RURAL AZ Pitch Competition Mentorship Guide

Thanks for volunteering to be a Moonshot Rural AZ Pitch Competition mentor/judge!

Here are just a few notes to help prepare you for the event...

 As a judge/mentor, you're evaluating the following for each participant or company's pitch:

• their concept/idea

• ability to communicate the pitch

• the likelihood of their concept/idea creating jobs in the region and inclusion of all things mentioned on the Pitch Worksheet.

We will cover the Pitch Worksheet in the morning. Participants receive this worksheet and a “what to expect” guide prior to the competition. All participant resources are located here.

Participants may use a slide show to present their idea/company or they may simply use the pitch worksheet as their guide while presenting. We try to make this competition as accessible as possible. We’ve had folks walk in off the street and pitch.

Moonshot provides judges/mentors with blank notes pages to jot down thoughts and information while you’re listening to participants pitches. We do not use a formal numerical judging system like you may have seen at other events.

As mentors and judges, we try our best to be as supportive and uplifting as possible while sharing feedback with participants. We tell them at the beginning of the day, while we modeled this competition after Shark Tank, we are not sharks. We’re dolphins who swim alongside as guides, helping them to craft the best pitch possible.

After each participant practices their pitch, all mentors will have a chance to give feedback and ask questions.

After the final pitches conclude during the actual pitch competition, we’ll meet (in a private room) to collectively decide the winners. We will also get input from our local partners during the private deliberation. In some cases, the local partners only give out 1st and 2nd place cash awards. In others, they give out 1st-4th, depending on the local prize money raised and the size of the group. We also give out Moonshot scholarships to everyone who participates valued at $5,500 per year.

A typical tour stop schedule looks like this:

• 9:00 AM: Welcome + Pitch Worksheet Workshop (Mentors are introduced during the welcome session.)

• 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM: Pitch Practice

• 12:00 or 12:30 PM: Working lunch, pitch deck cleanup

• 1:30 or 2:00 PM: Start Pitch Competition

• 3:00 or 3:30: Announce Winners

* Schedule is subject to change depending on the number of participants who attend.

As always, please feel free to reach out with questions. We’re thrilled to have you as part of our mentor team and truly appreciate your time and energy!