# The Ventures

> The Ventures is a Palo Alto-based global startup awards and professional community platform. It screens early-stage companies, hosts in-person pitch finals and connects founders with investors, mentors and local ecosystem partners. Its selective Ventures Club supports relationships between events.

- **Founded:** 2024
- **Headquarters:** Palo Alto, United States
- **Founders:** Daria Kuk (Founder and CEO)
- **Products:** The Ventures Startup Awards, The Ventures Club, Startup evaluation and scoring, Founder community programs, The Founder Effect
- **Notable:** Launched in 2024, according to the December 2024 founder interview., Announced 2024 Silicon Valley winners including PlasticFri, Elly Analytics, Sensio Air and HistAI., The homepage lists award editions across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.

## Products & services

- **The Ventures Startup Awards** — Free applications, online screening and in-person pitch finals with awards for product, traction, team and AI solution. Finalist counts and event eligibility vary by location. No cash prize.
- **The Ventures Club** — Selective membership community advertising mentorship, accelerator access, startup analysis and networking for founders and distinguished technology leaders.
- **Startup evaluation and scoring** — Published award FAQs describe scoring and risk assessment with feedback for founders and filtering for investors. Application confirmations encourage use of the VC score app.
- **Founder community programs** — Public updates describe investor-led webinars, speed networking, peer discussions and cross-border introductions.
- **The Founder Effect** — A curated Lisbon event announced with Unicorn Factory Lisboa for November 11, 2026, focused on founders’ ambitions after financial success or an exit.

## Achievements

- Launched in 2024, according to the December 2024 founder interview.
- Announced 2024 Silicon Valley winners including PlasticFri, Elly Analytics, Sensio Air and HistAI.
- The homepage lists award editions across North America, Europe, Asia, Latin America and Australia.
- A January 2026 company press release reported 3,800+ startup reviews across 16 ecosystems in 2025.
- An organizer’s public Madrid 2026 recap reported 213 applications, ten selected startups and twenty investors.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — The official calendar lists Australia’s October 22 Sydney edition among previous awards; its event page advertised free entry and an October 9 application deadline. No winners inferred from the calendar.
- **2026-10** — The Founder Effect is announced for November 11, 2026 in Lisbon with Unicorn Factory Lisboa; it is a future event as of this research.
- **2026-09** — The official calendar lists the Netherlands edition dated September 24, 2026 among previous awards.
- **2026-08** — The website privacy policy carries an August 31, 2026 effective date and describes application-material sharing with selected event partners.
- **2026-03** — The Top Voices describes recurring city editions and year-round club activity, including webinars, introductions and investor networking.

## Links

- Website: https://www.the-ventures.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/theventuresawards/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/the-ventures
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-27