Thursday, October 16th | New York

Join us for the entrepreneurial event of the year!

Thursday, October 16th | 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM EDT
Tribeca 360° 10 Desbrosses St., New York, NY 10013

The StartOut Awards is the premier celebration of the nation’s LGBTQ+ entrepreneurial community. Our signature event recognizes outstanding LGBTQ+ entrepreneurs across industries.

By recognizing and honoring business leaders for outstanding representation of the LGBTQ+ community, the StartOut Awards bring further visibility and prominence to the dynamic, innovative, and exceptionally diverse field of LGBTQ+ community members fueling the American entrepreneurial spirit.

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If you have questions, please email .

Interested in corporate sponsorship opportunities? Please reach out to us at info@startout.org.

This Event is Sponsored By

Schedule

  • 6:30 PM - Opening Reception
  • 7:30 PM - Dinner & Awards Program
  • 9:30 PM - Dessert & Dancing
  • 10:30 PM - Event Ends

2025 Awardees to Be Announced

Honorary & Co-Chairs

Tristan Schukraft

Known as “The CEO of Everything Gay,” Tristan is a technology entrepreneur, turned hotelier nightlife aficionado and producer. An LA native, now residing in Puerto Rico, Tristan’s entrepreneurial journey began with the founding of ID90.COM, an e-ticketing platform for airline personnel. Following the success of ID90, Tristan later went on to establish MISTR, the largest telemedicine platform dedicated to HIV prevention and long-term HIV care which currently serves over 500,000 patients across the United States. 

Erica Bacon

Erica resides in the Hudson Valley, New York. She has spent nearly 20 years working in General Management and Executive Operations for early-stage to Series C funded start-ups, large firm new product incubators, and leading regional markets for Fortune 500 firms. Erica works as Vice President, Head of Operations and Planning, supporting the Strategy Consulting and Corporate Business Development teams at Fidelity Investments. Erica has been involved with the StartOut community as both an entrepreneur and mentor.

Miguel Lopez

Miguel has been a member of StartOut’s national Board of Directors since 2024. He is a partner at the law firm of Littler Mendelson, P.C. in New York City, where he often advises start-ups on a wide-range of employment issues. He is an active member of the National LGBTQ Bar Association and his firm’s Pride ERG. Miguel is a proud to be the son of immigrants. In his spare time, Miguel is involved in New York’s local queer arts and entertainment scene. He lives in Chelsea with his partner.

2025 Host Committee

Alex Capecelatro & Brian Stevens
Brennen Carter
Joan Cute
Ruth D. Caraballo
Robert D’Annibale
Patrick Driscoll
Charlotte Hamilton
Sean Livingston

Brian Lucksinger
Yosh Miller
Ryan Mulcock
Paddy Pilkington
Spencer Schrage & Sean Coghlan
Jason Scott
Andres Wydler
Pete Zheng

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Since 2009, StartOut has built a community of 26,000 members. Every year, we provide support to over 700 individual founders. We connect them to expertise, peers, community, and capital. This powerful combination of financial support, skills development, and community contributes to helping fuel innovation, wealth generation and equal access to economic opportunity. Join our growing community today.

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