---
title: "Meetings Memo: Winning Pitch"
id: "46790"
type: "post"
slug: "meetings-memo-winning-pitch"
published_at: "2019-06-02T07:00:41+00:00"
modified_at: "2026-11-01T22:41:13+00:00"
url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/06/02/meetings-memo-winning-pitch/"
markdown_url: "https://associationsnow.com/2019/06/02/meetings-memo-winning-pitch.md"
excerpt: "How to design a successful conference pitch fest."
taxonomy_category:
  - "Meetings / Events"
taxonomy_post_tag:
  - "AssociationsNow"
  - "competition"
  - "event planning"
  - "Meetings"
  - "startups"
taxonomy_content_format:
  - "Article"
taxonomy_role:
  - "Director"
  - "Manager"
taxonomy_persona:
  - "Association Professionals"
---

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 » Meetings Memo: Winning Pitch

More associations are bringing startups and investors together at their annual events for Shark Tank-style competitions, but the International Society for Technology in Education was ahead of the curve: It launched its own Pitch Fest six years ago.

Here’s some advice from ISTE to those considering a pitch competition for their own event:

**1. Build in development time.** In the beginning, there’s a long list of decisions to be made, Senior Manager of Corporate Relations Angela Price [said to PCMA (opens in a new tab)](https://www.pcma.org/ptchfest-international-society-technology-education-how/)
, including deciding how startups can apply, determining eligibility requirements, setting the rules, and coming up with a plan for promoting the event.

**2. Figure out your selection process.** The most time-consuming task is selecting finalists. For that, Price has outside help: The Pitch Fest’s sponsor supplies volunteers from the startup community who go through applications and choose finalists.

**3. Dig deeper.** Once finalists are chosen, Price said you have to do your due diligence, and research whether the applicants have accurately represented themselves.

**4. Plan onsite logistics.** Price said you need an emcee and someone to run the time to make sure that those pitching don’t go over their allotted time. ISTE’s Pitch Fest allows five-minute pitches with two minutes for judges’ questions.

**5. Know your voting method.** You want a voting method that is accurate and user-friendly—and one that has gone through extensive testing ahead of time. At ISTE, the audience texts votes, which are combined with the judges’ votes.

**6. Offer a worthy prize.** ISTE traditionally awards the winners a booth in the following year’s expo hall and a corporate association membership. But the real draw for participants is the exposure that startups get for their companies to ISTE’s audience of 18,000 attendees.

*(3D-Guru/Getty Images)*

(Albertpego/Getty Images)

[Samantha Whitehorne](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/)

Samantha Whitehorne is a former editorial director of Associations Now in Washington, DC.

[More articles by this author](https://associationsnow.com/author/samantha-whitehorne/)

Tags: [#competition](https://associationsnow.com/tag/competition/)
 [#event planning](https://associationsnow.com/tag/event-planning/)
 [#Meetings](https://associationsnow.com/tag/meetings/)
 [#startups](https://associationsnow.com/tag/startups/)

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