Top 20 Startup Pitch Competitions You Must Join in 2018

Ask any entrepreneur what the most challenging thing about launching a startup is, and chances are they'll tell you the same thing: funding.

Indeed, raising the capital you need to get your startup off the ground is time-consuming, challenging, and frustrating. Since you're new, not many investors have heard about you. Even if you believe that your startup is going to be the next best thing sliced bread, you'll need to put out all the stops just to convince one investor to believe in you, and write that check to give you the funds you'll need to get your startup off the ground.

It’s for this reason why most startup founders choose to compete in startup pitch competition. In these events, the winner receives a cash prize that they can use towards scaling their startup. 

But that’s just the tip of the iceberg because even if you don’t win the grand prize, joining a startup pitch competition offers a lot of benefits and perks for you and your startup.

Pitch to multiple investors

Instead of just pitching to one group of investors at a time, startup pitch competition gives you the opportunity to pitch your startup to tens—if not, hundreds—of venture capital firms and angel investors. That means that even if you don't win the grand prize, there's sure to be a couple of investors in the audience that sees your vision, and will be willing to help you realize this, so you don't go home empty-handed.

Build strategic partnerships

It's not just investors that you'll get to meet in startup pitch competitions. You'll also have the chance to meet other startup founders that you can connect, share ideas with, ask questions, and may even collaborate within the near future.

Valuable media exposure

When your startup gets chosen as a finalist, you immediately share in the media exposure the pitch competition gets as the organizers of the contest promote this event to investors and other entrepreneurs. On top of that, many reputable websites cover these events, focusing their attention on the different startups competing in the event.

Receiving expert feedback

More important than the few minutes you're given to pitch your business is the time when the panel of judges of the startup pitch competition gives their feedback about your startup. That's because they will help you see potential gaps in your startup that can lead to expensive mistakes and heartaches in the future. Their feedback will give you the chance to address these gaps so that you minimize—if not, remove completely—these unwanted instances to occur.

How to dominate a startup pitch competition 

Whether or not you win the grand prize in a startup pitch competition, joining one can help build momentum for your business. But let's face it: standing in front of a couple of investors to pitch your business can be nerve-wracking, let alone an auditorium full of venture capital firm representatives and angel investors. Having only a few seconds to say everything you want to say just amps up the pressure.

Preparation is vital when it comes to preparing your pitch. Here are some tips to help you craft a pitch that will help you wow the audience, and increase your chances of winning the grand prize.

Do your research

Startup pitch competitions vary in their time limits, type of presentation, and criteria for judging. So make sure that you do your homework. Take some time to also go through the previous winners. Look for common characteristics they share. These are clues to help you craft your pitch so that it fits exactly what the judges are looking for, and increase your chances of taking home the grand prize.

Some accelerators and incubators host their own startup pitch competitions exclusive to those that were accepted in their startup accelerator programs. That said, take some time to check if the accelerator program you want to join offers this.

Hook them early

Even though a startup pitch competition gives you anywhere between a minute and five minutes to convince the judges, the first eight seconds are the most critical. That's because that's the average time that you have to make an impacton the judges and audience to get them hooked and to keep them listening to your pitch.

That said, it's essential to make it a point to capture the judges and the rest of the audience in your intro. One way to do this is by pretending that you're explaining your business to a 5-year-old. Not only will this help you make sure that you get straight to the point, but also choose the kinds of words you use more carefully.

This was the case with Airbnb. As you can see in their pitch deck below, they managed to tell the whole story about who they are, the problem they're aiming to solve, and how they intend to answer it within the first two slides of their presentation.

AirBnB Pitch Deck from PitchDeckCoach

Make your pitch deck simple but powerful

Your pitch deck is meant to serve to supplement your presentation. Having text-heavy slides can be overwhelming for your audience, causing them to zone out of your presentation.

A great way to prevent this is by using large fonts for your slides. This will make it easier for your audience to read what's on your slide. At the same time, you'll be forced to use fewer words, preventing the risk of overloading your slides with text that can distract you and your audience. 

Simple, of course, doesn’t mean that you’re only limited to using text in your pitch deck. Using graphs and charts in your pitch deck like what Square did can help make your presentation more compelling.

Square Pitch Deck from Vishal Kumar

On that note, make sure that you avoid using flashy animations when creating your pitch deck slides. Having too much of this can make your presentation look amateurish.

Stay confident but humble

No matter how nervous you may be doing a presentation, do your best to keep your cool and look confident onstage. You need to come across as someone who believes 101% of your business and product. Otherwise, you'll have a difficult time convincing the judges and other investors in the room. After all, if you're unsure about your business, why should they invest in it?

At the same time, make sure that you keep a humble attitude, especially during the Q&A. Becoming argumentative or arrogant will do more harm than good because if there's something that an investor doesn't like more than a timid startup founder, it's a proud startup founder who they know that will refuse to listen to anyone else, including their investors.

Practice your pitch

It goes without saying that you need to practice your pitch before the actual competition. This will help you not only exude a level of confidence when you go onstage but also will help you go through this within the time limit specified by startup pitch competition.

The best way to do this is to do a mock presentation for your friends and peers. Let them ask you questions after your presentation. That way, you can also prepare yourself on how you’ll answer the judges during the all-important Q&A session that comes immediately after your pitch.

Top 20 startup pitch competitions

Needless to say, there’s a lot of startup pitch competitions held all over the world for you to join. I’ve compiled a list of 20 below that’s worth considering. I’ve selected these based on location, amount of funding winners get, and audience.

[Click Here To Learn Where's The Top Startup Competitions]