The CodeLaunch 2026 U.S. Championship represents a new chapter in our 13-year history for startup competition.
After a record-breaking 291 applicants from across the country, six startups have earned their place on the CodeLaunch stage. These founders will compete live in a high-stakes environment where product execution, storytelling, and traction are tested in front of investors, judges, and a national audience.
This is not a traditional pitch event. Backed by elite developers from Improving’s Professional Coder League, these teams build in real time.
And for the first time, the entire experience will be broadcast to a global audience.
A New Era for CodeLaunch
The CodeLaunch 2026 U.S. Championship will be produced as a full-scale television broadcast.
Filmed in a professional studio and designed for live streaming, this marks a major evolution for CodeLaunch—from an in-person event to a globally accessible venturetainment experience.
Viewers around the world will be able to watch the competition unfold live on August 19.
Tickets are now available at: https://luma.com/x7n6wref
Paid ticket holders will receive access to the LaunchKings audience engagement app, where each attendee is given $50,000 in “Launchbucks” to deploy as fantasy investments in real time—allowing them to support their favorite startups and directly influence the outcome of the competition.
Watch What’s at Stake
Before this year’s finalists take the stage, audiences can explore the scale and energy of CodeLaunch by watching the 2025 World Championship:
Meet the Finalists
Collars
Founder: Rocco Molfese
Location: Roselle, IL
Website: https://collars.io/
What they do: Collars is a hiring platform built exclusively for the trades, connecting skilled workers and employers through rich profiles, video, preferences, and direct messaging.
Why it matters: Collars modernizes blue-collar hiring by helping workers better showcase their skills while giving employers clearer insight into who they’re hiring.
Founder Insight: “The CodeLaunch cohort was a valuable experience for our team. It helped us sharpen our marketing, prioritize the right things as an early-stage company, and stay focused on execution. Making it all the way to the draft last year was a huge milestone for Collars, and the experience taught us a lot about how to build and grow the right way.”
Drip Inventory
Founder: Riley Demaree
Location: Frisco, TX
Website: https://www.dripinventory.com
What they do: Drip Inventory is an RFID-powered system for inventory tracking, auditing, and analytics across hospitality environments.
Why it matters: It replaces manual inventory processes with automation, reducing labor while delivering real-time operational insights.
Founder Insight: “CodeLaunch has challenged and pushed our business to be the best version of itself. From marketing, pitch decks, go to market strategies, mentorship, video promotions, talking with investors, and everything in between. The whole process has shaped our business for more long term growth and success.”
pollen SENSE
Founder: Kris Klein
Location: Provo, UT
Website: https://pollensense.com/
What they do: Pollen Sense is building AI-powered infrastructure for real-time bioaerosol intelligence, delivering hyperlocal data on airborne particles such as pollen, mold, and smoke.
Why it matters: With deployments across 26 countries, Pollen Sense is enabling a new category of environmental intelligence across healthcare, smart cities, and industrial applications.
Founder Insight: “CodeLaunch sparked new potential for our team to reach goals faster than what’s been possible – we can deliver more data in better form than ever before to drive higher revenue and exposure for Pollen Sense Inc.”
Travel Spoken
Founder: Eni Maj
Location: New York, NY
Website: https://travelspoken.com
What they do: Travel Spoken is an AI-powered platform that transforms user-generated travel content into bookable experiences using voice, video, and conversational AI.
Why it matters: It bridges the gap between travel discovery and booking, creating a seamless planning experience.
Founder Insight: “This process has helped us refine our GTM as well as position ourselves to understand what we need to focus on and develop. In general we are very appreciative of the cohort experience thus far.”
Two Robots
Founder: Omar Hafez
Location: Richmond, VA
Website: https://tworobots.com
What they do: Two Robots is developing Two Robots: Unleashed, a competitive multiplayer strategy card game that combines deckbuilding, tactical combat, and a sci-fi universe of robots and factions. The platform introduces a fully legal play-to-earn system, allowing players to compete, progress, and earn through skill-based gameplay.
Why it matters: Two Robots is building a competitive ecosystem where player skill translates into real value, creating a new model for engagement in gaming.
Founder Insight: “CodeLaunch is rare in the startup world: instead of polishing slides, it pairs founders with world-class engineers and ships real product. That kind of execution is what turns bold ideas into companies.”
Unibaio
Founder: Matias Figliozzi
Location: Ithaca, NY
Website: https://www.unibaio.com/
What they do: Unibaio is an ag biotech company developing TurboCharge™, a nano-engineered platform that improves how crops absorb nutrients and agrochemicals.
Why it matters: The technology enables farmers to reduce chemical usage by up to 30–50% while maintaining or improving yield.
Founder Insight: “CodeLaunch has pushed us to translate a deep scientific platform into a clear, buildable product. The process helped us focus on what can actually be built quickly, demonstrated live, and used by scientists to accelerate discovery.”
Meet the Judges
Michael Chaffin
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Derrty Ventures Michael Chaffin is a seasoned business executive with over 35 years of experience across technology, music, apparel, beverage, and finance. He has served as longtime Business Manager to multi-platinum, three-time GRAMMY-winning artist Nelly, helping launch and scale ventures including Apple Bottoms and Derrty Ventures.
Chaffin has worked alongside major partners including Mark Cuban and has led multiple startup and growth-stage initiatives across industries. He is actively involved in the startup ecosystem as a mentor and advisor, and serves as Vice Chairman of Tackle Tomorrow.
Wren Ovard
Founder & CEO, Li’l Birdie Consulting Wren Ovard is a strategic advisor and business leader with more than 25 years of experience helping organizations grow, scale, and strengthen their market position. As Founder and CEO of Li’l Birdie Consulting, she advises clients on business strategy, brand development, and expansion.
She also serves as Senior Counsel at Sunwest Communications, supporting integrated efforts across public relations, crisis communications, and marketing. Wren is actively involved in the North Texas business and civic community through board service and leadership initiatives.
What’s Next
Two founders will advance to represent the U.S. at the CodeLaunch World Championship in Dallas on November 11th, where they’ll compete on a global stage for funding, exposure, and the CodeLaunch Championship Belt.
From hundreds of applicants to six finalists—this is where the best in the U.S. rise.