One of the occupational hazards of this job is the constant bombardment of startup pitches. Some hit the mark, but many fail to register.
Now, here’s your chance to practice your pitch, and quite possibly earn some cool prizes along the way, including the chance to pitch to a crowd of geeks and investors at the GeekWire Meetup and Elevator Pitch on Oct. 23 in Seattle.
Beginning today and running through Saturday, we’re kicking off a “Startup Pitch Competition” with the Founder Institute in which any Seattle-area entrepreneur can submit his or her one-sentence pitch in the comment thread of this post. The top pitch will earn free admission to the Founder Institute’s entrepreneurial bootcamp, a 15-week program taking place in Seattle from Oct. 9 through the end of January. (Cost is typically $995).
In addition to that prize, the top five entrepreneurs whose pitches we like the most will win the chance to join us on-stage at the Crocodile Cafe Oct. 23 for the GeekWire Meetup and Elevator Pitch.
Founder Institute creator Adeo Ressi; Seattle entrepreneur Dan Shapiro; Hark co-founder David Aronchick; GeekWire’s Rebecca Lovell; and Founder Institute’s Dave Parker have agreed to judge the entries, provide feedback and help pick a winner of the Founder Institute prize, which we will announce on GeekWire sometime early next week.
Make sure to clearly describe your business, including company name, target audience and the overall problem you’re trying to solve. Also, please include your name and a link to your Web site, so we can contact you if you win.
Don’t think you can do it in a sentence? We think you can do it in 30 words.
Here’s an example:
GeekWire is the leading technology news site based in Seattle, covering our region’s people, companies and innovations, creating community and catalyzing conversation through breaking news, online features, and events.
The contest is open to entrepreneurs in the Seattle region. To compete, post your one-sentence pitch in the comment thread below, with your name and a link to your site. Deadline for submissions is 9 p.m. Pacific time on Saturday, Sept. 29. Good luck, and happy pitching!
UPDATE: The winners of the one-sentence pitch competition have been chosen, so check out our post here. Also, for those who’d like to join us for the GeekWire Meetup on October 23rd, sign up here.
