
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.
If you have questions, please email info@outshineevents.com.
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

Sophia Bush
Sophia Bush is an actress, activist, producer, and entrepreneur. She has starred in television and film projects such as One Tree Hill, John Tucker Must Die, Chicago PD, Incredibles 2 and Good Sam. Sophia wrapped production on Bryan Greenberg’s directorial debut, Junction and in London’s West End ‘2:22 – A Ghost Story’ play, and most recently, she joined the cast of Grey’s Anatomy as the recurring role of Dr. Cass Beckman. Next up, she can be seen in “The Stranger in my Home,” a feature film adaptation of Adele Parks’ best-selling novel set to be released by Paramount.
She currently hosts her iHeart podcasts, “Work in Progress with Sophia Bush” and co-hosts “Drama Queens” with One Tree Hill co-stars Hilarie Burton, Robert Buckley, and Bethany Joy Lenz. Beyond entertainment, she’s a dedicated activist and philanthropist, raising nearly half a million dollars for causes, and passionately supporting projects empowering girls and women. Alongside her business partner Nia Batts, Sophia is an investor in Aunt Flow, a company working to combat period poverty, and is a General Partner and investor in Union Heritage Ventures, a majority African American and women-owned venture capital firms. She also co-founded and sits on the board of I am a voter® and serves as a Strategic Advisor for First Women’s Bank alongside Batts, and Billie Jean King.

Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer N. Pritzker
Lieutenant Colonel Jennifer N. Pritzker (Retired) is known as a historian, businesswoman, investor, developer, and philanthropist. She founded TAWANI Enterprises in 1994, a visionary umbrella organization with a private equity portfolio consisting of startup and mature innovative companies in various industries, as well as nonprofit interests through foundation work and military history and education organizations. The company offers back-office services to all internally owned companies, including TAWANI Property Management, Mission94 Firearms Education Center, TAWANI Ventures, the Pritzker Military Museum & Library, TAWANI Foundation, the Pritzker Military Foundation, Master Wings Publishing, and Aurum Trading, a gold coin trading market maker.
Her dedication to service and leadership was further recognized in 2019, when Norwich University named her one of the 78 most influential individuals in its second century during its bicentennial celebrations. In 2020, she was recognized by Crain’s Chicago Business as both a Notable LGBTQ Executive and a Notable Business Executive, and she received the Chicago History Museum’s Making History Award.
Emcee
Heidi N Closet
Heidi is a dynamic drag performer and beloved television personality who captured the hearts of fans worldwide with her breakout appearance on RuPaul’s Drag Race and All Stars. Known for her infectious charm, quick wit and radiant authenticity, Heidi brings humor, heart and high-energy talent to every stage she steps onto.
Heidi proudly represents small-town roots and Southern flair. Her distinct blend of comedy, charisma and show-stopping performance earned her the title of Miss Congeniality—an honor that reflects her deep connection with both audiences and fellow queens.
Beyond the stage, Heidi is a powerful advocate for self-love, authenticity and mental health awareness in the LGBTQ+ community. Her bold personality and unfiltered honesty make her a standout voice in the drag world and her ever-growing fan base continues to follow her for both laughs and inspiration.

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
AJ DeLeón
Patrick Driscoll
Genesis Garcia
Charlotte Hamilton
Bryan Janeczko & Terry Young
Sean Livingston
Hernan Lopez & Scott Velasquez
Brian Lucksinger
Yosh Miller
Ryan Mulcock
Paddy Pilkington
Spencer Schrage & Sean Coghlan
Jason Scott
Andres Wydler
Pete Zheng
Join StartOut
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.