As you probably know, I’m passionate about pitching – because we SUCK at pitching here in Europe! So when the new Cologne-based incubator STARTPLATZ asked me if I would be interested in getting involved in a new program to help our regional startup entrepreneurs becoming better at pitching, I wasn’t hard to convince.
So say hello to the Rhineland-Pitch!
The Rhineland-Pitch is a pitch competition event held at STARTPLATZ every last Monday of each month that aims to heighten the quality of our regional startup pitches by providing intensive training to the applicant entrepreneurs and letting the winners pitch to a select and exclusive audience of entrepreneurs, press and investors.
A week in advance, all applicants get a one hour intensive crash course on pitching and after a rapid-fire elevator pitching session, the winners get an additional and immediate four hours of individual pitch training from yours truly.
At the end of the individual training sessions there’s immediately another selection process where the entrepreneurs present the pitch they’ve prepared and the best get invited to the Rheinland-Pitch event the following Monday.
So what do you win except for the glory? Well, a chance to pitch in front of and meet with investors, get critical feedback – AND a video of your final pitch to boot! (So you better make your performance count!)
And it’s all for free! So apply now for the next Rheinland-Pitch May 27th!
Last Monday April 29th saw the first ever Rheinland-Pitch and here are some impressions from it:
Some stats from the first round:
- 17 applicant teams
- 7 teams with the best elevator pitches received individual pitch coaching
- 5 teams made it through to the Rhineland-Pitch event
And the winners are:
See Thomas @boydroid Riedel of NERDHUB’s gallery for more photos of the event.
And check out this bonus video to learn more about the competition, coaching and selection process:
If you didn’t make it the first time, practice and try again! See you there!