The Fast Pitch Competition is an exciting event held during Riverside County Innovation Month (April 2022), where entrepreneurs present their business ideas to a panel of esteemed judges. The competition is open to all entrepreneurs, not just those in the Inland Empire. The event will give over $30k in awards.
We Covered this in our Weekly Wire Round up
Fast Pitch Competitions – Innovation Month
Fast Pitch Competitions are designed to showcase a business concept and its market potential in front of judges. This is done in an interactive forum, where the audience is encouraged to ask questions and offer suggestions. These competitions allow entrepreneurs to practice their public speaking and selling skills.
The Fast Pitch Competitions allow entrepreneurs to pitch their business concepts to successful entrepreneurs, investors, business leaders, and community members.
Fast Pitches also give the audience insights into innovative businesses headquartered or operating in Riverside County. Anyone can attend the events for free, but registration is required.
There will be four regional Fast Pitch Competitions, namely:
- Southwest Region Quick Pitch Competition (will be held on April 4 between 11:30 A.M to 1:00 P.M)
- Corona Regional Fast Pitch Competition (will be held on April 5 between 3:00 P.M to 5:00 P.M)
- Greater Palm Springs Fast Pitch Competition (will be held on April 7 between 2:30 P.M 4:30 P.M)
- Epic/SBDC/Riverside Fash Pitch Competition (will be held on April 7 at 5:30 P.M)
Guidelines
The Regional Riverside County Innovation Month Fast Pitch Events winners will have the opportunity to pitch at the County Finale in Temecula on April 27, 2022.
Each regional Fast Pitch Event will send one participant to the County Finale. Additionally, two Epic SBDC finalists will compete in the County Finale.
Competing Guidelines
You must satisfy the following requirements to compete in the Regional Fast Pitch Events for Innovation Month in April 2022:
- Have a commercially successful startup in Riverside County.
- Have a minimum viable product sold or received early finance (less than $1 million raised to date, excluding grant support).
- Apply to be considered for a panel at a Regional Fast Pitch Event.
- For the Regional Fast Pitch Events, prepare a five-minute short pitch.
- Before the event, prepare a pitch deck; PowerPoint slides are allowed but not advanced over the 5-minute mark.
Qualifying for the Finale – Guidelines
Apart from competing guidelines, below are some additional guidelines to qualify for the Riverside County Finale Fast Pitch Event:
- You must complete an hour of training with UCR’s EPIC Small Business Development Center to qualify for the Riverside County Fast Pitch Finale (SBDC). Before the County Finale on April 27, 2022, all training must be completed. You will get this training for free.
- Pitch a technology-savvy business concept or a scalable company with a plan for consistent growth.
- Be a recommended tech startup by EPIC SBDC or qualify for a Regional Fast Pitch Event, as previously outlined, sponsored by Riverside County Innovation Month (two total).
Review the guidelines here to know more about how you can prepare for a “Fast Pitch” presentation.
Judging Criteria
The judging criteria of the Regional Fast Pitch Competition will be as follows:
- The 5-minute pitch presentations will be judged, and the answers to the questions provided by the judges.
- There are five categories, each with a one-to-five score and a 20 percent weighting.
- Identifying the quality of the pitch
- Review of the business model
Learn more about Fast Pitch Judging Criteria here.
CRITERIA SCORE
The criteria score will be given depending on the following factors:
- Value
- Differentiation
- Viability and Scalability
- Quality of team
- Pitch presentation
You can learn more about the score criteria from the Fast Pitch Scorecard.
0 Comments