Startup Funding: Local Pitch Competitions

As a startup, you will need to raise capital in order to fund your business ideas and creation. 

The great news is that there are multiple roads you can take in order to get the money, one of them being to pitch local competitions.

You can easily identify and find local pitch competitions as a way to fund and raise awareness about your startup!

This will allow you to present your products or ideas in front of an audience, as you gain the confidence you need to pitch to investors down the line. 

Many local communities run Dragon’s Den™ style competitions, but they are far less competitive, meaning you also have higher chances of winning. 

Discover the advantages and disadvantages to local pitch competitions here.

Advantages

These local pitch competitions are typically a low-risk option, with no downside of entering except not winning.

They can be used as an opportunity to gain publicity and spread further awareness about your business, growing your network. Think of it as a way to build strategic partnerships in your community.

You can also keep your audience engaged so that by the time your product or service hits the market, they will want to snatch it up right away.

Even your connections with investors could grow if you were successfully able to impress members in the audience.

The pitch process is great practice for when you pitch investors, and you will even receive expert feedback at this early stage.

Disadvantages

Be mindful of the competitions that you are entering so that you are not wasting your time. For instance, do you even have a chance of winning at this particular competition?

The last thing that you want to do is invest a lot of time in a business presentation and not be chosen for any of the prizes.

You’ll also want to be careful about what information you choose to disclose in a public manner, especially so early in the startup phase.

Yet another disadvantage can be that large volumes of funds are not available during these local pitch competitions.

Pitching the local competition

If you are a startup founder looking to fund your new business, then local competition pitching could be a great resource to explore.

Overall, there is generally nothing to lose by trying out a local competition in order to raise capital.

And if this doesn’t match your style, there are countless other options for funding available. Keep an eye out for our startup funding resource articles!