If entrepreneurs don’t solve the world’s problems, nobody will.
There is no shortage of problems facing humanity, but there is a shortage of ambitious entrepreneurs trying to solve them. That is why today, the Founder Institute is proud to launch the Pitch for Purpose Competition.
The Pitch for Purpose Competition aims to empower and showcase ambitious entrepreneurs building impactful businesses across the globe.
In this free and open pitch competition, any entrepreneur or team building an impactful business (with less than $250,000 USD in funding) can submit a video pitch for a chance to be invited to join our Online Demo Day, judged by top venture capitalists and broadcast live to thousands of global attendees.
The top-ranked pitch from the Online Demo Day will then be crowned the Pitch for Purpose Champion, receiving the opportunity to pitch onstage at the world’s top conference for future technologies, 4YFN. The crowned Pitch for Purpose Champion will also receive Fellowships to attend any Founder Institute program worldwide, as well as receive personal Office Hours with top entrepreneurs from across the Founder Institute global network.
Apply to the Pitch for Purpose Competition today at fi.co/good, or visit the Founder Institute Facebook page to see the latest entrants and vote for the businesses you think can have the greatest positive impact in the world.
Applicable businesses include any products that can positively shape the future of our society, including those addressing gender and racial equality, space exploration, clean technology, food and water, fertility, financial inclusion, housing and urban planning, governance and democracy, education, healthcare and biotech, and other related fields.
The Final Application Deadline for the competition is Friday, April 26th at 11:59pm PT, and the Online Demo Day will take place on Wednesday, June 5th at 9:30am PT. Online public voting will factor into the selection process, so the sooner you submit your pitch, the better your chances are of being selected!
Contest Full Details:
In order to be eligible for the Pitch For Purpose Competition, you must:
- Have a business, or business idea, with less than $250,000 USD in funding.
- Business must, in the sole discretion of the Founder Institute, be creating products that can positively shape the future of our society, including those addressing gender and racial equality, space exploration, clean technology, food and water, fertility, financial inclusion, housing and urban planning, governance and democracy, education, healthcare and biotech, and other related fields.
- Submit a public, 30 second video adhering to our best practices to fi.co/good before April 26th, 2019 at 11:59pm PT. In addition, we will give strong preference to companies that also submit, in private, a pitch deck that will be requested shortly after the public video submission. Guidelines and tips will be provided to applicants for this pitch deck submission process.
Selection Process:
The Voting Deadline is on Friday, May 10th 2019 at 11:59pm PT.
Public voting will play a large, but not sole, role in our selection process.
- Semi-Finalists: On Monday, May 13th 2019, we will use the criteria outlined above to select 10 Semi-Finalists for the competition, notifying both the selected and non-selected companies via email. The semi-finalists will then be asked to submit additional pitch videos, and join mandatory pitch practice and feedback video calls with Founder Institute leaders to improve their pitch.
- Finalists: On Friday, May 24th 2019, the Founder Institute will select, in its sole discretion, the 3 Finalists for the competition. Both the selected and non-selected companies will be notified via email. These companies may be required to attend additional pitch practice video calls with Founder Institute leaders to prepare for the Online Demo Day.
- Online Demo Day: On Wednesday, June 5th at 9:30am PT, the 3 finalists will each present a 3-minute video pitch (with slides) to a panel of venture capitalist judges and a public viewing audience. At the end of each pitch, each judge, and the public viewing audience, will be asked to submit a numerical rating of each pitch. The numerical rating is 1-5, with 5 being the best, but with no 3s allowed! After all 3 companies present their pitch, the ratings of the pitches will be compiled, and the company with the highest numerical rating will be crowned the Pitch for Purpose Competition Champion. If the ratings have resulted in a tie between 2 or 3 companies, then the public audience will determine the winner through a timed online vote.
As with any online event, there is a possibility for technical or connection issues. If technical or connection issues arise for any finalist, finalists agree that there will be no “make-up” date for this Online Demo Day.
Prizes:
All Finalists will receive attendance to one of the following 4YFN events. The winner will receive:
- Opportunity to pitch onstage at 4YFN Shanghai 2019, LA 2019, or Barcelona 2020.
- Up to 3 Fellowships for team members to participate together in any Founder Institute program worldwide that begins in 2019.
- Opportunity to receive Office Hours with leaders from the Founder Institute.
Graduates of the Founder Institute are creating some of the world's fastest growing startups, having raised over $1.85BN in funding, and building products people love across over 200 cities worldwide.
See the most recent news from our Grads at FI.co/news, or learn more about their stories at FI.co/journey.
