Brief - The Hustle

The Hustle’s Big Break: Your business idea could be worth $5k

Written by The Hustle | Mar 17, 2025 10:00:00 AM

Ever catch yourself scribbling business ideas on napkins or drafting imaginary pitch decks in your head during meetings? Us too.

The Hustle has always been about empowering the entrepreneurial-minded — those who see opportunity where others see obstacles, who build while others talk. Today, we're putting our money where our mouth is.

Founders wanted: The Hustle's Big Break competition

We've teamed up with Indie Hackers to launch The Hustle's Big Break — a pitch competition with a refreshingly simple premise: Tell us your brilliant business idea in 60 seconds and you could win $5k to bring it to life.

No 40-page business plans. No complicated financials. No “Shark Tank”-style grilling.

Just your raw idea and the enthusiasm to make it happen.

→ Enter now!

Why are we doing this?

The Hustle delivers business and tech news to 1.5m of the internet's smartest, most ambitious readers every day. We cut through the noise to bring you the stories that matter most to founders, entrepreneurs, and business enthusiasts.

But we've always wanted to do more than just report on success stories — we want to help create them.

This competition represents the core of what we stand for: democratizing opportunity and giving great ideas the spotlight they deserve. Because sometimes, all a future founder needs is that first push (and, let's be honest, a little cash doesn't hurt).

How can you enter?

  1.  Record a 60-second video pitch.
  2.  Include your business name, what it does, how you'll make money, and a catchy tagline.
  3.  Submit at thehustle.co/bigbreak by April 4th.

Our panel of judges — including Mindstream's Adam Biddlecombe — will select one grand prize winner to receive $5k in cash plus a feature in The Hustle daily newsletter, potentially putting your idea in front of 1.5m readers.

Ten runners-up will score exclusive Hustle merch packages.

Just the beginning: 

The Big Break competition marks the first of many major initiatives we're launching in 2025 to expand The Hustle's impact beyond your inbox.

In the coming months, you'll see more interactive campaigns, community-building events, and opportunities designed specifically for our audience of builders, thinkers, and doers.

Remember: Every successful business started as just an idea in someone's head. Will yours be next?

The competition closes April 4th, with winners announced April 11th. Don't leave your big idea on the table.

→ Submit your 60-second pitch