Setting up a Pitch Competition
Running a successful pitch competition stems from executing early preparation well. We will walk you through setting up and managing to have the most successful competition possible.
It is best to pair a pitch competition with a panel to help broaden the audience and increase attendance. A panel of high-profile investors (well-known angels, Venture Capitalists, or funders in general) will help your marketing efforts for applications and a broad audience.
Through this process, you’ll see that you’ll focus on startup applications for the first half, and then you’ll switch to concentrating on attendees.
Six Weeks
Week 1
Secure personal: Judges & Panels
The judges and panel will be an essential part of your marketing efforts and are critical to the competition’s success. If you have well-known panelists and funders, it will incentivize applications and attendees. Founder’s number one driver is raising capital. Put them in a position to network with investors, and you’ll have a well-attended event.
- To save time in the subsequent steps, grab the judges/ panelists: Bio, Photo, and Company Logo.
Secure a venue.
You do not need to spend money here. Many people in the early-stage ecosystem (lawyers, accountants, cowering spaces) will have access to event space they will trade for sponsoring and marketing their brand.
Sponsors
Start tapping people in your network in the ecosystem. Service providers that benefit from the exposure and want access to early-stage startups (such as Lawyers, Accountants, PEO Services, etc.) are generally great people to turn to for helping put events on like this.
Through out this process make sure that you are taking care of your sponsors. The exposure is great, but they need a ROI from the event.
Create marketing material templates
Create a template for highlighting a judge/ panelist
Create the template and wording for social posts for your judges and power connectors to share. The easier you make this on them, the more likely they are to assist.
Create the event for attendees either through the Spark Events tab or Eventbrite.
Create a Sparkxyz Competition Application (Schedule a demo if you aren’t already a user)
Suggestion for rounds:
Early-Bird Application Deadline
Application Deadline (when the deadline passes for the early bird round, Delete/ Archive this round and rename the first round Application Deadline)
Due Diligence
Finalists
Prizes
Start working on finding people that will monetarily sponsor an award or with services in kind. Sparkxyz users can leverage the Sparkxyz Perks Package as a nice $500,000 in-kind prize.
Week 2 & 3
Kick-off marketing Drive
- Social Posts: Post one or two of the panelists/judge’s templates (depending on the number of people you have) and have them share via their social.
- Individually email every power connector in your network with a blurb and the application link for them to share via social media and with their network.
- Power connectors: anyone who has access to a lot of startups. Entrepreneurship directors at universities, lawyers, accountants, service providers, and my favorite — outside sales professionals as it is their job to be out in the network connecting us all. Make sure you are treating them well, and they will help you in any way they can!
Week 4
Early Bird Application
Entrepreneurs are famous for procrastinating. It makes sense, as they constantly drink out of a fire hose. Creating an “early-bird” application gives them a reason to finish the application, and you’ll be able to spend more time reviewing the applications that come in early. In Spark, you want to make sure your first round in “timeline” is named as an early bird application.
Forty-eight hours before the early-bird application deadline, email the started applications to complete and submit their applications.
Start pushing the attendee version of the event to get people registered. Tap your power connectors to send out and post the new event link.
Week 5
48 hours before the closing of the application, send out an email to all of the started applications to push them to complete their application.
The final application is now closed. Narrow down the field and conduct due diligence interviews with the founders.
Confirm the location is still good for hosting.
Buy snacks and alcohol or hire a caterer for the event.
Week 6
Social
Daily Posts highlighting the finalists.
Venture Profiles
Make sure you are leveraging the startups venture profile in your social posts (the public version of their application).
Linking the logo and a one-liner tells investors nothing about the ventures pitching. If you link their venture profile it will give us a good synopsis of what the startup is doing and will incentivize investors to come watch the pitch.
To locate their public profile from judging simply click on the name
Add these links to whatever event platform you are using or simply use the add function on the Sparkxyz Event Creation
Judging
Onboard Judges onto the Spark platform.
Make sure they understand how to judge and what criteria you are using.
Sponsors
Promote sponsors via social and by emailing all of the applications through the Sparkxyz platform. Send out their offerings if they decided to offer a perk for applicants or send out their contact information.
Event
Congrats, you’re at the finish line. Host the successfully run event, run the awesome panel, and rate the startups.
You’ll want to conduct the judging via Spark (on mobile or their computer) so that you can annouce the winner immediately.
Scores are updated in real time so you can avoid the awkward five minute delay and silence that kills the mood at the end of the event.
