To Pearson Crutcher, executive director of the Society of Entrepreneurs (SOE), there isn’t much that beats listening to someone talk about their startup.
“I love seeing what creative things people are doing,” she said. “It's so motivating, and so exciting, when you hear these stories.”
Fortunately for Crutcher, she’s the principal organizer of an annual event that brings these stories to the spotlight — and it’s slated to return for the fourth time.
A local pitch competition, “The Next Big Thing,” is set to be held Nov. 10, and applications are now open. A joint venture between SOE and Epicenter, it provides Memphis-based startups and scale-ups the chance to compete for a $10,000 prize, as they make elevator pitches before a panel of judges.
Once again, it’s expected to be held in the Methodist Presentation Theatre at the University of Memphis’ FedEx Institute of Technology, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Each competitor will make a three-minute pitch, and then face a lighting round of questions from the judges, which can last up to five minutes. Participants and attendees will then go to a cocktail reception, while representatives from the accounting firm The Marston Group tally votes.
After this, a winner will be announced. Last year, victory went to John Wilcox and his startup, Diatech Diabetes, which is developing a software platform that could ensure people with diabetes everywhere obtain proper amounts of insulin. Before this, Lia Winter and her medical device business, Winter Innovations, took the top honor. And in year one, Phillip Ashley Rix and his company, Phillip Ashley Chocolates, scored the $10,000 prize.
Applications are set to close on Sept. 16, with six finalists then being selected, and notified on Sept. 30. Startups interested in competing should click here to fill out an application, and scale-ups interested should click here.
But why open applications in August and close them in September, when the event isn’t until November?
Because the six finalists don’t just give themselves a pat on the back on Sept. 30 and then show up for the event five weeks later. Leading up to it, they have multiple prepping sessions at Epicenter’s headquarters Downtown, where they receive pitch training and coaching.
“Not only does this help founders refine their pitch, it helps do so within the time limits of the competition,” Epicenter president and CEO Jessica Taveau told MBJ, over email. “In past years, participants have come into the process with varying levels of experience pitching their businesses to investors. Because they go through coaching together, they end up learning from each other and supporting each other.”
This goes hand-in-hand with one of the biggest opportunities for program participants: they have the chance to make important connections, and not just with the other finalists. Epicenter continues to engage with them beyond Nov. 10, and the event has, at times, led to investment and mentorship from its judges. These judges are SOE members, and generally prominent Memphians. Last year’s roster included Church Health founder and president Dr. Scott Morris; Landers Auto Group president Kent Ritchey; KGR Group founder Edith Kelly-Green; Crews Center for Entrepreneurship founder Hilliard Crews; and EnSafe Inc. founder and chairman Phil Coop.
“The [SOE] members have so much to offer, and so much to give, just in their brain,” Crutcher said. “They’re brilliant, and they’re so willing to help. Even if they [the finalists] don’t win the prize, there’s nothing more valuable than being able to sit down with someone who’s built a huge company, who's willing to answer your questions about how they did it. I think there’s a lot of really good things to come out of this.”
