Austin, January 27, 2024 – Austin Community College District’s (ACC) Career Services Department is partnering with ATX DAO, or Austin Decentralized Autonomous Organization, to host a pitch competition where 21 founders can pitch their business ideas to a panel of esteemed judges in exchange for a $10k prize used to help kickstart the founder(s) business.

The startups that are competing were sourced by ATX DAO, a community organization of technologists that have united the local crypto industry to give back to the city of Austin. ATX DAO was founded in October 2021 and has been active in the local art community and government. The $10k was crowdsourced through sponsorships provided by Ava Labs, the organization building the blockchain Avalanche, blockchain infrastructure provider Polygon Labs, Silicon Valley Bank, and brands&people.

“This pitch competition will provide not only an introductory crash course to students on how to best pitch investors on their business ideas and a glimpse into what a career in technology entrepreneurship looks like, it will serve as an opportunity for people to make inroads with local leaders in the cutting-edge technology space,” commented Mason Lynaugh, Co-Founder of ATX DAO. “We want to open up the knowledge and network that resides within the ATX DAO membership to the broader Austin community.”

The pitch ideas from contestants range across multiple technology topics including artificial intelligence, fintech, and web3 (a decentralized version of the internet, powered by blockchain and cryptocurrency).

“Promoting student success and community development is at the heart of what we do,” said Tatiana Randolph, ACC Career Services manager. “Ensuring students have access and exposure to what realistic use cases may look like once they have the opportunity to apply what they’ve learned at ACC into the real world is a vital step in their educational process. We’re excited to host this pitch competition alongside our friends at ATX DAO and look forward to hearing business ideas from founders and answering any questions students may have along the way.”

Want to learn more? Visit austincc.edu and follow ATX DAO on X (formerly Twitter).

About ATX DAO: ATX DAO is a local nonprofit that focuses on mobilizing the web3 and crypto community to support the city of Austin. The group operates as a DAO (decentralized autonomous organization), which is a highly democratic, member-owned community leveraging blockchain for governance and treasury management. Since their founding they have worked with the state and local government to support crypto policy initiatives and have engaged with the local art community, creating a mural downtown and hosting an artist residency for local creators who want to learn how to make NFTs.