SBA Launches $1 Million Patriot Pitch Competition to Showcase America’s Entrepreneurs

On May 13, 2026, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that it is having a national pitch competition to give away $1 Million Dollars in total prizes to five businesses in honor of America’s 250th Anniversary. See full press release.

The Competition will award up to $1,000,000 in total prizes, broken down as:

1st place: $400,000;

2nd place: $250,000;

3rd place: $150,000;

4th place: $125,000; and

5th place: $75,000.

Here are some basics about the competition:

Deadline: June 10, 2026, at 11:59PM ET (10:59PM CT)

The competition is open to:

  • U.S. citizens or Lawful Permeant Residents who are at least 18 years of age at the time of submission (or teams of such individuals).
  • Private entities or teams that meet SBA’s definition of a small business
    • Individuals submitting on behalf of corporations, nonprofits, or other organizations or groups of individuals (such as an academic class or other team) must meet the eligibility requirements for individual contestants. 
    • An individual cannot belong to more than one team submitting an entry in this competition.  

Your business must:

  • Have a minimum of 3 years in business operation
  • Have a gross revenue production of at least $100,000 annually
  • Have benefited from one or more of the following SBA capital products:
    • 7(a) loans (including Paycheck Protection Program loans) 
    • 504 loans 
    • Microloan Intermediary loans 
    • SBIR / STTR funded entities 
    • SBIC financed small business concerns 
    • Note: participants who received COVID-19 EIDL loans or SBA Disaster loans are not eligible based on those loans but may be eligible if they received the capital products listed above. 
  • Be current and in good standing on any federal obligations. Businesses that have, at any time, defaulted on a federal loan or federally-guaranteed financing that has resulted in the federal government or any of its agencies or departments sustaining a loss in any of its programs and businesses owned or controlled a person who previously owned, operated, or controlled a business which defaulted on a federal loan or guaranteed financing and caused the federal government or any of its agencies or departments to sustain a loss in any of its programs are ineligible to apply for the competition.  For purposes of the competition, a compromise agreement as described at 31 C.F.R. 3711 shall also be considered a loss. 
  • Be headquartered and operated in the United States and/or its territories 
  • Be 100% owned by U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents 
  • Actively drive innovation in your sector, leveraging new technologies or strategies to modernize operations or strengthen your competitive edge 
  • Finalists must be available to travel for the national pitch competition, which will occur on one day between September 8th – 18th (to be finalized at a later time), at their own expense. 

 

*Note: This is a high-level overview, not an all-inclusive instruction for competition. For ALL terms and conditions, see website – Freedom 250 – Small Business Administration

Quick Informative Pitch YouTube Video (13 min) – SBA Patriot Pitch Competition: Alabama District Office – YouTube

For any questions about the competition, please contact David.walley@sba.gov

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