Startup competitions rules and guidelines

  1. Y O U     H A V E       F I V E       M I N U T E S
    We are serious - 5 minutes. After that we cut off your microphone and turn off your slides. No exceptions.
  2. You will have access to a presenter remote to change your slides. You will NOT have access to your slide notes. Be prepared.
  3. You will not have access to sound, also do not assume the video you prepared will be working. It may not.
  4. Have your presentation ready on usb stick before pitches start and hand it to the “tech guy”. Please name the file “name_of_your_startup.ppt/pdf” and not “democamp”. Even better - send it to us (democamp@democamp.org) the day before.
  5. http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2005/12/the_102030_rule.html
    Read it and use it. (This     http://bit.ly/ct1hUK is a no-no)
  6. Seriously consider buying http://venturehacks.com/pitching. It just maybe the best $9 you ever spent.
  7. PLEASE do not spend 2 out of 5 minutes to introduce yourself, the team and greet the audience. You have five minutes. Get straight to the point.
  8. Don’t really know how to structure your presentation? Here is a simple proposition:
    1. Intro
    2. Problem
      1. who has the problem
      2. how do you know it is a problem
      3. how much you think people can pay to have it solved
    3. Solution (up to 3 slides)
      1. what’s your solution
      2. why do you feel it is the most suitable one
      3. where are you know
      4. what are you plans for the coming months
    4. Team
      1. what are your previous accomplishments
      2. why are you the best for this job
    5. Business model
      1. how are you going to make money
      2. how much are you going to make
    6. Sales / Marketing
      1. how are you going to reach your audience
      2. who is going to sell your product
      3. how are you going to sell it
    7. Competition / Market
      1. how big is the market
      2. what part of the market will you be targeting
      3. who is your competition
      4. why do you think you can beat them
    8. Why are we here / what are we looking for?
      1. are you looking for funding?
      2. are you looking for partners?
  9. You have 5 minutes, that is 30 sec per slide in 10 slide presentation (you have no more than 10 slides right?). Or did we mention that already? ;)