Virtual Pitch Competitions

Think you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? From time to time, the Design & Pitch team hosts Virtual Pitch Competitions. Some are open to students from across the world, while others are designed for specific groups of students. Browse the sections below to discover what goes into a Virtual Pitch Competition and examples of pitch competitions we have hosted in the past or are currently hosting.

What is a Virtual Pitch Competition?

In a Virtual Pitch Competition, you will

1. Select a challenge,

2. Build a prototype solution,

3. Design a business proposition to show how you will make money, and

4. Record a 5-minute pitch to convince judges that your idea is the best.

New to entrepreneurship? Don’t worry, we’re here to support you throughout the process! Along the way, you will hear from real entrepreneurial professionals who will provide tips and tools to help you succeed. You will also meet several members of the Design & Pitch team who will explain some of the tools you can use to build your solution and your pitch.

Entrepreneurship

What is entrepreneurship?

Click the image below to watch a video about entrepreneurship.

Why entrepreneurship?

Talib Graves-Manns

Click here to listen to Talib Graves-Manns, one of our Entrepreneurial Role Models, talk about why he believes in entrepreneurship.

Heather Ames

Click here to listen to Heather Ames, one of our Entrepreneurial Role Models, talk about why she believes in entrepreneurship.

Pick a Challenge

If what you’ve read so far has you interested in trying a Design & Pitch Challenge, just pick one and try! We have nine middle school challenges and are developing nine high school challenges that come available as they are completed. Click the following links to choose your challenge.

Middle School Challenges

High School Challenges

Virtual Competition Tips

Instructional Videos

Watch these videos to learn more about what you should do for each step in the process: Launch, Prepare, Engage, and Persuade. These videos explain some of the resources you will find on the website and provide helpful tips.

1. Launch

This is an example of an edited iMovie presentation.*

2. Prepare

This is an example of a voice-over PowerPoint presentation.*

3. Engage

This is an example of a recorded Zoom presentation.*

4. Persuade

This is an example of a recorded Zoom presentation.*

*Each of the four videos above shows you an example of a different type of recorded presentation method that you can use for your final pitch. Of course, these aren’t actual pitches, but they show you what your recording might look like.

Previous Virtual Pitch Competitions

STEM Competition and Curriculum Investigation

This competition and professional development hybrid was built for pre-service teachers of middle-grades mathematics at North Carolina State University. These future teachers spent three days working through a challenge of their choosing and discussing various aspects of the Design & Pitch model, including foundational theories of design, implementation strategies, pedagogical methods, standards alignment, and much, much more.

Ambassador Pitch Competition

This competition was designed specifically for students of teachers who completed the Design & Pitch Professional Development in August 2020. After engaging in a one-week, interactive PD, these teachers took the D&P challenges back to their classrooms and their students, who then took part in this international Ambassador Pitch Competition. The winners of the Fall 2020 Ambassador Pitch Competition were Express Yourself, a team from that took on the Flashy Fashion challenge and developed an LED mask that allows the user to easily change the expression (both shape and color) displayed on their mask!

Summer 2020 Virtual Pitch Competition

In Summer 2020, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Design & Pitch team devised the inaugural Virtual Pitch Competition. This competition was open to all students, grades 6 – 9, across the country. Each week featured a different set of challenges for students to choose from. Follow the link to see some of the winning pitches from this exciting competition.