It’s a challenge in the science/computing-based innovation world.
How do you make gatherings of the faithful both fun AND informative, without drowning in dull, dry scientific factoids?
ZZZZZZ …
The idea was for BioAlberta’s members and guests to get together in an after-work reception, to exchange business cards and pleasantries.
And, at the appointed hour, to listen to the pitches from six individuals who have invested their blood, sweat, tears and likely their life's savings into startup companies. Those individuals are now looking for outside investors to assist them to jump over financial hurdles en route to a successful, profitable company.
The twist?
This was a practice session for the presenters.
Five evaluators were scattered among the stand-up audience, making notes and “grading,” on a scale of 1-5, various aspects of the pitch.
One last rule: The pitch – convincing the audience that your company was the perfect place to park investment dollars – could not be longer than five minutes.
It perhaps wasn’t fun for the presenters – you could tell who was nervous – but the audience sure enjoyed the pretence of being Mr. or Mrs. Money Bags, pretending to have a wad of cash to invest in high-risk/high-reward companies.
And in any case, there likely were some serious investers in the room.
For those brave enough to present their pitches, the added bonus was the constructive pointers they received from the evaluators, helping them to be the most effective pitch-people they could possibily be.
Some were great, some were good, some were not-to-great, but hey, at least they were trying.
The great thing is each one got valuable experience in speaking to a crowd, along with constructive pointers on improving their pitch.
The pitch may be nothing but the sizzle on steak. But without the sizzle, it’s tough to find the steak!