BATON ROUGE, La. — As part of BREW 2019, NexusLA will host a high-stakes pitch competition that will culminate in a final live pitch event on Friday, Nov. 15, where an investment prize of $100,000 will be awarded to the winner. Details were shared in a press release.
Applications for the program are due by Sep. 23 and must include a two-page executive summary. Participating businesses must have less than $250,000 of annual revenues and received less than $250,000 in capital investment (not including friends and family) as of Dec. 31, 2018. Applicants should have a strong management team with a unique offering and high potential opportunity.
“We realized that a truly high-stakes pitch competition based on investability was important to help raise the profile of high-potential companies in Louisiana and connect them to our regional investment community,” said Genevieve Silverman, president and CEO of NexusLA. “We believe that this competition, while rigorous, will be a great step toward building a stronger innovation ecosystem in Baton Rouge.”
NexusLA is a Baton Rouge-based organization which connects the innovation and entrepreneurship community throughout Louisiana to resources, opportunities and solutions by implementing strategic initiatives that increase regional collaboration, access to capital and technology workforce diversity.
The competition is limited to Louisiana-based businesses, but companies based elsewhere may participate if they certify willingness to relocate if they win. Companies that have previously pitched for PitchBR are eligible to participate.
Qualified semi-finalists will be selected from the pool of applicants, and they will be notified on Friday, Sep. 27. Semi-finalists will send in a business plan, media materials, and a one-page summary for review and comment by semi-final round judges.
Semi-finalists will deliver their pitches behind closed doors on Wednesday, Oct. 24, at the Louisiana Technology Park. All teams will receive feedback on their pitches, but only four teams will be selected to continue to the final round and live pitch event.
These final teams will receive coaching and mentorship before delivering their pitch on Friday, Nov. 15, during BREW. Judges will choose the team they deem most investable.
BREW will take place from Nov. 12-15 at the Raising Cane’s River Center. Tickets and more information can be found at www.celebratebrew.com.
