MANCHESTER — The abi Innovation Hub and Wasabi Ventures are planning a competition in which a successful business pitch by a fledgling start-up could win $30,000.

The VentureX competition will be held Jan. 26 at the abi incubator on South Commercial Street.

Tom “TK” Kuegler, general partner of Wasabi Ventures, said, “Success for young companies comes down to access to capital and to mentors.”

VentureX differs from a traditional business plan competition — no business plan is required.

Instead, entrepreneurs must “create a succinct story for your application and be ready to tell your story if you are selected as a semifinalist,” according to the Wasabi website.

“What is it that you are all about? What problem are you solving?” Kuegler said. “The audience will vote.”

Jamie Coughlin, vice president at abi, formerly known as the Amoskeag Business Incubator, said a primary goal of the competition is to strengthen the idea of Manchester as a statewide focus of entrepreneurship and innovation.

Unlike a traditional small-business, such as a landscape company, which may turn to a bank for a loan, high-tech entrepreneurs must turn to private investors, Coughlin said.

“For several years, private investors aren’t necessarily using business plans,” he said. “They are trying to get to the essence of it, which is magnified by this elevator-type pitch.”

In 10 years that Wasabi has funded or founded more than 200 startups. “Most of them didn’t even have a business plan,” Kuegler said.

“We are trying to give a platform to innovative ideas and people. Growing the startup ecosystem is about identifying who those people are and bringing them together, and a competition such as this is a great tool to attract the best,” Kuegler said.

Entries will be accepted at venturex.wasabiventures.com and 10 will be selected to participate in VentureX–New England on Jan. 26.

“The abi is continuously trying to get individuals excited about the startup process, and this competition definitely helps,” Coughlin said.

The January event, free and open to the public, will begin with a cocktail party. The 10 semifinalists will set up booths presenting their project.

Each attendee will be given five golden tickets, which they can distribute among the 10 startups as they wish (for example, all five tickets to one or one ticket each to five different competitors).

The three ventures that collect the most golden tickets will each get 10 minutes to pitch their startup to a panel of five successful entrepreneurs and investors.

At the end of the evening, the panel will choose the winner.

While only one team can win the grand prize, every team will get exposure to angel investors, venture capitalists, journalists and entrepreneurs.

Wasabi, which is funding the $30,000 prize, will take a 5 percent equity stake in the winning startup.

The goal is to move from idea to launching an actual product or service within three months, officials said.

Wasabi’s model is to partner with entrepreneurs, spend time with them and help them learn how to grow their companies. “They pick up some sort of senior talent to help them along here,” Kuegler said.

Wasabi portfolio companies include PB Works, an online collaboration tool, which has 4.5 million users a day; interactive broadcast platform UStream; and Gizmo, Kuegler said.

“I guarantee you three years from now you’ll have heard of Gizmo, in about three months it’s launching,” he said.

Based in Palo Alto, Calif., in Northern California’s Silicon Valley, Wasabi also has local offices at abi at 33 S. Commercial St.

Write to Denis Paiste at dpaiste@unionleader.com.