← 4cdpitch.com
The 4CD Pitch Competition

Pitch your idea
to the Diablo Valley.

Nov 20
2026
Friday · Diablo Room
Diablo Valley College, Pleasant Hill campus
Doors 8:30am · Pitches 9:00am · Free and open to the public
4cdpitch.com
§ 01

This is a 4CD competition.

If you are enrolled in a Contra Costa Community College District course — any course, at any of our colleges — you are eligible to apply. One class is enough. Enroll, then apply.

THE THREE COLLEGES

  • Contra Costa College — San Pablo
  • Diablo Valley College — Pleasant Hill & San Ramon
  • Los Medanos College — Pittsburg & Brentwood
  • Districtwide Community Education

WHO THAT INCLUDES

  • Credit students, full-time or part-time
  • Dual-enrolled high school students
  • Community members in a non-credit class
  • No citizenship or status requirements

There are no tracks and no categories. Everyone fills out the same form and stands on the same stage — forms.cloud.microsoft/r/RB7gvjDQPZ

4cdpitch.com
§ 02

Diablo Valley, not Silicon Valley.

A nail salon expansion and an AI product go into the same pile, in front of the same panel, scored against the same criteria. We are actively recruiting range.

MAIN STREET

  • Restaurants, food trucks, cafés, breweries
  • Salons, childcare, cleaning, repair shops
  • Landscaping, construction, and the trades
  • Retail, bookkeeping, and local services

SCIENCE & PRODUCT

  • Biotech and health tech
  • Software, apps, and AI
  • Aviation and industry
  • Hardware and climate

No technical co-founder, prototype, or growth chart required.

4cdpitch.com
§ 03

The road to Nov 20.

Sept 15
Applications open — the form is liveApply at forms.cloud.microsoft/r/RB7gvjDQPZ. Not enrolled yet? This is the window to sign up for a class.
Nov 2
Deadline · 11:59pm PTMonday. A short description of the idea and a deck of no more than 15 slides. Late entries are not accepted.
Nov 6
The 10 finalists announcedTwo reviewers per application; the ten highest-scoring teams advance.
Nov 6 → 20
Two weeks of mentoringDeck reviews, pitch coaching, financial-model review, and dry runs in the actual venue.
Nov 20
The live finalThree minutes to pitch, two minutes of questions. Audience vote runs throughout.
4cdpitch.com
§ 04

Cash prizes, mentorship, and a real audience.

Grand prize
$1,000
First place
Runner-up
$500
Second
Third
$250
Third place
Audience vote
$50
People's Choice

Amounts shown are the 2025 finals; the 2026 districtwide edition scales prizes to the expanded field, confirmed when finalists are named. First place also gets an introduction round to local investors, lenders, and small-business advisors — and every finalist keeps 100% of their venture, IP, and equity.

4cdpitch.com
§ 05 — 06

Fifty points to make the cut. Fifty more on the stage.

Elevator pitchEveryone50
  1. Clean formatting10
  2. Quality of writing10
  3. Description of business idea10
  4. Rationale & supporting info10
  5. Slide deck draft / outline10
Final presentationsFinalists only50
  1. Demeanor & delivery10
  2. Problem–solution statement10
  3. Market analysis & plan10
  4. Conclusion — the "ask"10
  5. Quality & clarity of deck10

The two scores are completely separate. Screening decides who gets on stage and nothing more — all ten finalists start the final at zero. People's Choice is a live audience vote and sits outside both rubrics.

4cdpitch.com
§ 07

Two years of ventures that walked off this stage.

2025 · 4CD districtwide final
1st · $1,000

WellPulse

Anonymous, QR-code based wellness surveys. Now piloting at the county and BART level.

2nd · $500

Leftoverly

Helping restaurants cut food waste by selling surplus meals affordably.

3rd · $250

Scholarise

Scholarship, internship, and coursework tracking for community college students.

People's Choice

Garydian Angel

A voice-activated wristband for calm, family-centered safety alerts.

2024 · DVC Business Pitch Competition — first place went to Scholarise.org, from a field that also included an app detecting scam calls, a plush-doll brand celebrating children's heritage, and clinical triage software.

4cdpitch.com
§ 08

What the room actually looks like.

A wide view of the Diablo Room from the back during the closing slides, with the judging table at the front.
Closing slidesJudges' table at the front, audience in rows.
Three members of the Scholarise.org team holding an oversized $500 check with an organizer.
Scholarise.orgFirst place, $500, 2024.
A student jazz combo with upright bass, guitar and drums playing at the side of the room.
The receptionPlayed out by a student combo.

Diablo Room · Pleasant Hill campus · November 22, 2024. The full gallery is on the site.

4cdpitch.com
§ 09

The rules, in brief.

Who can enter?Anyone with one active 4CD enrollment — any course, credit or non-credit Community Education.
What do I submit?A short description of the business idea and a slide presentation of no more than 15 slides. No video.
How big can a team be?No more than five people. Solo founders are permitted.
Can I pitch a business I already run?Yes, if it has less than $25,000 in total assets or annual revenue.
I entered before. Can I come back?Yes — including past winners. The new submission must be a different concept.
Can I submit more than once?Yes. But a finalist pitches only once at the live event, solo or on a team.
Do I keep my idea?100% of your venture, IP, and equity. The competition takes no equity and no fees.
Can the public come?Yes. The final is free, and attendance requires no enrollment of any kind.
4cdpitch.com
§ 10

You don't have to wait for the deadline.

The Discord is where applicants ask the organizers questions, find a co-founder, get a deck torn apart before a judge sees it, and hear about workshops and office hours first.

  • Find teammates and co-founders across all three colleges
  • Deck feedback and practice-pitch threads
  • Workshop and office-hours announcements
  • Direct line to the organizers
discord — link on 4cdpitch.com
4cdpitch.com Full rules, both scoring rubrics, past winners, the photo gallery, printable flyers, and the application.
Apply now · forms.cloud.microsoft/r/RB7gvjDQPZ Open until 11:59pm PT on Monday, Nov 2. A short description of the idea, and no more than 15 slides.
Nov 2
Applications close · 11:59pm PTA short description of the idea, and no more than 15 slides.
Nov 6
The 10 finalists announcedThen two full weeks of mentoring.
Nov 20
The live final · Diablo Room, DVCDoors 8:30am, pitches 9:00am. Free and open to the public.
The 4CD Pitch Competition · 2026
Apply →