The Startup Pitch: Demo Showcase

May 21, 9:30 – 11:30 PM (UTC)

New York City

The Yard: Herald Square, 106 West 32nd Street, New York, 10001

See the newest companies coming out of the NYC startup ecosystem. Provide peer feedback and network with ambitious founders at The Startup Pitch: Demo Showcase.

In-person event

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About this event

It's time to go beyond the deck and see the best live tech from New York's emerging startups. 

Welcome to a pitch event with a twist. We skip the fluff and focus on what matters: a live look at real products.

This pitch & demo showcase gives you a first look at new technology from startups that are actively building and shipping product — sometimes even before VCs have seen them!

The format is fast-paced and interactive. After each demo, the floor is open for questions, ideas, and honest feedback from the community. 

We welcome investors who want an unfiltered look at new technology and early-stage teams. 

  • 📅 Date: Thursday, May 21st
  • 🕓 Time: 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
  • 📍 Venue: The Yard: Herald Square
  • 🎫 Tickets: Only $5 (includes happy hour refreshments)
  • 📑 Founders: Sign up here to apply to pitch at an upcoming event

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

  • Startups ready to demo a real product and get honest feedback
  • Engineers, PMs, and designers who love seeing new tech in action
  • Investors looking for a ground-floor, early look at local startups
  • Anyone in the NYC tech scene who wants to connect with and support the people building things

AGENDA

  • 5:30 PM: Doors Open & Networking
  • 6:00 PM: Startup Pitches & Demos with Audience Q&A
  • 7:00 PM: Meet the Presenting Startups

This is not a competition -- it's an opportunity for founders to showcase their projects, exchange insights, and receive constructive feedback from founder peers.

PITCH FORMAT

  • Pitch & Demo - 6 minutes
  • Audience Q&A - 4 minutes
  • Pitch deck AND product demo are required

When

When

Thursday, May 21, 2026
9:30 PM – 11:30 PM (UTC)

Where

Where

The Yard: Herald Square
106 West 32nd Street
New York 10001

Agenda

9:30 PMDoors Open & Networking
10:00 PMStartup Pitches & Demos with Audience Q&A
11:00 PMMeet the Presenting Startups

Organizers

  • Joshua Ness

    Fulbright Program

    Director, Startup Grind

  • Tova Feldheim

    York Effect

    Cofounder

  • Paul GUILLARD

    Chief of Staff / BizOps / Project Manager / BD

  • Prianka Ball

  • Michaela Freedman

    Steer Health

  • Payton Shafer

    CAUSE+EFFECT Strategy

  • KT Goldthorpe

    Champ: Building Competitive Brands

  • Bhavnish Walia

    Amazon

  • Rebecca Liang

  • Pushkar Taday

    Opus Training

    Software Engineer (AI Operations)

  • Theophila Lee

    Reitler Law

  • Mo Salah

    Startup Grind

    Director

Global sponsor

Carta logo

Carta

Partners

The Yard logo

The Yard

Vikas Gupta logo

Vikas Gupta

OKX logo

OKX

12 Tech logo

12 Tech

About Startup Grind

This is Startup Grind. We are the world’s largest startup community.

Our Mission

To give startups everywhere the education and opportunities they need to build, grow, and scale their companies.

Our Values

We believe in making friends, not contacts. We believe in giving first, not taking. We believe in helping others before helping yourself.

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