The Launch Place, an entrepreneurial development organization based in Danville, VA, in partnership with First Flight Venture Center in Research Triangle Park, NC, is accepting submissions for its fifth annual Big Launch Challenge. This business plan competition provides startups nationwide with valuable business networking and investment opportunities, on top of a chance to get some exposure for their brands.
The competition will have two elimination rounds, which will produce ten finalists who will participate at the live pitch event on November 7th, 2018. These finalists will be given twelve minutes to present their business plans to a panel of judges and will then go through a short question and answer block.
“The goal of the Big Launch Challenge is to provide early-stage startups the opportunity to pitch their ideas to investors, and for The Launch Place Pre-Seed and Seed Fund to generate deal flow,” says The Launch Place President and CEO, Eva Doss. “It’s always a different experience every year, and I look forward to seeing the types of startups who apply this year.”
Judges for the event consist of The Launch Place Seed Fund Advisory Members, and other angel and VC fund managers and investors located in the Southeast region. This year, Paul Singh, founder of Disruption Corporation and serial investor in 2,200+ companies, will be the keynote speaker for the event and will join the panel of judges during the competition. With his startup background and vast corporate experience, Singh will be able to offer unique insight to competitors and audience members throughout the competition. Paul will be in Danville from November 6-8, as part of his American Tech Tour, meeting with entrepreneurs, community leaders and established businesses.
Interested startups should have fewer than ten employees, the potential to grow and locate a part of their business to the Dan River Region, and a willingness to receive mentorship from. Ideally, companies wishing to participate in the Big Launch Challenge will be working to fill a need within the IoT, software, green technology, alternative energy, medical device, and advanced manufacturing industries.
The Big Launch Challenge has awarded $120,000 in prizes to past competitors, including Velosal Medical, 3F, LLC, PT Wired, Encapsio, The Wed Clique, Tom & Jenny’s Candy, and VitalFlo, who received a pre-seed investment from The Launch Place last year for their lung health analytics platform.
The application deadline for the competition is August 27. Competition winners will also receive access to several resources provided by The Launch Place and First Flight Venture Center, including training, networking, mentorship and early-stage prototyping.
The Launch Place
The Launch Place provides new and early stage business support services and seed funding for the Danville City and Pittsylvania County region of Virginia and Caswell County in North Carolina. As an entrepreneurship development organization with the purpose to plan, fund, launch and grow companies, TLP helps companies to get started or to expand their operations by providing business consulting services, office space, and by investing in them through its two investment funds. TLP manages two investment funds: Pre-seed Fund (investments up to $75,000), and the Seed Fund (investments up to $500,000).
About First Flight Venture Center:
Founded in 1991, First Flight Venture Center was created to foster innovation and grow sustainable companies. Today, First Flight is one of the nation’s largest and most stable incubators, playing host to more than 37 high-science, high-impact annually.