
Pitch Finals Preparation
Congrats, again, on your tour stop win this year!
We’re excited to host you at the 2025 Rural AZ Pitch Finals Competition in beautiful downtown Prescott, AZ!
On this page, you’ll find information about the event, what you receive as a tour stop winner, and how to prepare for this pitch competition. Learn more below…
EVENT INFO AND OVERVIEW
Saturday, October 18, 2025 in Prescott, AZ
Here’s a quick overview:
The actual event will start at 5pm; however, each tour stop winner will pitch to a small panel of selected judges during a private appointment prior to the 5pm start-time. The judges will hear all 20 pitch tour stop winners and, prior to 5pm, will determine which 8 (eight) finalists will compete on stage during the evening event. The announcement of who will be pitching in the finals will be made at the start of the evening event.
Also, each competitor (all 20) will be given table space to display their service or product. The tables will be on display during the entire event and featured during the indoor/outdoor cocktail hour prior to the pitch finals. We’re expecting up to 200 people in attendance from all over the state of Arizona. This is a great opportunity to network and promote your business/product.
In addition to the traditional $10,000 first place award and the $5,000 Crowd Favorite award, we will also being giving out three (3) $1,000 awards to tour stop winners who made an impact on the judges but didn’t make the finals OR did make the finals, but were not awarded first or crowd favorite.
As part of your tour stop winner package, you receive a free hotel room (one night on October 18) at the beautiful Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Prescott, AZ. The hotel is attached to the event center.
Now that you have the overview, let’s dive into the details below. Please follow the steps below…
STEP ONE: Book your semi-finals pitch appointment
In order to reserve your semi-finals pitch appointment, click this link or click the button below. We are hosting 10 minute time slots per tour stop winner from 11:40am - 3pm. These appointments will be held in the TERRITORY conference room at the Hilton Garden Inn.
** Should you be unable to attend one of the slots between 11:40am and 3pm, please let us know. We will work with you to come up with a different solution.
STEP TWO: Review best practices for pitching
Before the October 18th, go back over your pitch (and slide show, if you have one) to make sure that you’ve hit all the points our judges will be looking for. You’ll want to make sure you’ve covered all points listed on the pitch worksheet as well as let us know how you foresee your business or product will help create additional jobs in your community or how you see your company utilizing vendors in your community (like print partners, etc).
NOTE: Look for more info coming soon regarding how we will be helping you prep for your semi-finals pitch presentation. Moonshot and your host city partners like SBDC and city staff want you to be as prepared as possible. Lean on all of us for support and look for an email coming soon regarding additional help.
STEP THREE: Review the detailed schedule below
AFTERNOON SCHEDULE
11:40 AM - 3:00 PM: Semi-Final Pitch Sessions
Private 10 minute time slots (scheduled in advance) - TBD Conference Room at the Hilton Garden Inn
Participants use this link to book their semi-finals pitch appointments:
https://calendly.com/pitch-moonshotaz/semi-finals-pitch-appt-on-oct-18?month=2025-10&date=2025-10-18
Each competitor delivers 5-minute pitch to judging panel
Judges select 8 finalists to advance to main stage
Finalist selections remain confidential until evening announcement
4:00 PM-5:00 PM: Pitch Participant/Vendor Setup Time
Pitch participants set up vendor tables in main event space
Display products/services for evening networking
EVENING EVENT SCHEDULE
5:00 PM: Doors Open
Welcome Reception Begins
Networking with cocktails and heavy hors d'oeuvres
Live music by King Copper Jazz Band (Arizona's only traditional New Orleans jazz band)
Browse pitch participant/vendor tables
Meet competitors and attendees
6:00 PM: Finals Competition Begins
Competition Format:
8 finalists are revealed one at a time
Each finalist has maximum 5 minutes to pitch
Pitch decks pre-loaded for seamless transitions
7:00 PM: Judging & Voting Period
Judges Deliberation:
Panel deliberates for 1st Place Winner ($10,000 prize)
Audience Participation:
All attendees vote for "Crowd Favorite" ($5,000 prize)
Voting among the 8 finalists only
7:25 PM: Awards Ceremony
Prize Announcements:
1st Place Winner - $10,000 (selected by judges)
Crowd Favorite - $5,000 (selected by audience)
Recognition Awards - Three $1,000 prizes for outstanding semi-finalists who didn't advance to finals and/or they advanced but didn’t win 1st or Crowd Favorite
7:25 PM - 9:15 PM: Celebration & Networking
Bar remains open
Continued live music by King Copper Jazz Band
Victory celebration and networking
Vendor tables remain available for browsing
9:15 PM: Music Concludes
10:00 PM: Event Ends Promptly
STEP FOUR: Review Prescott resources for family & friends
Do you have family and friends who would like to attend? Looking for additional hotel and overnight accommodation recommendations? Just a reminder: As a tour stop winner, you receive 2 tickets to the event as well as a one-night stay at the Hilton Garden Inn in downtown Prescott.
Check out our main FINALS page or click the button below to purchase additional tickets for friends and family and find additional hotel recommendations.