Contestant Submissions – June 2020

June 01, 2020

Craft a Perfect Pitch – In 10-12 slides, describe your entrepreneurial idea or proposed change initiative in a way that demonstrates the solution’s value to your audience. As with the personal cases in DSI, change initiatives can be generalized as a recommended strategy for Company X, operating in Y industry, and no sensitive internal information should be shared. Similarly, HBAP’s Community Values and Academic Honesty policies apply – any entrants who violate the integrity of the competition may be disqualified, so we ask that you uphold these values at all times. Remember, selected finalists will only have 10 minutes to present to our panel of judges, and must include the following details in their proposal:

  • Team members (individual submissions accepted)
  • Problem statement – clearly articulate why your solution is needed
  • Proposed solution – how will you meet this need?
  • Value proposition – what benefits are derived from addressing the problem, for both the organization and its target market?
  • Implementation plan – indicate the steps you will take to make this solution viable, including plans for scaling and contingencies to address potential pitfalls

You will need to log into the DI Platform in the upper right corner of the screen in order to see the Submit button – if you cannot recall your password from when you submitted your DSI Personal Case, you can perform a password reset. Please upload your slides in the form of exported PowerPoint images – any notes you wish to include can be typed below each slide to give added context about how you will present this idea to the judges/audience. Detailed instructions and a video illustrating the recommended steps can be found in the About tab at the top of this page, and an example submission can be found below. If you need help getting started, this template from the HBS Rock Center might help to formulate your pitch.

You will be able to edit and upload revised versions of your presentation until May 31st at 11:59pm EST. Submissions will be open for comments and revision until that date, so you can incorporate any edits throughout that window, with only the final submission formally reviewed for selection.

Finalists – June 2020

June 01, 2020

The results are in! Reena Gajjar and her Minis4Me pitch came away with the victory at our finale event. Please congratulate our finalists and feel free to connect with them about their submissions.

Finalists:
eShoka.org – Charles Carter
Minis4Me – Reena Gajjar
WiBi – Jeremy Langer, Bill Fine, and Todd Brous

Honorable Mentions:
Cornerstone – Andrew Miller
LendingTrio – Joseph Morstad, Arpit Sarin, Bhupendrasinh Thakre

 

Contestant Submissions – September 2020

August 21, 2020

Craft a Perfect Pitch – In 10-12 slides, describe your entrepreneurial idea or proposed change initiative in a way that demonstrates the solution’s value to your audience. As with the personal cases in DSI, change initiatives can be generalized as a recommended strategy for Company X, operating in Y industry, and no sensitive internal information should be shared. Similarly, HBAP’s Community Values and Academic Honesty policies apply – any entrants who violate the integrity of the competition may be disqualified, so we ask that you uphold these values at all times. Remember, selected finalists will only have 10 minutes to present to our panel of judges, and must include the following details in their proposal:

  • Team members (individual submissions accepted)
  • Problem statement – clearly articulate why your solution is needed
  • Proposed solution – how will you meet this need?
  • Value proposition – what benefits are derived from addressing the problem, for both the organization and its target market?
  • Implementation plan – indicate the steps you will take to make this solution viable, including plans for scaling and contingencies to address potential pitfalls

If you need help getting started, this template from the HBAP short course might help to formulate your pitch.

Submit Your Pitch – Please Read Carefully – You will submit your pitch by logging into this platform in the upper right corner of the screen and submit via the Submit link on this page. If you cannot recall your password from when you submitted your DSI Personal Case, you can perform a password reset.

Important: You must load your slides in one by one as exported PowerPoint images and not as a link to an existing PowerPoint deck. For each slide, you have the opportunity to provide context and notes for each image to the judges and audience.

Please review this video on the About page to submit your pitch properly and qualify for the competition.

For reference, here is an example of a submission that follows the guidelines.

You will be able to edit and upload revised versions of your presentation until August 21 at 5 p.m. ET. Submissions will be open for comments and revision until that date, so you can incorporate any edits throughout that window, with only the final submission formally reviewed for selection.

Important: For those interested, Marily Nika will hold a workshop on Aug 11 at 3pm ET about pitching and pitch deck best practices – zoom link.

 

Finalists – September 2020

September 12, 2020

The results are in! Suman Roy and her pitch for Storytime came away with the victory at our recent finale event. Please congratulate our three finalists and lend your thoughts to their submissions.

Contestant Submissions – January 2021

December 30, 2020

Craft a Perfect Pitch – In 10-12 slides, describe your entrepreneurial idea or proposed change initiative in a way that demonstrates the solution’s value to your audience. As with the personal cases in DSI, change initiatives can be generalized as a recommended strategy for Company X, operating in Y industry, and no sensitive internal information should be shared. Similarly, HBAP’s Community Values and Academic Honesty policies apply – any entrants who violate the integrity of the competition may be disqualified, so we ask that you uphold these values at all times. Remember, selected finalists will only have 10 minutes to present to our panel of judges, and must include the following details in their proposal:

  • Team members (individual submissions accepted)
  • Problem statement – clearly articulate why your solution is needed
  • Proposed solution – how will you meet this need?
  • Value proposition – what benefits are derived from addressing the problem, for both the organization and its target market?
  • Implementation plan – indicate the steps you will take to make this solution viable, including plans for scaling and contingencies to address potential pitfalls

If you need help getting started, this template from the HBAP short course might help to formulate your pitch.

Submit Your Pitch – Please Read Carefully – You will submit your pitch by logging into this platform in the upper right corner of the screen and submit via the Submit link on this page. If you cannot recall your password from when you submitted your DSI Personal Case, you can perform a password reset.

Important: You must load your slides in one by one as exported PowerPoint images and not as a link to an existing PowerPoint deck. For each slide, you have the opportunity to provide context and notes for each image to the judges and audience.

Please review this video on the About page to submit your pitch properly and qualify for the competition.

For reference, here is an example of a submission that follows the guidelines. Additionally, check out this article for 10 key elements of a successful startup pitch deck, with real examples from founders and backed by investors.

You will be able to edit and upload revised versions of your presentation until Wednesday, December 30 at 5 p.m. ET. Submissions will be open for comments and revision until that date, so you can incorporate any edits throughout that window, with only the final submission formally reviewed for selection.

Important: For those interested, Marily Nika will hold a workshop on Thursday, December 3 at noon ET about pitching and pitch deck best practices – Zoom link.

Finalists – January 2021

January 15, 2021

The results are in! Rima Abu-Hamdan and her pitch for LinX won both crowd favorite and judge’s choice during our finale event. Please congratulate our three finalists for their excellent work, and feel free to continue connecting with them regarding their ventures!

Developing Your Idea and Team Building – June 2021

September 03, 2021

Describe and submit your digital, data, or analytics opportunity. This submission is optional for students participating in the HBAP Pitch Competition. Use this platform to share your early-stage idea, describe the skills you have, and also what needs you have so that people who are looking to join teams can determine if your team is a match. In your submissions, please include the following details:

  1. Vision and value proposition: A quick one-sentence overview of the opportunity and value you provide to your business, customers or suppliers (describe it in 140 characters or less). Some examples to help you brainstorm: Send better email (MailChimp), Rides in minutes (Lyft), A great shave for a few bucks a month (Dollar Shave Club), Shorten. Share. Measure (Bitly).
  2. The problem: What problem are you solving.
  3. Target market and opportunity: Who is your ideal customer and what is the estimated market size.
  4. The solution: How will others (e.g., customers, clients, suppliers etc.) use your product and how will it solve their problems.
  5. Team: Who’s on the team and why they’re the right people (what other positions do you need to fill?).
  6. Competition: How are you different from the competition or alternatives in the market today?

Please note that this site and submissions contained in it are public-facing and can be read online. Students are welcome to submit minimal information at this stage.