Basic Info

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Venture College will be in close communication about logistics, guidance, and updates. The best teams will make the most use of their time by doing the following:

1. Grow your business and build traction: Above all, use this time to get as much traction and validation as possible. Past winners have hit the boosters to go all-in and make business progress.

2. Pitch Practice: Use Venture College as a resource to schedule pitch practices, review the pitch template, etc. Pitch to friends, professors, anyone who will listen to your pitch.

3. Get Your Assets in Order: We will be asking for the following things -

   1. Your official business name

   2. Business logo

   3. Brief description of the business

   4. More detailed student info and pre-competition forms

   5. A quick 30 second video about your business (if you want to change the one from the application)

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1. Team Intro - Just needs your Business Name, Logo for a 10 second intro

2. The Problem - Sell judges there is a problem worth solving - and why current products or companies haven’t solved it

3. Your Service/Product - Explain what your service/product is or does, and the value it provides to customers.

4. Market Opportunity: The whole world might need your product - but who really really needs it now. You need to thread the needle and show this could be a big idea but you are laser focused on a beachhead to launch the idea.

5. Go-To-Market: On Slide 5 - you tell me a specific sub-segment who will love your business. Now you need to tell how you are going to market to them and launch the business through them.

6. Revenue Model: How you make money ($35 one-time or $35/ a month per user) and any relevant costs (especially if you are a product based-business).

7. Progress to Date: Sell the judges this isn’t just an idea. You have progress and traction.

8. Next Steps: What are your next steps to grow the business. How could IEC funds help?

9. Team: Brief overview on why judges should believe you are the team that can execute on your next steps and actually grow the business.

10. Questions: - Simple slide to help you thank judges and open up for questions.

Finals Round Scoring Rubric

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Teams will be scored on the following criteria:

1. How well do they understand and address the market and/or customer segment they are going after?

2. Do they have any uniqueness or competitive advantages that would make them more likely to succeed?

3. How much progress/traction have they demonstrated?

4. Is their business model, including costs, revenue, and go-to-market plan convincing and probable?

5. How likely is the team to launch their idea into the market?

6. How was the overall quality of their pitch?

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Pitch Deck Tips

Please note the following suggestions or tips:

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