitch Competition Keynote Speaker: Seth Goldman

Seth Goldman is Co-Founder of Eat the Change®, a planet-friendly snack and drink company that recently launched Just Ice Tea, a line of organic bottled tea to go along with the company’s Cosmic carrot snacks. Seth and his co-Founder, Celebrity Chef Spike Mendelsohn are also co-founders of PLNT Burger, a plant-based quick-serve restaurant that offers delicious burgers, fries, and soft-serve.

Seth is also the Co-founder of Honest Tea and Chair of the board of Beyond Meat. In 2023 he took on a new role as Chair of the Mission Guardians for Tony’s Chocolonely, an international chocolate company committed to creating an exploitation-free supply chain. He has been widely recognized for his entrepreneurial success and impact, including the Washington DC Business Hall of Fame, Partnership for Healthier America’s CEO of the Year, and EARTHDAY.ORG’s Climate Visionary of the year.

He is a graduate of Harvard College (1987) and the Yale School of Management (1995). Seth and his Honest Tea co-founder, Barry Nalebuff are the authors of The New York Times bestselling comic book, Mission in a Bottle.