Pitch Your Idea to Startup Experts

Do you have an idea for a startup? Could you use blunt, honest (and maybe even a little soul-crushing) feedback on your ideas from experienced startup advisors and entrepreneurs who’ve been there, done that, and have the caffeine addiction to prove it? Then join us for the Startup Founder Hot Seat event, from Okanagan coLab.

During this event, founders will present their ideas to a panel of experts, who will then evaluate each presentation, and provide helpful feedback. Even if you don’t want to present, you are invited to register, hear startup ideas, and watch how the experts analyze and critique new businesses.

How Hot Seat Works

Submit your idea!

Submit your idea in no more than 35 words (that’s not much, we know) and we’ll send you feedback on your application within two weeks of Hot Seat. Only 5 selected entrants will be allowed — that’s right, this is going to be more exclusive than Mensa.

Looking for a pitch format to follow? Start with Founder Institute’s one sentence pitch framework to help you begin: http://fi.co/madlibs

The format is strictly a 5 minute pitch with 5 minutes panel feedback. (Lesson one of the startup world: If you can’t make them care within 5 minutes, you need to refine your idea until you can.)

Ideal for:

• Anyone who wants feedback from leading entrepreneurs
• Anyone who has an idea for a startup or an early-stage company
• Anyone who needs practice and expert advice on pitching

The Format

Founders submit their pitch to be accepted to present in front of an audience and judges in the “hot seat”. (If it helps, you can pretend the seat is suspended above a boiling vat of lava like in every James Bond movie ever.)

Be prepared to answer questions such as:

• What have you done to date about your idea? I.e. business research, contact with suppliers, sales, etc. (In other words: Have you actually gotten up off the couch, or is your canine shoe startup Wood Clogs for Good Dogs simply the product of a rhyming joke you made that one time on your coffee break?)
• What do you believe you need to do next to move your idea forward? What’s your biggest concern? (AKA How do you plan on getting from here to there? And don’t say “monorail”.)

Don’t worry, this is not the Dragon’s Den – you won’t be asked to make a formal pitch, and we promise to keep Kevin O’Leary far, far away from all of you.

Even if you don’t want to present, you are invited to register, hear startup ideas, and watch how the experts analyze and critique new businesses. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn what “KPI” stands for. Fun times!

For more startup events, visit http://okcolab.com/calendar

*When you register for the online Hot Seat you will be sent a URL 24-hours before the start time to join the live zoom call.