{"id":47264,"date":"2018-08-24T08:25:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T08:25:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/?p=47264"},"modified":"2025-05-15T20:22:04","modified_gmt":"2025-05-15T18:22:04","slug":"tips-tools-organize-engaging-fruitful-startups-pitch-contests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/innovationiseverywhere.com\/fr\/tips-tools-organize-engaging-fruitful-startups-pitch-contests\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips & Tools To Organize The Most Engaging and Fruitful Startups Pitch Contests"},"content":{"rendered":"

Startup companies keep popping out everywhere, so as pitch contests, where startups gain access to capital, networks or media attention, and corporate organizations or investors are looking for opportunities to generate revenues. <\/span><\/p>\n

As a contests organizer, it is critical to make sure your event can engage all the participants, and generate the most enlightening innovations.<\/span><\/p>\n

Now the question is \u201cwhat can you do to organize a successful and engaging pitch contest?\u201d. Here are some tips which could help.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Define your target, and select the right criteria to evaluate startups<\/b><\/h2>\n

As an organizer, what do you want to achieve and what are your targets? <\/span><\/p>\n

What kind of startups are you looking for?<\/p>\n

A corporate company might be looking to reinvent your business model, \u00a0or to find B2B startups with services that can boost its productivity. They could be looking to recruit new talents with technical skills or a digital and creative mindset, or boost its employer\u2019s brand name among the tech community. \u00a0Or maybe you\u2019re looking for startups to solve a very specific problem. <\/span><\/p>\n

Your target will help determine a list of criteria to select startups for the pitch competition, and to select the winner during the event. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Pre-selection criteria might be more specific. For example, you might be considering only startups with a functional technical team in Data \/ AI, to make sure the startups have the technical capacity to provide the solution.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Invite and engage the startups<\/b><\/h2>\n

One way to find startups is to call out to them through a communication campaign, via coworking spaces, specific tech media, social media, etc. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You can invite specific startups by doing a research online (for example using the Crunchbase<\/a> database) – or by hiring an agency that offers startups sourcing. \u00a0They will identify and pre-analyze startups so that they fit in with your targets. <\/span><\/p>\n

To motivate startups to participate, you must offer them a prize: it can be equity-free grants or a seed investment. Other than money, they can be motivated by the opportunity to pitch in front of corporates to develop a pilot project or in front of top VC firms in their industry to attract more funding. Winners can also be offered incubator \/ coworking space, expert mentorship, media coverage or other advantages.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

For example, Fenox Venture Capita<\/a>l offers US$1 million in funding.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

P&G and the coworking space Impact Hub in Singapore organized a pitch competition in 2016 whose winner got access to P&G insights and mentors, a SGD 25,000 prize money, possibly to pilot their product, and potentially form a long-term partnership with P&G.<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

If your target as a corporate organizer is to collaborate further with the startups, make sure you have simplified processes in place to allow such collaboration (simplified contracts and confidentiality agreements, shorter payment terms, clear decision-making timeline etc.)<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Choose the contest venue<\/b><\/h2>\n

Based on the number of participants, a good place should be easy to access, have enough space, be well designed to make the audience focus on the stage, and be equipped to make sure the presentations go smoothly.<\/span><\/p>\n

Make sure the space reflects the image you\u2019d like to give during the pitch contest. For example, as a corporate, prefer a coworking space event room to an old-style hotel conference room if you\u2019d like to get closer to the tech community. <\/span><\/p>\n

You could aso partner with a popular tech event to organize your pitch event competition, which will provide you with even more visibility among the startups community.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Unilever Foundry<\/a>, the innovation lab of Unilever, has been organizing a startup competition during the Innovfest unbound event in Singapore, one of the main tech events in the country, for the last 3 years.<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/h2>\n

Form the jury<\/b><\/h2>\n

During a pitch contest, the jury is a very important part, as it is responsible for providing meaningful directions and guiding the investors and corporate organisations. As organizers, you must make sure the jury you selected corresponds to certain criterias.<\/span><\/p>\n