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Warrior Rising Business Showers
Warrior Rising
ABOUT THE GRANT
The Warrior Rising Business Showers awards non-dilutive grants ranging from $2,000 to $150,000 to veteran, military spouse, and immediate family entrepreneurs through invitation-only pitch competitions held in cities across the country (past events have taken place in Cedar Rapids, Washington D.C., and Salt Lake City). Administered by Warrior Rising, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to supporting veteran entrepreneurship, Business Showers are the organization's flagship pitch events where top finalists compete for real capital with no equity requirements or other strings attached.
Eligibility to compete is earned by completing Warrior University, Warrior Rising's advanced entrepreneurship education cohort for veteran and military spouse founders with early-stage startups. Warrior University is a fully virtual program offered quarterly over two evenings, hosted in partnership with flagship educational institutions, and delivers expert-led instruction in strategy, business model design, customer discovery, competitive analysis, and go-to-market planning. Graduates who earn a certificate of completion may then apply to compete at a Business Shower, with only the most competitive graduates selected. Selected finalists receive covered flights and hotel accommodations, individualized pitch coaching leading up to the event, live access to investors and decision-makers, and long-term partner introductions. Together, Warrior University and Business Showers form a pathway that combines advanced training with the opportunity to earn meaningful startup funding.
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NOTES
The one catch here is that you don't apply to this pitch directly. You earn your spot by completing Warrior University, their virtual entrepreneurship cohort, and the strongest graduates get invited to compete. So this is more of a pathway than a quick application, but for veteran founders it's a rare shot at real capital plus coaching and investor access along the way.
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