When Guerrilla RF announced its 50,000-square-foot, $6 million expansion earlier this fall, founder Ryan Pratt pointed to his win at the Capital Connects pitch competition as one of the early launchpads of his success.
Up-and-coming entrepreneurs who think they have a million-dollar idea will have a chance to do the same this year at Capital Connects, which will be held April 13 at the Elm & Bain event venue in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina.
Applications from entrepreneurs are being accepted until Jan. 10.
These days, winners can receive up to $20,000 in cash and in-kind prizes. But when Pratt participated in 2013, he said the value was in the networking.
“There were so many people there – investors, advisers,” he said. “Within a couple weeks, we also won an NC IDEA grant. Those two things, they really ended up being very firm proof points for a lot of the investors we were talking to.”
Hosted annually for more than 20 years, Capital Connects is put on by Launch Greensboro, the entrepreneurship initiative of the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce. Previous Capital Connects participants have collectively raised more than $10 million from investors.
Lou Anne Flanders-Stec, executive vice president of entrepreneurship for the Chamber, said the event is all about connecting entrepreneurs with investors. A key component of the program is investor education.
“We’re thinking about how to encourage potential new investors to attend and get involved in early-stage investing,” she said. “You may not think you are an investor but you could be.”
According to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a person can be an accredited investor if they have a net worth over $1 million or make at least $200,000 a year or $300,000 together with a spouse or partner.
Flanders-Stec said the rise of crowdfunding means entrepreneurs are also able to raise substantial capital from non-accredited investors.
“A $100 check times 100 people in the community is a game changer,” she said.
Both accredited and non-accredited investors are invited to this year’s investor education sessions. Email Flanders-Stec at laflanders-stec@greensboro.org to sign up.
After the education sessions comes the main event – the pitches. Participants compete in one of two categories: a two-minute lightning round for seed-stage businesses and a six-minute pitch for Series A-stage businesses.
In preparation for the event, Flanders-Stec and her team work extensively with each entrepreneur on their presentations, ensuring that they are top-notch by the time judges and investors see them.
Leah Wyrick, CEO and founder of Three Strands Recovery Wear, was last year’s co-winner in the two-minute pitch competition. Three Strands makes post-operative mastectomy and breast reconstruction bras for cancer patients.
As a detail-oriented person, Wyrick had a hard time fitting everything she wanted to say into her allotted time. That’s where her pitch coach, then-Assistant Director Jenn Hensel, came in.
“I worked with my pitch coach to nail down what are the most important aspects of my company; and what are the things that are the most important that can make me stand out and help me finance my company so I can get my product out on the market,’” she said.
Wyrick used the $1,500 prize to help fund patent fees. Like Pratt, she said the connections made at Capital Connects were invaluable.
“After we had the event, I had so many people reach out to me,” she said. “People were very encouraging and wanted to help in any way they could.”