Pitching in to support Aussie StartUps

 As an early adopter of Uber, I’ve caught thousands of rides over the last five years and from all of the rides, none have been as memorable as the one I took on October 29.

It wasn’t because the driver offered me a bottle of water and mentos. Nor was it because I had the option of playing my favourite playlist straight from my phone. There were no kittens and I wasn’t even brought a tub of Messina ice cream. It was much more than that… October 29 marked the Sydney debut of UberPITCH, a global initiative aiming to uncover startup talent on our capital city streets.

The event connected myself and six other business leaders with some our nation’s next generation of entrepreneurs; the forward thinking innovators who, with the right support, will shape the future of our economy and pave the way for new markets as the mining boom unwinds.

On October 29, I caught a glimpse of the future for Australia's startup scene and I have to tell you, I’m pretty excited about what’s in store. From analytics and gaming to retail and home automation, the calibre of ideas that were pitched on the day were at an all time high.

The process emphasised just how much talent and opportunity we have here on our shores,  yet it also uncovered the lack of support and infrastructure available for the startup community in Australia.

With more than 5000 requests coming through on the day, demand was through the roof and unfortunately many missed out on pitching their idea.

Whilst many of the participants were seeking out funding, many simply wanted advice from others who had gone through the process and made it out the other end. This hunger for a simple conversation highlights the need to nurture and grow our startup community. We need to network, share insights, and create a greater sense of camaraderie.

Thankfully, there is still another chance to get you big idea heard!!

Uber has partnered with Investible and The Mark Bouris Show to bring to Sydney an interactive workshop and networking event this Wednesday where you can learn about entrepreneurship and have the chance to pitch your idea to top-tier angel investors.

The top pitch of the day will be chosen by Mark Bouris, Trevor Folsom (Angel Investor, Founding Director of Investible), Craig Blair (Co-Founder and Managing Partner of AirTree Ventures), Lisa Messenger (Editor of renegade COLLECTIVE) and myself. The winner will get a place on the Branson Centre Bootcamp powered by Investible (valued at $5,000) and the chance to appear on The Mark Bouris Show.

If you’re coming along, be sure to check out my tips for curating a winning pitch.

PITCHPerfect - Tips for a winning business pitch

• Less is more - You've only got seven minutes so determine what is the number one point you need to get across and focus on it. Make it punchy, know your stuff, and have research to back it up!

• Be Real -  Take a step back and remove yourself from the excitement and enthusiasm that often comes with a new idea or venture. Look at your idea with fresh eyes and consider the brilliant, good, bad and the ugly. Be real and honest; we're not here to rip your idea to shreds, but we will give you an honest opinion and pose legitimate questions about its viability. Pitching an original and quirky idea that has legs will grab my attention, but demonstrating you have addressed every possible speed bump along the way will wow me.

• Let passion override the salesperson in you - to stand out in the crowd show your passion rather than over doing the salesperson pitch. I've received so many pitches that have been butchered into obscurity. Making yourself sound clever isn't as clever as you think!

• Outline but don't over exaggerate the growth opportunities - being realistic with targets is more impressive to investors than hyping up the growth.  Sometimes too much growth at once can kill a business idea.

• Visuals do help - if your business idea is simple or complicated, a visual in the form of the actual product, an infographic or even a quote that demonstrates why your business shows promise helps  to get the point across in a short time frame.

• Make me remember you - whether you use humour, show me something I've never seen or demonstrate to me that you know something your competitors don't so that I can remember you and your pitch

• Be confident no matter what - back your idea and yourself all the way. If you don't believe in you, I won’t believe in you.

Here's a clip of one of the great pitches from the day which was presented by Matt Mills , founder of HireFlow ; 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySmIhbIhKaM