In light of our upcoming pitch contest we thought that it would be great to get some perspective from somebody who’s had a lot of experience with pitch contests before. So this is a guest post by community member Christine Ho of Well of Change.

On to Christine…

So you are considering entering a pitch competition? Let’s say you clearly explain your business and cover the basics: management team credibility, problem, solution, target market, customers, marketing, business model (how you’ll make money), competitors, competitive advantage, demonstrated traction, funding amount and how will it be spent. Take it from somebody who’s been both a judge and participant in numerous pitch contests. Whether you win or not, there are many benefits of participating in a pitch competition:

1) Pitch competitions are a great exercise. They can open your eyes and may evolve your business. Good intentions are not enough in social entrepreneurship. By helping your own business make money first, you will be able to achieve your social mandate in a sustainable manner. By continuing to bring rigorous business metrics, we can make social enterprises even more successful.

2) Pitch competitions have many winners. After the pitch, you’ll have more contacts for mentors, peers and attendees in the audience. If you use the opportunity wisely, the competition can be a marketing platform. We received our first angel investment in the off hours after one of our competitions. Whether it is a 30 second elevator pitch or a 20 minute presentation, a pitch is such a short time to fully evaluate a company. So follow up with your contacts.

3) Remember, the judges are not your jury. A competition usually has a panel of expert judges that are required to pick a winner. Firstly, their expertise may be outside your sector. More importantly, what does any one panelist really know? The old story is that 9 out of 10 companies funded by venture capitalist fail. Even the experts gamble. Therefore the customer is the only real jury. So on your next pitch, look to demonstrate market traction with your customers.

In conclusion, beware of assuming post hoc ergo propter hoc*. Do not believe the winning company pitched well therefore they must have prepared a lot for the competition. They probably won because they demonstrated a good business and winning the pitch was simply a reflection of that. So if you are a serious entrepreneur, my advice is work on your business.

Christine Ho

Thanks to Anfernee Chansamooth and Kevin Tsoi for reading drafts of this.

*Post hoc ergo propter hoc is Latin for “after this, therefore because of this”

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Christine co-founded WellofChange.org, a marketplace that allows you to donate any item and service to raise money for your favourite charity. She is a role model for “StartSomethingWithAlesse.ca”, a national campaign that gives grants to motivate young Canadians to take action. An entrepreneur at heart, she also started C Ho & Associates, an events marketing business that’s been involved with the Toronto International Film Festival and Canada’s Walk of Fame.

She has been a guest speaker at the Rotman School of Management, Ryerson University, Schulich School of Business and George Brown College. Christine has a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and Bachelor of Science in Computer Electronics (BSc) from Wilfrid Laurier University.

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Come check out YSEC’s pitch contest on Nov 25th as part of our Toast to Social Entrepeneurship celebration where we will be awarding two $1000 loans on the night. Click here for more info and RSVP.

Help support "Green it Up", an awesome initiative by Dom Kawa

The Aviva Community Fund is a three round process and YSEC is proud to announce that two members of the YSEC community have made it to round 2.

Dom Kawa’s Green It Up project’s mission is to transform every flat roof in the GTA into an ecologically-friendly green space. Green It Up roofs sustain vegetation and fresh produce and house solar panels that generate clean energy.

Susheela Ramachandran’s Elephant Tale organization is all about engaging Canadian high school students in a dialogue about human rights.  The sooner we are exposed to global issues, the sooner we can take a stand and start to make a difference.

Dom and Susheela are great examples of what innovations young Canadians bring to the table and the determination we all have to make a living making change. Both projects are sure to have a positive impact in the world.

Only the most popular ideas, as chosen by Canadians, will have a chance at sharing in the $500,000 Aviva Community Fund. So we all have to pitch in and vote for our YSEC community members. The best news? You don’t have to choose, you can vote for both ideas once a day, EVERY DAY!!

Follow the links and let’s cast those votes and help these ideas get the seed money required to advance their current actions. We’ll keep you posted on their progress. Happy Voting!

Every day it seems that new competitions are emerging for social entrepreneurs and social innovators to win money for coming up with great ideas to solve social problems.

Aviva’s Community Fund is offering up to $500,000 to Canadians with ideas to create positive change and improve the lives of people in our communities.

Dell’s Social Innovation Competition is offering $50,000 for university students from around the world to pitch innovative ideas that address social issues in the areas of human rights, education, and microfinance, among others, and to transform these  ideas into actionable plans.

The University of Washington’s Foster School of Business is running a Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition for university students worldwide to come up with ideas to alleviate poverty in the developing world for prizes up to $17,000.

Aid for AIDS is running a competition for young social entrepreneurs to come up with the most successful fundraising model, in terms of money, outreach and awareness, to support people living with HIV and AIDS.  The prize for this competition is $25,000 and a chance to intern with the Aid for AIDS organization.

The good news is not only that companies and organizations are putting large sums of money on the table to address critical human needs around the world, but that this indicates that social entrepreneurship and social innovation are finally entering into the mainstream.  Additionally, many of these competitions are directed at young people…

This is an exciting prospect.

The non-profit organization, Aids for Aids, has launched an exciting new global campaign challenging young people around the world between the ages of 16-25 to find new ways to raise awareness and funds to support people living with HIV and AIDS in developing countries.  

Winners of the Love Life: Search for Young Social Entrepreneurs will receive $25,000 as a seed budget to develop their ideas into a full-scale project during the summer of 2010.  Winners will also receive a paid summer internship at the Aid for Aids New York City office or one of their five satellite offices in Latin America during the summer of 2010.

We, at the Young Social Entrepreneurs in Canada,  think this competition is a great opportunity to showcase the innovative ideas and talent of young Canadians!

For more information on this competition and how to register, check out the Love Life: Search For Young Social Entrepreneurs website.