Competition Rules

The objective of the Pitch the Summit competition is to provide Emory undergraduate and graduate students with the opportunity to learn how to effectively pitch an idea for a new venture. Winning individuals and teams will receive mentorship, financial support, and in-kind contributions in order to move the venture forward.

A pitch verbally outlines an entrepreneurial concept or idea in a short period of time. Participating individuals or teams will have the opportunity to pitch their idea to panels of judges, with the most successful pitches advancing through three rounds of competition.

In preparing a pitch, teams or individuals should answer the following questions based on research and data, not opinions:

• What is the product or service?
• What need does it address?
• How can you prove this need? What have you learned via customer discovery?
• How does your product or service/attributes match the needs of your target market?
• Who are your key competitors in the marketplace?
• What is your competitive advantage/secret sauce?
• What is your business model/how will your business make money?
• What scalable or growth opportunities exist for the enterprise?
• How much startup capital do you need and what are your revenue projections? If relevant, what have you achieved already?

1. Executive Summary or Business Model Canvas (your choice)

This must be provided concurrent with your first round pitch deck and for those who advance, will be provided to the judges prior to the semifinal final round. If providing an executive summary it should be 2 pages or less and is NOT a slide.  No new information should be in here that is not already part of your pitch deck; think of this as a true summary of your venture. If providing a business model canvas a template is linked here but can be provided in any format as long as the section content is the same.  

2. Business Pitch and Deck

A ten minute pitch of a concept or idea. The oral presentation should involve the use of slides, props, or other visual material, but also stand on its own without written material. Unlike a business plan competition, a pitch allows students to bring concepts forward based on raw potential and momentum with the understanding that operational and logistics details may not yet be determined.

3. (Optional) Prototype/Website/Sales Data

While an actual business entity is not required to pitch, the most successful competitors in the past have some initial traction in the form of a working product or service, a user base, early revenue, or some other proof-of-concept.

Participating individuals or teams will have the opportunity to pitch their idea to panels of judges, with the most successful pitches advancing through three rounds of competition. Winning teams will receive resources to develop a business plan and prototype and to move forward towards implementation

Pitch the Summit is an opportunity designed to benefit Emory University students. The lead presenter(s) and envisioned founder(s) of the venture must be enrolled in a degree-seeking undergraduate or graduate division of the University.

In the case of a group pitch, the majority of venture founding members must be enrolled students in Emory University. Additional team members may be drawn from the community or affiliated with other universities. There are no restrictions in terms of resources and connections. Pitching teams may draw upon expertise, advisors, or other assistance from any source.

Each team will be limited to one entry in the competition.

Individuals can only be members of one team.

Teams cannot add additional members between competition rounds.

FORMAT

An individual or group of individuals may pitch. While there is no minimum or maximum team size, it should be noted that it is difficult for a large group of people to deliver the pitch. Teams that consist of both graduate and undergraduate students are encouraged to participate.

In each round, each team will be allotted 15 minutes with the judges:

• 10 minutes to pitch their idea
• 5 minutes for Q&A with the judges. Each round will allow participants to have 15 minutes to pitch their idea or concept and 5 minutes for Q&A with the judges.

Teams will not be able to change their overall concept or idea between rounds. Teams can modify their presentation and practice to polish their delivery, but the fundamental concept or idea must remain the same throughout the competition.

Teams will be able to use PowerPoint, visual aids, props, or other items during their pitch.

COMPETITION ROUNDS

First Round

(Wednesday, February 26 - Wednesday, March 5)

Each team will sign up for one 15-minute timeslot for their pitch. First rounds will occur virtually Wednesday, February 26 - Wednesday, March 5. Sign-ups will be first come, first served. First round judging will be done by a panel largely consisting of MBA candidates from the Goizueta Business School.

SUBMIT APPS HERE! 
 

Semi-Final Round

(Tuesday, March 18 and Wednesday, March 19)

The top twelve teams (six graduate and six undergraduate) with the highest total scores from the first round will be invited to present in person on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 18th and Wednesday, March 19th. The pitch format will remain the same as the first round. The panel of judges will consist of Emory faculty, staff and Entrepreneurs-in-Residence.

Teams selected to advance to the semi-final round will be eligible to participate in coaching with MBA candidates prior to the round. The focus of the session will be on style and approach, not on the content of the venture itself. Teams may sign up for coaching on a first come, first served basis. Following the final round, teams advanced to the semi-final round will also be awarded access to Emory Goizueta Venture Mentoring Services.
 

Final Round

(Friday, April 11)

The top six teams (three graduate and three undergraduate) with the highest total scores from the semi-final round will be invited to present in person on Friday, April 11 at the Emory Goizueta Entrepreneurship Summit.  

Prior to the final round the top six teams will have access to alumni, faculty and expert mentors for coaching. The focus of the session will be on style and approach, not on the content of the venture itself. 

The pitch format for the final round will be 10 minutes to pitch and 10 minutes of Q&A. 

All teams will be present for the entirety of the round and will be able to watch the other finalists' pitches. After all pitches are complete, there will be a short break for judging deliberations. Judges will award 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes for each undergraduate and graduate division. The judges’ determination will be final.

PRIZES

Final round individuals and teams will receive guidance, financial support, and in-kind contributions in order to move the venture forward.

There will be $25,000 in cash prizes distributed across the top six teams (three graduate and three undergraduate) teams to enable them to move forward with their concept. The cash prizes are for the entire team, not for individual team members. Cash prizes will be as follows: 

Undergraduate Division

• First Place: $7,500
• Second Place: $3,500
• Third Place $1,500

Graduate Division

• First Place: $7,500
• Second Place: $3,500
• Third Place $1,500

Confidentiality is not guaranteed. If a team wishes to keep elements of their concept or idea confidential, the team should not include that information in the pitch. There is no way for Emory Entrepreneurship Summit or its organizers to enforce a prohibition against other competitors, audience members, or judges who see or hear a pitch from sharing the concept, idea, and/or materials with others.

By participating in the Pitch the Summit Competition, competitors agree that Emory University, Goizueta Business School, and all related parties assume no liability and shall have no liability or obligation whatsoever for disclosures of information provided by a competitor as part of a submission or otherwise during the competition. Non-Disclosure Agreements (NDAs) between a competitor and the judges and/or audience members will not be required or allowed.