EVENT DETAILS

Contest Prizes for Each Category

The fourth annual Nevada Rural Pitch Day contest is an opportunity for anyone in rural Nevada with a business idea or existing business to pitch their concept, gain expert advice, and possibly win a cash prize to kick their idea or pivot into action!

Again this year, we will have two tracks, one for adults and one for students in middle and high school. The prizes are the same for both tracks.

Four individuals or groups with a business concept will have the opportunity to pitch an original business idea, to a panel of experts and an audience of entrepreneurs, small business owners, potential investors, students, and business and community leaders on November 3, 2023, virtually, and in person at the above mentioned locations.

Contest Prizes

First Place: $4,000
Second Place: $2,000
Third Place: $1,000
Fourth Place: $500
Audience Choice Award: $500

First place in the adult category receives free submission to StartUpNV’s AngelNV angel creation bootcamp that will award $400K to one Nevada based startup. First place will also win a Sales Strategy Session with Liz Heiman of Regarding Sales.

Application & Registration

The application is open to all, and will be narrowed to 4 (four) entrants for each track, who will be selected by the Nevada Rural Pitch Day organizing committee. The applications are due October 13th, 2023. Applicants will be notified by October 20th of the organizing committee’s selections.

Pitch Day Rules

The Nevada Rural Pitch Contest is open to individuals who live, work, are students, or those who currently operate a small business in rural Nevada. Submissions must be from individuals or teams with concepts for businesses located in rural Nevada.
Submissions may be entered as individuals or teams.
Each individual or team may enter only one idea or concept.
Pitch contestants may participate on only one team.
A maximum of two team members may participate in the final pitch to the panel of judges and answer questions from the judges and/or audience.
Competition is open only to individuals who complete at least 3 of the entrepreneur education videos available online.
The pitched idea or concept must be the original work of the individual or team. Ideas and concepts deemed by the organizing committee to be deceptive, insincere, offensive, immoral, or unethical may be screened and disqualified.
Participants can be any age.

Eligibility

Ideas and concepts pitched must be in the start-up or early stage of development. Individuals or teams must disclose any funding already received at the time of registration. Ideas or concepts may already be funded before this competition by personal or family funds, small amounts of seed capital from outside investors, or modest amounts of funding stemming from institutional or research grants. The organizing committee has the sole discretion to determine which teams are invited to pitch. It may also disqualify and/or remove any individual or teams for any reason that it deems appropriate before and/or during the pitch competition for violation of these rules. All decisions regarding team participation in the pitch competition are final.

Pitch Guidelines

Objective: The objective of the pitch is to define the idea or concept by explaining a product, service, or value proposition along with the market information to determine its potential and the proposed business model.

Pitch Application: Submit the following information about your idea to RuralNevadaPitchDay@gmail.com.

Team Contact Information: Include contact name, address, email and telephone.
Summary of Business idea (limit 250 words)
Market Analysis (limit 250 words)
Description of Product/Service (limit 250 words)
Description of Business Model and Sales Strategy (limit 250 words)
Names of Team Members

The Pitch is a summary of the idea or concept, i.e. the product or service. Its content is up to the team. Some elements to consider in preparing your pitch include:

Problem Statement
Value Proposition of Solution – How will the product or service add value for customers?
Target Market Characteristics – Who will buy the product or service? How big is the target market?
Differentiation – How is the product or service different from existing products and services?
Competitive Analysis – What is the competitive advantage? (patent, algorithm, unique service model, etc.)
Business Model – How will the product or service generate revenue? Who will buy and what will they pay? (sales, subscription, advertisement, etc.)
Revenue Estimate – How long will it take to generate revenue and what sales revenue is expected.

PowerPoint or slide presentations are allowed. Contestants may display/share/show prototypes, samples, or posters. Materials may be distributed to the judges (if meeting in person) during the pitch.

Time: Five (5) minutes are allocated to each team’s pitch. Five (5) minutes are allocated to Q & A with the judges. In total, each individual or team pitching will have ten (10) minutes maximum. Time will begin when the presenter begins to speak and introduces him/herself.

Confidentiality: Confidentiality is not guaranteed in any way. Do not include confidential material in your submissions. The pitch competition accepts no responsibility for preventing other competitors, audience members, or judges, sponsors or others who see or hear a pitch competitor’s idea or materials from sharing the idea and/or materials. Nondisclosure Agreements (NDAs) and Covenants Not to Compete between a competitor and organizing committee, judges and/or audience members are not permitted. Sharing your idea or concept may be deemed a public disclosure. It is the responsibility of applicants to consult with an attorney before entering the competition.

Organizers are not responsible for any confidentiality issues that may occur during, or because of, the contest. Pitch Day contestants agree that no liability from disputes arising therefrom.

Reproduction: Organizers may take photographs and/or video of any materials used or made available by pitching individuals or teams during the competition for public relations purposes. Any content presented by a contestant should be considered public information disclosure. Contestants should carefully consider excluding any proprietary information or materials that the competitor feels are at risk of disclosure.

Prize Money: Prize money will be awarded and allocated in equal shares to each individual member of the winning team, or awarded to the business if it already exists. The individual recipients of prize money will be responsible for the tax implications of their winnings. Contest prize money payments may be considered by the Internal Revenue Service as ordinary income to the individual(s) or team members receiving the prize money. For school age contestants a disclosure and permission must be signed by a parent or guardian and this person will receive prize money.

Contact: For any questions about the pitch, please contact us at RuralNevadaPitchDay@gmail.com.

Acknowledgement: Entrants acknowledge that by submitting the application to participate, they have consented to the rules of Rural Nevada Pitch Day contest.

Disclaimers

Rural Pitch Day – Launch Rural Nevada organizing committee reserves the right to disqualify any applicant or registrant who violates competition rules, or behaves in any manner that is not aligned with the mission and purpose of economic development in rural Nevada.