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Call for Entries: PITCH 2010: Women 2.0 Startup Competition, Deadline October 1!

The 4th Annual PITCH: Women 2.0 Startup Competition is open to early-stage ventures around the world, from high growth business ventures in web 2.0 to mobile, from enterprise web/mobile to consumer clean/biotech. Applying companies must be in beta stage and have not received significant funding. Deadline to apply to PITCH is October 1st, 2010.

This competition is in line with Steve Blank’s position that startups plan while companies model — hence, Women 2.0 is holding a business model competition rather than a business plan competition. Judging is based on not just the initial business model but what the team learned by pivoting, for example, avoiding the “beauty contest” of business plans where judges resort to choosing the best “paper exercise” plan (rather than the best business or the team that has made the most progress in figuring out product-market fit). Teams, whether they win or lose, finish the competition significantly more prepared to launch their business in the real world.

A handful of startups will be chosen to pitch live in San Francisco at the 4th Annual PITCH Night on November 4th, 2010. Previous years’ prizes included meetings with Michael Moritz (Sequoia Capital), Tim Draper (Draper Fisher Jurvetson) and Esther Dyson (investor in companies such as Flickr, del.icio.us, and 23andMe), and a host of startup-friendly services.

Quick Facts about PITCH 2010:

1. The founding team must have at least one female.
2. The founding team must have a technologist* on the founding team. A technologist is an engineer, scientist, mathematician, biologist, etc.
3. Your venture must be in beta. This means you should have a prototype (alpha or beta version) or the product is already in the market.
4. PITCH is focused on companies with high-growth potential.

Apply to PITCH: Women 2.0 Startup Competition

How to apply to the Women 2.0 PITCH Startup Competition — there are 3 parts:

1. Fill out the application by following the link below. Once you start an application, you may edit your application anytime prior to the closing date of October 1st, 2010. Application fee is $50 per startup.
2. Mail in your business model scribbled on a paper napkin — Capture your creativity on the paper napkin with your doodles and drawings. Submit your business idea on a paper napkin no larger than 7×7 inches. Your name and contact info must be on the napkin so we can match it with your online application. Napkins must be received at 63 Bovet Road, #519, San Mateo, CA 94402 no later than October 1st, 2010. Napkins will be exhibited to the public at PITCH Night. By default, your napkin will be exhibited. If you do not wish to participate in the exhibition, state clearly on a note and attach it on the napkin.
3. Film a 2-minte video pitch — Think of this as a traditional TV commercial, and the audience/viewers are your “perfect” customers. How will you pitch your product to them? The video should be uploaded along with your business plan through Angelsoft. Uploading video takes time and bandwidth, we suggest you do not wait until the deadline to submit your video pitch.

All applications will receive feedback from at least 3 members of the judging panel. Judges are investors and successful entrepreneurs who take time to review your application in detail and provide honest, constructive feedback on your venture and application. For a list of the judging panel, click here.

Finalists will be notified October 14th, 2010 and invited to present at the Women 2.0 PITCH event in San Francisco on November 4th, 2010. If you are selected as a finalist, the entire team must present at PITCH.

Starts
Ends / Deadline	October 1 2010
Homepage	http://www.women2.org/pitch-competition-2010/
Contact	women2.0@gmail.com
Issues	Gender/Women, Media, Digital Divide, Digital Media, Media Literacy