The Road to START Summit is Munich’s most exciting student-organized pitching competition, hosted by START Munich, the city’s leading entrepreneurship student initiative.
This year, the event brings together the most promising early-stage DeepTech start-ups to pitch their ideas in front of an audience of founders, investors, students, and industry experts.
The winner secures a spot at START Summit in St. Gallen, Europe’s largest student-organized startup conference with 6,000+ attendees, and competes for CHF 10,000 in prize money.
Under this year’s theme, “Beyond the Peak,” we invite you to explore what lies beyond: new ideas, bold collaborations, and the next generation of entrepreneurship in Munich.
If you’re building a Tech or DeepTech start-up, then this is your stage!
Here’s why you should apply:
- Pitch in front of Munich’s leading investors, including top-tier VCs such as b2ventures and Alstin Capital.
- Win a spot at START Summit 2025 in St. Gallen, where you’ll compete on one of Europe’s biggest startup stage and gain exposure to 6,000+ founders, investors, and corporate innovators.
- Secure tangible rewards: winners receive a guaranteed START Summit booth, a startup ticket, and a chance to compete for CHF 10,000.
- Connect with the ecosystem, meet other founders, VCs, mentors, and professors shaping the future of entrepreneurship in Munich and beyond.
Whether you’re still in preseed stage or already seed stage, this is your launchpad!
No matter if you’re new to startups, an experienced founder, or one of the VCs driving Europe’s next wave of innovation, this is the place to be.
Join 300+ attendees for a night of inspiration, innovation, and real connection.
Expect:
- Live pitches from some of Europe’s most exciting early-stage startups
- Next-level networking with founders, investors, and innovators
- Snacks & drinks included. Connect in a relaxed, inspiring atmosphere
- A glimpse into the future of technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship
"RtSS is a great sneak peek at what you can expect if you make it to the final at the START Summit in St Gallen. Standing on stage in front of over 5,000 entrepreneurs, VCs and corporates and pitching your venture - If I recommend applying? Definitely!"
"I had a fantastic experience at the Road to START Summit last year. The energy was incredible, and the inspiring people were very accessible for chats. It was a great opportunity to connect and learn."
"The RtSS is a great opportunity to get to know a variety of local start-ups and gives you the chance to connect with students, start-ups and other people from the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Already looking forward to this year's edition!"
"If you are looking for inspiration and meeting with like-minded people - you can col-lectively find them at RtSS. If you are a start-up, this competition could be a great chance to get strong feedback. If you want to be inspired, book your ticket and see you there!"
"RtSS is a great sneak peek at what you can expect if you make it to the final at the START Summit in St Gallen. Standing on stage in front of over 5,000 entrepreneurs, VCs and corporates and pitching your venture - If I recommend applying? Definitely!"
"I had a fantastic experience at the Road to START Summit last year. The energy was incredible, and the inspiring people were very accessible for chats. It was a great opportunity to connect and learn."
"The RtSS is a great opportunity to get to know a variety of local start-ups and gives you the chance to connect with students, start-ups and other people from the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Already looking forward to this year's edition!"
"If you are looking for inspiration and meeting with like-minded people - you can collectively find them at RTSS. If you are a startup, this competition could be a great chance to get strong feedback. If you  want to be inspired, book your ticket and see you there!"
The Road to START Summit is a series of events organized by START chapters throughout Europe. These events serve as warm-up gatherings leading up to the START Summit, which will be held in St. Gallen. The goal of these events is to identify promising start-ups that will represent START Munich at the START Summit and pitch their start-up in St. Gallen.
Where & when: It will take place on 9 December 2025, at the Freiheitshalle, Munich. The following START Summit in St. Gallen, Switzerland, will be from 19 to 20. March 2026.
1. Your startup was founded in 2023 or later
2. Your startup is in the Seed or Pre-Seed stage
3. You have to be an independent legal entity
4. We have no limitations regarding the amount of funding you have already received
5. Extra points if your startup has a deep tech focus
The Road to START Hack serves as a warm-up hackathon for the START Summit. RTSH is a weekend-long event where students from around the world come together to work on new software and/or hardware projects. Therefore, the Road to START Hack is a hackathon, whereas the Road to START Summit is a pitching competition.
