Radius Indiana Brings Pitch Competition to the Region

BEDFORD, Ind. (Sept. 3, 2019) — Radius Indiana is hosting its first-ever multi-county pitch competition on October 4, open to high school students and adults in the eight-county region. The contest is an opportunity to present a startup idea, product and/or business plan and receive useful feedback and advice from a panel of judges, which will be comprised of business owners from the Radius region.

Participants in the competition, which will be split into two categories based on age groups, will receive feedback from the judges and entrepreneurial advice from experts, as well as compete for cash prizes and in-kind services. Cash prizes will range from $200 to $1,000 depending on the level of competition that is won.

The competition will be divided into two regions, allowing four counties to compete at each of the opening rounds of the competition. Participants will have three minutes to give their presentation. The winners of the east and west regional contests will meet head-to-head in the final round, where the ultimate winners will be announced.

The first round of the contest will be concept-focused, with the winning participants from the two first-round competitions asked to refine their idea/product for the final round.

East Region: Crawford, Lawrence, Orange, Washington Counties

October 4, 2019 | 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

StoneGate Arts and Education Center | Bedford, IN

 

West Region: Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Martin Counties

October 4, 2019 | 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m.

WestGate Academy | Odon, IN

 

Final Round: Top contestants from East and West Regional competitions

December 6, 2019

Time and venue TBA

 

Pitch competitions are an important source of new small businesses. In Indiana alone, there are over 508,000 small businesses, with 1.2 million jobs supported by those businesses. Within the South Central Indiana Small Business Development Center region, 17 new businesses were started in 2018.

“Supporting entrepreneurship, at any point in the creative process, has become a very important initiative to Radius,” said Radius Indiana CEO and President Jeff Quyle. “Our entrepreneurship and small business growth support are services that allow Radius to provide a new level of depth and assistance to the local economic developers in our eight counties.”

All new business ideas are welcomed and may be at any stage of the development process, including the prototype stage. Presentation topics may come from a wide range of business sectors, from the restaurant industry, to new software development, to defense sector work. Contestants will be judged on the following:

• Problem and Solution
• Competitive Advantage
• Target Customer
• Financials
• Presentation
• Visibility
• Overall Pitch

Information about event registration and a guide to preparing presentations for the competition are available at www.radiusindiana.com/pitch-competitions/. The registration deadline is September 20. Selected applicants for the competition will be notified by September 24.

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ABOUT RADIUS INDIANA: Radius Indiana is a regional economic development partnership representing eight counties in Southern Indiana: Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Orange, and Washington. Formed in 2009, Radius Indiana also serves as a point of contact in Indiana for Naval Support Activity Crane and leads regional collaboration by leveraging the diverse assets of Southwest Central Indiana to drive attraction, retention and expansion of business, thereby increasing employment and investment opportunities and quality of life within the region.