COLUMBUS, Ga. - A "shark-tank style" pitch competition for local entrepreneurs is set for Friday, Nov. 13, 2026, at the Cunningham Center on the Columbus State University campus, and the public can attend for free. The sixth annual LaunchCon Pitch Competition runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and offers $40,000 in total prizes, according to StartUP Columbus. The event is presented by Wells Fargo and organized with the D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology at Columbus State.

For anyone in Columbus, Phenix City or the Fort Benning area who has wondered where the next local company might come from, the evening is a chance to watch founders make their case in person. Attendees do not have to be investors, students or business owners, because the organizers describe it as a free event open to the public. Business casual attire is requested.

The details

StartUP Columbus lists the event as a Friday evening program at the CSU Cunningham Center. Admission is free, and organizers ask guests to RSVP through the Catalyzer link on the LaunchCon page. The page does not post a full agenda, a list of judges or a breakdown of how the $40,000 will be divided, so those details were not available as of Nov. 5.

How the field was narrowed

The competition has been running since the summer. Applications opened July 1 and closed Aug. 7, according to the competition timeline on the LaunchCon page. The top 25 applicants were notified of advancement on Aug. 14 and submitted virtual pitches by Aug. 28.

The field then shrank to eight on Sept. 4, and those eight pitched by Zoom on Oct. 9. The top four were notified on Oct. 12, according to the schedule. Those four teams are the ones listed to make live pitches on Nov. 13, which is the final round.

Who made the finalist list

The LaunchCon page names eight 2026 finalists: RIF Robotics, Chifforo, Sergio Garcia, Elsie Lappin, Echo Science, Prestige Foods, Isabella Barrerio and Victor Nguyen. The page does not describe what each business does, and it does not say which names are companies and which are individual founders. It also does not say which four advanced to the live round, so check with StartUP Columbus before attending if you want to hear a particular pitch.

The Columbus Times will not guess at what an unlisted company sells, so descriptions should come from the founders themselves. Organizers can be reached at [email protected] or (706) 940-6122, and StartUP Columbus is based at 1190 Front Avenue in Columbus.

What last year's contest looked like

LaunchCon 2025 gives a sense of the format. That event was held Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025, at the Columbus Convention & Trade Center, according to FINSYNC, which presented the pitch competition that year. Four finalists competed for $40,000 in total prizes, and the evening pitch contest was also free and open to the public.

Mya Swaby of MindMunch, which describes itself as a gamified screen-time manager, took the grand prize, according to FINSYNC's Oct. 28, 2025 release. Tara Harris of FemeFlex was the runner-up, and Ed Norris of PromoMob won the People's Choice Award. FINSYNC said it had helped semifinalists in the weeks before the event with business-plan and funding-readiness work, and the 2025 release did not give the amount each place won.

Getting there

The event is at the CSU Cunningham Center, according to StartUP Columbus. The LaunchCon page does not list parking instructions, so visitors should check the RSVP page or contact StartUP Columbus for directions before the event. The 5:30 p.m. start falls after the typical workday, which gives commuters from Phenix City and Fort Benning time to arrive.

Quick answers

Do I need a ticket? No. The event is free, and StartUP Columbus asks for an RSVP through the Catalyzer link on the LaunchCon page.

How many teams pitch live? Four, according to the competition timeline, which lists the top four being notified Oct. 12 before the live round.

What is the prize pool? $40,000 in total, according to StartUP Columbus. The page does not list the split.

Who is behind it? StartUP Columbus and the D. Abbott Turner College of Business & Technology, with Wells Fargo listed as presenting sponsor.