Ambitious tech entrepreneurs have just under a week left to pitch their ideas to business leaders, influencers and investors in the Perth heat of Pitch@Palace Australia 3.0.

Perth’s On Tour heat of the prestigious business pitching competition will be hosted by Murdoch University on Friday 23 August, with the deadline for applications extended to Thursday, 1 August.

Emerging business innovators selected to compete in the On Tour Perth event will have just three minutes to pitch their ideas to a judging panel of business and community leaders.

Up to 20 applicants will receive coaching at Murdoch from business leaders and communications specialists before formulating their three minute pitch.

Winning ideas will go on to the Pitch@Palace Boot Camp and Australia final, to be attended by His Royal Highness the Duke of York in early October.

Matthew Evans, Director of Student and Library Services at Murdoch University, said the competition was open to entrepreneurs with new ideas through to global scale ups of around five year old.

“We would be very excited to hear from any emerging business leaders, whether they are connected to a university or not," Mr Evans said.

This is a competition which is about more than just honing your pitch in front of investors. It opens up connections and networks for businesses.

The Pitch@Palace competition was founded by the Duke of York in 2014 as a platform to amplify and accelerate the work of entrepreneurs. The program guides, helps and connects entrepreneurs and early-stage businesses with a global network of potential supporters including CEOs, influencers, angels, investors, mentors and business partners.

Murdoch hosted the very first Perth heat of the competition in 2018, with the Duke of York visiting the South Street campus to oversee the event.

Murdoch University Vice Chancellor Eeva Leinonen said the University was honoured to be welcoming the Duke and his team back to Perth.

“Pitch@Palace is a wonderful program and a unique opportunity for WA’s entrepreneurs to get their ideas out to an audience with access to distribution systems, supply chains, business acumen and maybe even investment dollars. I hope to see Murdoch students, staff and alumni among the applicants,” Professor Leinonen said.

Pitch@Palace Australia 3.0 has a broad technology theme and will focus on entrepreneurs that have identified opportunities in the following areas:

• Agriculture, Energy and Renewables Technology
• Business and Consumer Products and Services
• Consumer and Industrial IoT
• Cyber Security, Data Management and Analytics
• Fintech and Blockchain
• Health, Fitness and Medical Technology
• Media and Educational Technology
• Robotics, Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality 

The overall winner of the Australia competition will be invited to attend the Pitch@Palace Global 4.0 at St James Palace, in London.

Applications to take part in the On Tour Perth event can be submitted online at the Pitch@Palace website.