Pitch Night

Employment, Entrepreneruship, Entrepreneurs, Entrepreneurship, Events, Innovation / By

An old school pitch night was held at Stone and Chalk Adelaide at Lot 14 on a chilly night with 100+ people where The Hon Susan Close MP – Deputy Premier; Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science; Minister for Defence and Space Industries; Minister for Climate, Environment and Water; Member for Port Adelaide, said:

“We can grab hold of the opportunities, we can solve the problems and we can see more diversity and more excitement in our economy, in our society as that happens…”, Watch the video.

The warm audience loved seeing some people pitch for the first time, in a supportive and diverse event, with around 10 early-stage businesses pitching to the community.  Pitches included:

Guests voted by putting pom poms into the jars of the pitches that they ranked, and feedback was written on whiteboards for every pitcher to take aways and reflect upon.  “Awesome evening.   I left feeling so inspired.  Best of luck to all the Pitchers. 👌” Ella

So many connections were made with guests who were outstanding cheerleaders reaching out to those who pitched too.  And this event was all about people sharing an idea or startup that others should know about, in front of an audience of investors and funders, potential collaborators and founders, customers and/or supporters.  People who could help you with what you need to take it to the next level.

Opportunities are hard to come by, such as practicing your pitch in front of a live audience, finding people that will give you honest feedback, and gaining broader validation and different perspectives.

By standing up in front of an encouraging audience pitchers were able to refine the pitch, drill down on who is willing to pay for your experience, product or service – which could ultimately fast-track your success.

One on one feedback was provided to those who pitch on the night by a feedback panel (not judges but taking a kind approach) including:

  • Angela DiFabio, Innovation Manager – Collaboration
  • Ben Flink, Senior Manager – Business Innovation, RAA
  • Wendy Perry, Managing Director Workforce BluePrint, Entrepreneurship Facilitator, Switch Start Scale
  • Andy Pettica, Solutions Architect – AWS

And there were prizes!

  • Coffee catch up with Rob Chapman, Chapman Capital
  • 20 hours on a 3D printer from Centralian Controls and engineering advice/support thanks to Graham Hartland
  • Month free hub at Stone and Chalk and time with internal mentors thanks to Mary Kelly and Chris Kirk
  • Business Planning Lunch with Ben Flink, Senior Manager – Business Innovation, RAA

Chris Ryan and Scott Perry MC’d with food and drinks sponsored by AWS, James Anthony Consulting, Money Can’t Buy Club, RAA, Switch Start Scale, Web A-team, Workforce BluePrint and thanks to Stone and Chalk for cohosting.

Top three pitches were:

  1. James Packham, Packham Harcourts, solving homelessness in Adelaide
  2. Zac Bailey, Empathy Studios – In Their Shoes, with a VR solution to understanding others point of view
  3. Breeze and Jac, Coorong Climate Cultivations, addressing gas emissions by feeding seaweed to cattle

“It’s been years since I was at a pitch competition (bloody Covid)! Pizza, beer and 10 amazing pitches. Congrats to winners Jac & Breeze, Zac Bailey and James Packham Great job organisers Wendy Perry Scott Perry et al.”  Josh

And the event begun so well with an acknowledgement of country by Mark Koolmatrie from Kool Tours and Tribal Expertise Facility, which was customised to the suit the audience and context.

The pitch night was hosted by Wendy Perry, Chris Ryan, Ben Flink, Bree Flink, and Scott Perry. If you’d like to pitch next time or get in touch with those brave people who pitched on the night, please get in touch with Wendy Perry via wendy@workforceblueprint.com.au, thank you.

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