Have you ever wondered how your idea would measure up when presented to a panel of investors? Often the execution of an idea hinges on swaying a third party into contributing capital. This stage can be as crucial as the idea itself. To prepare you for this challenge, we will simulate this process and prepare you for it together!

Welcome to The Golden Pitch

Throughout the Startup to Scale Up: A Program On What To Do Once The Company Starts To Grow HiOP, you’ll work towards the opportunity of entering a live business pitch competition with a physical prize. Every week, you’ll prepare a presentation showing how you are going to combine the teachings of the course and your studies, to scale your company efficiently.

What makes a Golden Pitch?

Each Golden Pitch will need to address the four module topics we go over throughout the Scaleup: How to successfully manage growth program:

• Understanding Scaleup: Here, you take stock and reflect on the situation of your company, your industry, and your markets. You work on making the distinction between your pre-growth stage and the scaleup stage, all to ensure you cultivate the mindset needed for it.
• Product and Market: Does the product or service you have on offer fit with the market you’re selling in? That’s what you figure out as you examine where your enterprise makes money and focus on the areas that will result in the exponential growth that’s a hallmark of this stage.
• Operations and Execution: Supply and demand can make (or break) your business. There’s plenty from the discipline of Operations you can capitalize on to turn profit increases into a reality to make sure you’re always in the right spot in your venture’s supply/demand equilibrium (hark back to the days of the Supply/Demand graphs from Economics).
• Culture and Team: Whether you deliberately design your team or not, choosing the right people and the environment in which they operate is crucial. In fact, this area is one of the ones that most surprises past course participants.

If that sounds at all daunting don’t fret: you’ll have the Assistant Professor at your disposal to help you navigate this path, providing you with feedback as you craft your golden pitch.

How do I put it together?

As with any pitch, time is of the essence. You’ll need your presentation to have few slides and be no longer than 10 minutes.

Do I have to enter?

While The Golden Pitch is entirely optional and the decision to take part is an individual one, we recommend that you participate as this is an excellent opportunity to put your idea to the test to ensure it stands up to the high standards of VCs and Business Angels.

We want to warn you upfront: things can get vicious. For those that are faint of heart, you may decide not to compete.

How The Golden Pitch Works

At the end of the program, the presentations that move on to The Golden Pitch will present their ideas to a small group of experienced professionals that will act as potential investors. While their job is to give you some constructive feedback as you define your model, their primary task is to poke holes in your business model to make sure that their money is safe should they decide to invest in your idea.

Following the presentations, the fictitious investors will determine the winning pitch, or pitches (you never know) that will receive a prize.

Wait, what about intellectual property and whatnot?

Don’t worry. Any information on your company will not be shared with any third party unless you expressly agree to it.

And what if I’m not currently involved in a project?

That’s no problem either. If you’re still up for competing but not currently at this stage, you can craft your very own Golden Pitch using a notable example from the business world.

Up to the challenge that awaits you in The Golden Pitch?

If you’re ready for more wisdom about creating your company’s culture and team during the Scaleup: How to successfully manage growth  HiOP, download your copy of our informational brochure here. If you’re all ready to join our next edition, go ahead and get started on your application.

And tune into our brand-new trailer: