Startups – Ready to Perfect Your Pitch? Apply to Warm-Up Pitch by October 17!

Now that the constraints of the pandemic have loosened, we’re hosting another Warm-Up Pitch event to help you prepare for presenting to investors. If you are close to being investment-ready (have a working MVP and revenue or are very close to it), this competition will hone your presentation skills and teach you what investors are looking for in potential portfolio companies. In addition to the opportunity to present on stage in front of coaches and investors, qualified candidates will attend a pitch workshop and two pitch practice sessions prior to the Warm-Up Pitch.

While this is not an investment pitch, winners will receive a non-cash prize package that includes services that will help them prepare their startup to be investment ready. Prizes will be awarded for First and Second Place

Investment Readiness Checklist:

  • Do you have a working MVP or prototype?
  • Do you have revenue or other measurable traction?

Program

Those accepted into the program will attend three workshops in-person in November and December to prepare them pitch at a in-person Mock Investor Salon in early December. Attendance at all three workshops is required to be able to pitch at the Mock Investor Salon.

Important Dates
  • 10/17 by 11:59 PM Application Deadline
  • 10/20 Those selected to participate will be notified
  • 11/3 Workshop will be held from 6-8 pm at Capsity Oak Park
  • 11/10 Workshop/Pitch Practice will be held from 6-8 pm at Capsity Oak Park
  • 12/1 Workshop/Pitch Practice will be held from 6-8 pm at Capsity Oak Park
  • 12/6 Warm-Up Pitch Competition at Granite City Coworking & Event Center in Folsom

The deadline to apply for StartupSac Warm-Up Pitch was
 Monday, October 17 at 11:59 PM. Stay tuned for the next competition!

 

Warm-Up Pitch Alumni

Twenty-four startups have gone through the Warm-Up Pitch program since its inception in December of 2018. Here are some of the participants in Warm-Up Pitch who have gone on to raise investment capital.

 

Presenting SponsorSacramento MetroBusiness Center

Platinum Sponsor

Greater Sacramento Economic Council

 

Silver Sponsor

Five Star Bank

Venue Sponsor

Granite City Coworking

 

Pitch Practice Sponsor

Capsity

 

Additional Sponsorship opportunities are available. Contact Laura Good for details.

About StartupSac Warm-Up Pitch

Overview
StartupSac Warm-Up Pitch is an event designed to help near investment-ready startups hone their presentations skills and pitch decks. A cohort of Sacramento region startups is selected to attend three Investment Pitch Preparation workshops and then competes for a prize package in front of a panel of judges and an audience of investors, mentors and other key players in Sacramento startup ecosystem. A First and Second Place are selected and awarded a non-cash prize packages of services that will help them advance their company. The presenting startups do not offer investment opportunities–this is a Demo event only. The events help participants develop presentation skills, provide valuable feedback for future pitches to investors, and connect startups with mentors and coaches.

Objective
Improve Sacramento’s economic trajectory through innovation by improving the viability, visibility, and scalability of Sacramento startups by holding a series of community startup pitch competition events each year.

The Need
A 2018 report by the Brookings Institution found significant gaps in our innovation ecosystem – that Sacramento lags our peers in business dynamism and that to improve our economic trajectory requires actions to help young innovative firms start and scale.

Founders and investors report a need for more pitch events in the region to better prepare startups for pitching to investors for funding, to gain access to high level advisors in order to help them scale and succeed. Additionally, many startups lack connections with experienced advisors and mentors that can provide invaluable insight, guidance, and experience.

Past Events

StartupSac launched our first Warm-Up Pitch event in December 2018. Since that initial event, we’ve organized 3 additional events, as well as a “Best Of” Showcase event. Unfortunately, the pandemic put the program on a two-year hiatus. Through these events we’ve provided two dozen local startups with the opportunity to hone their investor pitches and connect with investors. You can read more about each event including participating companies and winners in the summaries below.