Startup pitch contests. Worst idea, perhaps ever.
Unless you are trying to find out who the best actor might be that is. It’s like saying, “they just won the ‘Presidential debate,’ therefore they must be an awesome President.”
There is absolutely no correlation between the ability to deliver a pitch and the ability to successfully run a business.
What has spurred this bit of a rant is a blog post I woke up to this morning about the Founder’s Institute training their “student entrepreneur’s” on the fine art of pitching. Basically every incubator does this, so FI isn’t alone. And they do it for a reason, because this is what investors expect when you sit down with them, a well-polished pitch. And to be fair, investors usually don’t throw down money just because of a pitch, there is a lot more due diligence, usually.
I think that last point though, further due diligence, further backs up my claim that startup pitch contests do not actually determine the best business opportunity. They determine the best pitch, and that is all. In fact, winning a pitch contest might actually be harmful to your company, because it can bring a false sense of success; that you’ve achieved 'product-to-market fit.’ It will certainly raise the level of your profile for a short-while, but I don’t believe there are any self-fulfilling prophecies when it comes to becoming a successful business.