Startups to Watch

Semi-Finalist Breakout Pitch Competition

Schedule:

Energy Pitch Competition - Tuesday, October 28 | 3:30pm - 4:30pm

Industry Pitch Competition - Tuesday, October 28 | 3:30pm - 4:30pm

Nature and Water Pitch Competition - Wednesday, October 29 | 9am - 10am

Carbon Pitch Competition - Wednesday, October 29 | 9am - 10am

Transport Pitch Competition - Wednesday, October 29 | 10:30am - 11:30am

Pitch Competition Finals - Wednesday, October 29 | 3pm - 4pm

PowerPoint Presentations:

• Presentations must be submitted in PowerPoint format, 16:9 widescreen format

  • • NOTE: If your presentation is submitted in PDF format or via Google Slides, there's a high change that it will appear differently on screen once converted to a PowerPoint. To ensure your presentation looks as you'd like it, please submit your presentation in PowerPoint format.

• You must provide any special fonts so we can ensure they look correct on screen

• If you are including any videos in your presentation, please ensure they are in the following format: 1080p, H.264 preferred codec. (1920x1080p resolution)

• PowerPoint Due Dates:

  • • First draft slides: Wednesday, October 15

    • Final slides: Wednesday, October 22 -- no changes can be made after this date!

    • Please submit slides via email to jake@trellis.net and vid.micevic@trellis.net. 

Arrival Instructions

• We ask that you arrive to your session room no later than 15 minutes prior to the beginning of the Startups to Watch program. More detailed information will be provided on the prep call.  

Voting

• Audience voting will take place via the Conference app, Whova. During this window for audience voting, before the winner is revealed, industry experts will offer general commentary about all the pitches.

• 25 Climate Tech Startups to Watch article voting: The web voting is counted separately from the in-person voting. The startup with the most online votes will be deemed the People's Choice Award Winner who will get a shoutout at the STW Finals at the event and in our final article – Trellis Group's Startup of the Year. 

Event Registration

• As a Startups to Watch finalist, you receive complimentary event registration. Please complete your registration as soon as possible.

What Makes a Great Startups to Watch Pitch?

Here are seven tips intended to help you conceive of and develop a powerful Startups to Watch pitch:

• Tell a story. Nothing resonates better than a story. Stories make facts real and relatable. Whenever possible, use humor (but only if you think you can do it effectively; nothing's less funny than forced humor!).

• Use slides sparingly and effectively. The best pitches have some slides, but not many — 8-9 in a 2.5-minute presentation — and those slides have relatively few words and graphs. Your slides must be in PowerPoint, widescreen (16:9) format. Things to consider including:

  • The problem your company is solving

  • A clear description of your solution

  • Market size

  • Business model

  • Company traction, including funding and revenue

  • Go-to-market strategy

  • Competitive advantage

  • Team

• Remember your audience. Keep in mind that Trellis Impact convenes a diverse spectrum of players across industries and sectors — you'll be speaking to systems thinkers who are committed to confronting the climate crisis. Frame the big picture and why your work matters in the context of climate tech!

• Inspire and be inspired. Audiences are looking for hope, heroes and inspiration in your innovation — but not hype. Leave them with a vision of what's possible and why the world can be better through your company's success. The more you tap into your own inspiration, the more the audience will feel it too.

• Practice. Then practice some more. The best pitchers don't wing it. They rehearse, fine-tune, and rehearse again. The more you do it, the better it'll get. Audiences can tell which presenters are prepared, and which ones are not.

• Take it to the limit (but not beyond). 2.5 minutes is 2.5 minutes, not 4 or 5. You won't score any points by going longer, and you will get cut off if you go beyond your allotted time

• Have fun! Audiences appreciate a presenter who truly enjoys what they're talking about. It can be contagious.

Finalist Pitch Competition

If you are the winner of your semi-final pitch competition, you will move on to the finalist pitch competition taking place 3pm - 4pm on Wednesday, October 29. 

Stage Logistics - Finalist Competition

• You will have a timer and confidence monitor on stage with you, as well as a clicker to advance through your slides.

• We expect you to stay within your allotted time of 2.5 minutes per pitch. If you go over time, your audio will be cut so please be mindful of the onstage timer.

• You will have a handheld mic that you'll be asked to pass off to the person following your pitch.