Pitch Finals Preparation
& Event Schedule
Congrats on your tour stop win this year!
We’re excited to host you at the 2026 Rural AZ Pitch Finals Competition in beautiful downtown Phoenix, 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
Friday, October 23, 2026
7:30pm - 8:30pm
Welcome Reception
Home2 Suites by Hilton Phoenix Downtown
125 E. Jackson St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Saturday Morning, October 24, 2026
9:00am - 12:00pm
Semi-Finals Pitch Appointments at Heritage Headquarters
8:00am - 3:00pm
Open opportunity to meet with Moonshot legal
and accounting mentors in the hotel conference rooms
Saturday Evening, October 24, 2026
5:00pm - 10:00pm
Heritage Headquarters
515 E Grant St, Phoenix, AZ 85004
Here’s a quick overview…
We’re excited to host you for two nights in downtown Phoenix. On Friday night, we’re hosting a welcome reception where you’ll meet other competitors and receive the run of Saturday’s events, drink tickets, t-shirts, and a swag bag.
On Saturday morning and afternoon, each tour stop winner will pitch to a small panel of selected judges during a private 15 minute appointment prior to 3pm. We’ll reach out to you with the time scheduled for your semi-final pitch. 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 one by one during the pitch finals competition. Upon hearing your name, you’ll immediately take the stage to present your pitch.
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. More details are included below regarding set up time, etc.
We are giving out two (2) first place cash prizes ($10,000 ea.) this year in two different categories: Lifestyle and Innovation. In addition, audience members will choose a “Crowd Favorite” on their smart phones when the final pitches conclude. The Crowd Favorite will take home $5,000.
Now that you have the overview, let’s dive into the details below.
STEP ONE: Please tell us your T-Shirt size.
You’re heading home with a super cool Moonshot t-shirt so please let us know your size and the size of your co-presenter, if you have one. You may have already done this. If so, move to step 2.
STEP TWO: Review best practices for your pitch
To prepare, 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: We are hosting a “how to best prepare for the pitch finals” Zoom call with all pitch finalists on October 2, 2025 at 11:30am . You’ll receive an invite from the Moonshot team. This call will also be recorded and distributed in case you can’t make it that day.
SLIDE SHOW INFO & SPECS
You are not required to use a slide show; however, if you aren’t using a slide show, we want to share a slide with your logo or a photo to put up behind you while you pitch. Ideally, we’d love for you to have a slide show. 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 reach out to your SBDC reps to help you prepare to pitch, if you’d like.
We will need your finalized pitch deck (slide show) by midnight on OCTOBER 20, 2026. You may add it to the folder in PowerPoint or PDF file format. You’ll simply add it to this Google Folder or click the button below to access the folder. Please include your name and your company’s name in the title of the file you’re sharing with us.
Technical specifications for your slide show:
We will be combining all slide shows into one PowerPoint deck for the pitch finals. Because of the way PowerPoint works, we will take your slide show (in PowerPoint or PDF format) and save each slide as a jpeg or png file. Animations and transitions won’t be included. Then we import each image of each of your slides into the master PowerPoint slide show. This allows each presentation to retain it’s own branding/look, etc.
If you want to create a slide that includes animation builds (aka, a bullet-pointed list where one bullet point shows up on the screen at a time), you’ll need to create a slide for each bullet point build.
How it will work in the Semi-finals:
For your semi-final appointment, we will simply pull your presentation up from the Google Drive folder when you arrive at your appointment.
If you make it to the finals, we’ll use the master PowerPoint presentation to smoothly transition from one finalist to the next.
PLEASE REMEMBER
Attend or watch the recording of the October 2, 2026 Zoom Call with Moonshot and SBDC
Work with your SBDC rep or local host to prep for the semi-finals and finals, if you’d like.
Save your PowerPoint presentation or PDF file to the Google Folder by October 20, 2026
Feel free to download this one-sheet that summarizes this webpage.
Reach out with questions!
STEP THREE: Review the detailed schedule below
FRIDAY EVENING - OCTOBER 23, 2026
7:30PM - 8:30PM: Welcome Reception at Home2 Suites
» Home2 Suites Lobby Bar- 125 E. Jackson St. Phoenix, AZ- Sponsored by TRUSTTREE LEGAL
Pitch participants check in with the Moonshot team and receive t-shirts, drink tickets, and a swag bag.
Each competitor will confirm their semi-finals pitch appointment for Saturday.
You’ll have a chance to meet the tour stop winners from around the state.
We’ll make sure you have everything you need for Saturday’s events.
SATURDAY MORNING, OCTOBER 24
7:30AM - 10:00AM: BREAKFAST
Home2 Suites is offering breakfast from 7:30am - 10:00am.
8:00AM - 3:00PM: MEET WITH MOONSHOT LEGAL & ACCOUNTING MENTORS
Open opportunity to meet with Moonshot legal and accounting mentors in the hotel conference rooms on the 1st floor of the hotel.
9:00AM - 12:00PM: SEMI-FINALS PITCH APPOINTMENTS
» Heritage Headquarters, 515 E Grant St, Phoenix, AZ 85004 - Follow the signs to the event space. You will be presenting in a conference room to a group of judges seated around a boardroom table.
We sent an email sharing your semi-finals pitch appointment time. Please reach out to us at pitch@moonshotaz.com if you did not receive the email.
Pitch appointments (15 minutes per competitor) will run from 9:00AM -12:00PM. Each competitor delivers their 5-minute pitch to a judging panel.
Please arrive at least 5 minutes prior to your appointment time.
Judges will select 8 finalists to advance to main stage. Two (2) first place awards will be given to two participants. One participant from the category of INNOVATION (examples: tech, med, invention) and one from the category of LIFESTYLE (examples: childcare provider, restaurant, retail store etc)
Finalist selections will remain confidential until evening announcement
Following your pitch appointment, you’ll have the opportunity to set up your business/product/service display on tables that will be set up near the entry of the event space. Your space is roughly 2.5 feet × 2 feet (1/2 of a 5 foot table). Feel free to display banners, marketing materials, products, etc. Here’s an example of a display table from last year: PHOTO 1
LUNCH
You’re on your own for lunch, and free to eat wherever you’d like. We will offer a few suggestions that are close to the hotel and venue in downtown Phoenix.
5:00 PM - 6:30PM: Cocktail Reception
» Heritage Headquarters, 515 E Grant St, Phoenix, AZ 85004 - Follow the signs to the event space.
6:30 PM: Welcome Announcements + Dinner
Buffet includes FAJITAS DE CARNE, POLLO PHILADELPHIA (Grilled chicken breast covered with chipotle Philadelphia cream sauce, LEMON CITRUS SALAD (Spinach, red onions, dried cranberries and cherry tomatoes with lemon citrus vinaigrette dressing), SIDES: Rice, Beans, and Pasta Salad, and Desserts including Lemon Tarts and Chocolate Cake Bites.
7:30 PM: Competition Starts
Competition Format:
8 finalists are revealed one at a time. When you hear your name, you take the stage to present your pitch.
Each finalist has maximum 5 minutes to pitch
Pitch decks pre-loaded for seamless transitions
8:30 PM: Deliberation & Crowd Favorite Voting Period
Judges Deliberation:
Panel deliberates for 1st Place Winner ($10,000 prize) in INNOVATION category and 1st Place Winner ($10,000 prize) in LIFESTYLE category
Audience Participation:
All attendees vote for "Crowd Favorite" ($5,000 prize)
Voting among the 8 finalists only
8:45 PM: Awards Ceremony + Photos
Prize Announcements:
Crowd Favorite - $5,000 (selected by audience)
1st Place Winner - $10,000 (selected by judges) - INNOVATION
1st Place Winner - $10,000 (selected by judges) - LIFESTYLE
9:10 PM: Closing Remarks + Networking/Afterparty
Bar remains open
Victory celebration and networking
Vendor tables remain available for browsing
10:00 PM: Event Ends
STEP FOUR: Review Phoenix resources for family & friends
Do you have family and friends who would like to attend? Looking for additional hotel and overnight accommodation recommendations?
Check out our main FINALS page or click the button below to purchase additional tickets for friends and family and find additional hotel recommendations.