It's Finally Here!
We’re so excited as we love getting a glimpse (and being inspired) by your INCubatoredu and ACCELeratoredu students as they wrap up their journeys! But I’m thinking you have questions…Am I right? Here are some questions you may have followed by answers!
Q1: Remind me again….What is National Pitch?
The INCubatoredu National Pitch brings together student teams from across the nation to pitch their businesses and compete for funding. The National Pitch competition encourages INC teams to level up their entrepreneurship skills by pitching their business idea to a board of startup business investors at the national level.
👉Pitch will be held virtually on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, 4:30-6:00 PM CST
Q2: How is a team submitted?
We ask that the teachers at INCubatoredu member schools each nominate one student team to represent their school’s INCubatoredu program. Please complete THIS FORM to nominate your team.
Q3: My teams were all over the place this year, I’m not sure they are ready for primetime?
We recognize that this has been an extraordinary year and that schools may have approached INC very differently this year given the constantly changing schedules and virtual constraints. However, we do not want these constraints to limit celebrating your students' hard work!
Q4: Can I just share what my teams are doing but NOT submit for Pitch?
Yes! Here at INCubatoredu we are curious as to the different approaches to the year and would love to see how your school ended your INC year!
Take Note of Something New This Year
We added a component to the submission form. There will be a checkbox on the form to check if you would not like your students to be scored and considered for one of the finalist positions in the national competition, competing for seed funding. This will allow your students to be celebrated as their school’s selection without causing the stress of being a finalist.
Q5: Can I submit more than one team?
At this time, we ask that you only submit one team to compete in the National Pitch competition; however, if you would like to share what multiple teams are doing, we encourage you to submit their details but check the box not to submit for scoring.
Q6: What are you looking for this year?
All submissions will be reviewed by a committee of judges that will identify quarter-finalists and semi-finalists. Submissions will be reviewed by a panel of investors to identify the top five finalists by June 18, 2021. These five finalists will be invited to attend the INCubatoredu National Virtual Pitch on July 21, 2021.
Our scoring will be the same as it has been in years past, with one additional category asking students to reflect on the impact of the global pandemic. If you are not submitting for scoring, you can leave areas the students have not addressed, blank.
- Business Overview: problem and solution, customer segment, competitors, value proposition
- Investment Highlights: TAM/SAM, results of MVP and adjustments that were made throughout the process, revenue growth (marketing, sales plan, etc.), financial projections (presented through model and summary)
- Required Capital: capital required with the use of funds, proposed structure, clear exit strategy with estimated returns
- Professionalism: Presentation was credible, Visual elements on all slides and bullet points when verbiage is needed
- Virtual Learning: Discussed challenges and successes with their business operating in a virtual environment, Discussed if, and how, the global pandemic made them pivot their business
- Pitch is no more than 8 minutes in length. If sharing a recording from an event, please edit the video to only include the pitch, no Q&A
- Video must be hosted on YouTube or Vimeo. Ensure the share settings allow people with the link to view the video
- Students and their slide deck must be visible in video recording.
- If the volume of the video is inaudible, the submission will be removed from consideration
- Teams will be judged by the quality of content and their ability to pitch, not the quality of the recording.
Q7: When is the deadline?
Nominations will be accepted beginning Friday, April 23, 2021, at 8:00 AM CST and are due by Friday, June 4, 2021, at 5:00 PM CST.
GOOD LUCK and reach out to me with any questions!
