The MERLIN Pitch & rePlay is back
Musical chairs for entrepreneurs … but the music doesn’t stop and no one is cut out of the process. MERLIN Mentors is again hosting the MERLIN Pitch & rePlay on Zoom Thursday August 12, 2021 2:00 – 4:00pm.
This session gives entrepreneurs a unique opportunity to fine tune their pitch in a non-competitive environment to a few interested listeners. They get immediate feedback on their idea from a small but eager audience. All this is repeated five times to different small groups where entrepreneurs get to make corrections perfecting their pitch and their presentation style all while gaining helpful feedback and meeting others who can help. Those who pitch range from individuals who have been thinking over an idea, to CEOs of companies preparing to go into the investor arena for funding.
In prior years as a live event in a room buzzing with conversations, the Pitch & rePlay has proven to be an extremely successful event. Several now well known startups on the Madison Scene have used this forum for their initial pitch to the startup community. For 2021, with special thanks to 5 Lakes Institute for Zoom support this virtual Pitch & rePlay will be similar to that used successfully in the g-Beta’s Mentor Swarms.
The intent of the Pitch and re-Play is a departure from the typical pitch event. The structure of most pitch events is a ‘one-shot up and out’ experience for the entrepreneur where feedback is limited to a few questions at the end (if that). All presenters are winners here as each presenter gets to pitch five times in succession to five different small groups of interested listeners. This enables participants to perfect their pitch making changes on the fly and testing ideas on ways to better convey their stories. The exposure to five different audiences provides small group dynamics and facilitates receiving helpful feedback on each pitch. Also entrepreneurs potentially make new connections with people who can help.
Guidance for those who want to Pitch
Due to the limitations of the virtual setting only five entrepreneurs will be pitching. Application deadline is July 31, 2021. Although having an existing entity (for profit or not for profit) is not a requirement, those who apply should have thought through the problem they are addressing, their solution, how they intend to build a sustainable business and how their skills and experience rise to the task of executing the project
Specifically a good pitch should cover:
- who you are
- what problem you are solving
- who you target as customers
- why your solution will interest them enough to buy and
- how you will build a sustainable business around your vision.
The format is simple. Following welcome remarks, all attendees will be moved to rooms of 5-8 attendees each. the number of rooms = the number of entrepreneurs pitching. Each entrepreneur will be assigned to a ‘room’ to meet his/her initial audience. Each entrepreneur gets 15 minutes in the room, 5 minutes to pitch, and the rest to answer questions and receive feedback. Entrepreneurs will receive a 1 minute warning prior to rotating to the next room. Entrepreneurs should be able to deliver 5 pitches to 5 very different diverse and helpful audiences. This is a very active participatory event. Through the Zoom software screen sharing option entrepreneurs may elect to use a slide deck should they chose.
For questions contact Chief Pitch Wrangler, Dennis Barnum
Applications to pitch are closed.
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