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StartUp Lehigh Valley Annual Live Pitch Competition
StartUp Lehigh Valley, presented by Lehigh University, returns for its eighth year, continuing its high-energy residency at the region’s most iconic summer festival. This Shark Tank-style pitch competition will take place on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, at the Musikfest Café in South Bethlehem, offering a premier showcase of entrepreneurship and economic impact during Musikfest. The event will also be shown live on WFMZ-TV and live-streamed on wfmz.com.
The main event kicks off promptly at 6:30 PM as the top five finalists take the stage to present their companies to a live audience and a panel of expert judges. Each team will have three minutes to pitch, followed by a high-stakes five-minute Q&A with the judges.
At stake is more than $26,000 in prize money, including a $20,000 grand prize. In addition to the judged awards, viewers on-site and watching the live broadcast on WFMZ Channel 69 will have the opportunity to vote in real-time to determine the winner of the Audience Choice Award.
The 2026 StartUp Lehigh Valley contestants are a mix of innovations, products and solutions. Yet they are are all, each in their own way, in the business of connecting people.
The 2026 finalists are:
Acute Baby Co. | Royersford, PA
Acute Baby Co. is redefining breastfeeding support with The Wedge, the first patented, adjustable-angle breastfeeding pillow designed to improve positioning and latch for babies and reduce physical strain for mothers in a category long dominated by one-size-fits-all products.
Coul Street, Inc. | Bethhelehm, PA
Coul St. enables people to charge their EVs in places they otherwise couldn’t. Our charger is designed to blend into its surroundings wherever it is installed, while dramatically reducing maintenance costs for operators — making charging more affordable and accessible to drivers.
JAERIMY, Inc. | Reading, PA
ERIC (Emergent Reply Imminent Crisis) is a time-based safety check-in app for people who live alone. You confirm you're okay on your own schedule; if you don't respond, ERIC alerts your emergency contacts with your GPS location. No button, no wearables, it works when you can't.
LegalPocket.ai | Easton, Pa
LegalPocket.ai is an AI legal intake specialist that ends the frustration of calling law firm after law firm. Describe your situation once, any time of day, and LegalPocket.ai grades your case and connects you with an attorney who actually handles claims like yours.
NextPick.io | Philadelphia, PA
NextPick is the marketplace for college recruiting expertise — connecting high school athletes, vetted recruiting experts (former coaches and insiders) and college programs. Live in tennis with 500+ universities, 160+ agents, and $200k+ in transaction volume.
Racklify, Inc. | Narberth, PA (Incorporated in Delaware)
Racklify is the marketplace and advertising platform for fulfillment and logistics. We help brands discover, evaluate, and connect with the right 3PLs, warehouses, and logistics providers through searchable profiles, AI-powered matching, advertising, and lead generation tools.
SkyPreme Resolve | Allentown, PA
SkyPreme Resolve is the only platform that scores compliance in both directions, flagging audit-readiness gaps before an inspection and drafting a validated response in minutes after an FDA 483 (a formal violation notice) lands, powered by a patent-pending regulatory intelligence engine modeling the observation-response-decision chain.
