Idaho Entrepreneur Challenge 2022 Guide

This is a guide to all things IEC 2022.

Main Contacts

Beyond your university or college’s coach, we are here to help you with any questions.

Schedule for Wednesday, April 6th

Tentative and subject to slight changes.

• Out of Town Check-In: 3:00-5:00

• IEC Teams Dinner and Introduction : 6:00-7:00

• Pitch Practice: 7:00-10:00 p.m.

Schedule for Thursday, April 7th

Tentative and subject to slight changes.

• Pitch-Off: 9:00 to 1:00

  • Your team will pitch 3 separate times to 3 different groups of judges

• Lunch: 1:00-3:00

• Tabletop Presentation (mini-tradeshow feel): 3:30-4:30

• Awards Ceremony and Finals Pitch-Off 4:30-6:30

Items We Need From You by March 15th

• Company Logo

• Brief Company description

• 20-30 Second Intro Video

• Provide a headshot or photo of your team that will be appropriate for social media and our program

• Sign and return the photo release form

Other Deliverables Needed Before the Competition

• Minimally schedule at least 1 pitch practice with Ryan Vasso or Nic Miller from the Venture College team (we recommend more than 1)

• Schedule a logistics-walkthrough with Cara Van Sant

• Completed Pitch Deck sent to Cara Van Sant

  • Files need to in PPT or link to Google Slides.

Pitch Details:

• All pitches will be 4 minutes or less

• Pitches will need to be u

• Please follow the general pitch-deck outline

  • Please note the template is merely a suggested guide You may:

    • Change the order of the slides

    • Brand the slides with different colors, titles, etc.

• Pitches will be followed up with a Q&A session with judges for 4 minutes or less

• If your team has multiple members, it is not required that they all present during the 4 minutes. It’s your choice.

• Each team will pitch three times during the pitch off. If you take 1st place in your track, you will pitch one more time (against the other track winners) in the Finals Pitch-Off

Scoring Rubric:

IEC places a heavy emphasis on companies that are progressing and show traction (i.e. not simply an idea competition). Pitches will be scored on six criteria sections:

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. How likely is the team to launch their idea into the market within the next 3-6 months?

5. How realistic is their business model (including costs/financials, etc.)

6. How was the overall quality of their pitch presentation & Q&A performance?

Pitch Resources:

1. Keep your slides simple, with minimal words. You are doing the presenting, not your slides. See pitch deck examples.

2. See examples IEC Finalists Pitches in IEC 2019

3. IEC 2019 - Door Step

4. IEC 2020 - Karmic Outdoors

5. IEC 2020 - CatheterX

6. IEC 2021 - Cargo Made-EZ

7. IEC 2021 - Honu Systems

8. IEC 2021 - 3D PrinTcess

Table Top Presentation:

Between the normal pitching rounds and the finals' pitch-off, each team will stand and present at your table top presentation. Each team will be given a table. You may decorate or add visuals to your liking, including:

• Banners

• Poster board

• Flyers

• Demo of a physical Prototype

Here are pictures from the 2019 Table Top presentation:

2022 Tracks & Teams

Pitch Deck Tips

Download the official IEC Pitch Deck Template

Please note the following suggestions:

1. The template is just a guide. You can change colors, remove all logos, etc.

2. Some topics, like financials, are easier to explain over two slides. For example you could have one slide showing cost vs. revenue, followed up with a slide that shows projections.

3. Use minimal words on your slides. Replace words with icons or pictures. Some slides, like a problem slide, might not need any words at all - it’s just a visual aide to what you will be talking about.

4. For more tips, see: https://www.boisestate.edu/iec/helpful-hints/#tips-from-past-judges-