A high school pitch competition where students present to real-world finance professionals and compete for the top spot.
Note: Your presentation will be given live. Do not send a video presentation. Additionally, your presentation should be under 6 minutes total. I went over the time limit to give you guys extra information.
Assemble a team consisting of 1–3 students and create a team name. Ensure that your team name is recorded in the registration form.
Students create an original product concept (this is just a concept, not a real product you have to launch) and build a slideshow presentation (4–6 slides) before the competition date. Your slideshow must be fully ready to present on the day of, covering all required components:
Teams present their slideshow to a panel of real-world finance professionals. Presentations follow a strict format:
The top team from each panel qualifies for the finals round, where the stakes get higher. See the Finals section below for full details.
Upon entry, participants will be assigned to 1 of the 4 judging panels, and must find their way to the queue and wait to present.
Judges score your presentation across three categories for a total of 62 points. Creativity and Problem-Solving are each worth 25 points, so both matter equally. Here's what they're looking for:
Your product must be original and should be accompanied by a visually appealing, eloquent, and clear presentation. A product that already exists won't impress judges, and even a great idea can fail with a poorly-organized slideshow. A great presentation is the perfect complement to a creative product.
Your product should effectively solve a real-world problem that is meaningful and practical. For example, a self-stirring coffee mug or an umbrella with a built-in fan aren't solving problems people actually struggle with. Judges want to see that your product has a genuine purpose and that real people would actually benefit from it. Make sure to clearly state your product's function and how it solves the targeted problem.
Know your customer and your competition. For Market Analysis (12 pts), judges want to see that you've clearly defined who your customers are and that your team is aware of competitors in the space. Think about who specifically would buy your product and why they would choose it over what already exists.
Review the full judging criteria before you build your presentation. Understanding how you'll be scored is half the battle.
View Full Rubric →The top team from each panel advances to finals. Only one team per panel moves on, so make your panel presentation count.
Pitch your product to the panel of judges with your slideshow once more. This presentation is brief and capped at 5 minutes. It is designed to familiarize judges who did not score you in qualifiers with your product, and does not affect your qualifier score.
Finals consist of answering 2 curveball questions. Each curveball question poses a real-world business scenario, such as a competitor's move, a product failure, or a market shift, and asks for your team's response. Make sure you are prepared to answer all curveball questions before the competition.
Each team gets approximately 3 minutes total to prep and answer each question. Judges expect detailed, well-reasoned responses, so think fast and speak clearly.
You won't know which two questions you'll face until the day of finals. All four possible questions are listed in the Curveball Questions section below, so prepare answers for all of them.
Don't wait until the last minute to build your pitch slideshow. Start working on it as soon as possible and get familiar with the curveball questions early so you know how to answer them confidently. The teams that start preparing now are the ones that win.
Teams that advance to finals will face two of these four questions. You won't know which two until the day of, so prepare answers for all of them.
A major competitor launches a copycat product that has the same function as yours. What do you change in your product to defend value?
Let's say AI can provide the same service as your company for nearly free. What are the incentives for using your product over the AI solution?
Investors say that integrating AI into your product is necessary to keep up with the industry. How would you integrate AI technology into your product's function?
You must remove one key feature of your product to curb production costs. Which one would you remove, and why?
Winners of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place will pick from a prize pool of gift cards among other rewards from our sponsor partners.
Fill out the form to secure your spot. You'll receive a confirmation email shortly after signing up.