Each year, WCS hosts a startup pitch competition focused on spotlighting companies led by women, either as CEOs or in the C-suite. This year the competition will be a stand alone virtual event on June 9th, 2023 at 12pm PST.

Shining a spotlight on women-led startups from around the world, the fourth annual pitch competition features female entrepreneurs from the cleantech and sustainability industry. The winner of the competition will enjoy a large prize pool to continue growing their business, including preferential consideration to serve on a Cleantech Forum San Francisco panel, among other prizes.

Tickets are $20.

Presented by

Partner Sponsors

Supporting Sponsors

Our pitchers

Natasha Kostenuk
CEO,
Ayrton Energy

Cristina Diez
CEO & Co-Founder,
Open Hydro

Erika Boeing
CEO & Co-Founder,
Accelerate Wind

Fatimah El-Rashid
CEO & Co-Founder,
SHADY.CLUB

Margaret Kocherga
CEO & Founder,
Margik Inc.

Kayli Dale
CEO & Co-founder,
Friendlier

Stephanie Lipp
CEO & Co-Founder,
MycoFutures

Raquel Zambrano
COO,
TreaTech

Rashmi Prakash
CEO & Co-Founder,
Aruna Revolution Health Inc

Roya Aghighi
CEO,
Lite-1

Zhixuan Wang
Founder,
Algreen Ltd

Our judges

Julia Davourie
Phoenix Venture Partners

Ramya Winstead
Amazon

Geetanjali Kanwar
MacKinnon Bennett & Co

Stefanie Padgett
Rhythmos

Kristin Wegner Guilfoyle, PhD
NREL, JISEA

Liz Kerton
Cleantech Council

Prize Pool Information

Technica Communications

Website: https://www.technicacommunications.com/ 

About: Technica Communications is an award-winning boutique, full-service public relations, social media, and content marketing firm.

Prize: A one-hour PR and Marketing consultation and an interview with Lisa Ann Pinkerton on her Earthlings Podcast. 

Contact: Lisa Ann Pinkerton // lisaann@technicacommunications.com 

Cleantech Group 

Website: https://www.cleantech.com/ 

About: The Cleantech Group provides research, consulting, and events to catalyze opportunities for sustainable growth powered by innovation.

Prize: 1 free registration to Cleantech Forum North America (San Diego, Jan 22-24, 2024) and a potential speaking slot on the program on either a panel, briefing or Innovation Showcase (subject to editorial considerations and availability).

Contact:  Sarah O’Connell // sarah.oconnell@cleantech.com

Richard Youngman // Richard.Youngman@cleantech.com 

Elizabeth Best

Website: https://elisabethbest.com/

About: Lis Best is an executive coach for women in impact, founder of the Girls Club Collective, and host of the Women Changing the World podcast. Since launching her business in 2020, Lis has helped hundreds of change agents navigate ESG careers, birth mission-driven businesses, and up-level their thought leadership.

Prior to her entrepreneurial journey, Lis worked as director of social impact for the world’s fastest-growing pre-IPO start-up, a management consultant for BSR, and the sustainability manager at Qualcomm, a Fortune 200 technology company.

Lis has been trusted by leaders at organizations including Adobe, Grove Collaborative, and PwC, and she and her work have been featured in publications like Brit & Co., Create & Cultivate, Greenbiz, Ladies Get Paid, Nasdaq, and Thrive Global.

Prize: 1-hour 1:1 coaching/advisory session for the winner

Contact: Lis Best lis@elisabethbest.com

Plug & Play

Website: https://www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/

About: P&P driveS innovation by connecting the brightest minds. They have a unique ecosystem that connects change-makers and leading organizations with a network that consists of 50,000 startups, 500+ world-leading corporations, and hundreds of venture capital firms, universities, and government agencies across multiple industries. 

Prize: 1 hour consultation with Wade Bitaraf, Founder of the Energy & Sustainability sector at Plug & Play with a potential for the winner to pitch at Plug & Play’s annual expo.

Contact: Wade Bitaraf // wade@pnptc.com 

Arsh Pabla // arsh@pnptc.com 

Women in Cleantech & Sustainability 

Website: https://www.womenincleantechsustainability.org/ 

About: WCS is a 501 C (6) nonprofit organization that fosters an influential network of professionals to further the roles of women in growing the green economy and making a positive impact on the environment.

Prize: Gifting the winner a virtual WCS membership.

Contact: membership@womencleantechsustainability.org

Eligibility

• Current funding stage from seeking Seed funding to closed Series A
• Companies led by women, either as Founders, CEOs or in the C-Suite
• Solving a cleantech or sustainability challenge, either through hardware or software

Your business idea must be:

• Focused on cleantech and/or sustainability (broadly defined)
• Innovative and disruptive
• An operating company with a product in the market, or ready for testing or deployment

Why pitch at this event?

Share your vision on the WCS virtual stage in-front of VCs and an audience of 300+ industry professionals. Competition is tight as there are 10 spots for female-led startups.

FAQ

Why did we create the WCS Pitch Competition?

As an organization working to further the roles of women in growing the green economy, we see a lack of C-Suite women in the cleantech and sustainability space. We are featuring women entrepreneurs and judges to inspire our audience to envision themselves as fellow leaders in the space. 

Who will be judging the competition?

We will post judges on this webpage as they are confirmed. Stay tuned! 

I have questions, who should I contact?

Email us at startups@womencleantechsustainability.org 

PAST WINNERS

2022
Rent a Romper (sustainable fashion)

2020/2021
Alchemr (green hydrogen)

2019
EIQ Mobility (fleet electrification, acquired by NextEra Energy Resources in 2021)

2018
Artveoli (consumer electronics, air purification)