George W. Wright Lightning Pitch

• Open to current college students and recent graduates (within one year of graduation)

• Pitches will be in-person, no audio/video recordings will be played

• No digital display, i.e. presentation deck, CGI, music, screengrabs, etc.

• Props, prototypes, displays, materials, collaterals, presentation boards, etc. are acceptable. 

• Teams are welcome, with a maximum of two presenters.

• Clarity & Communication – Is the pitch clear and compelling?

• Innovation & Differentiation – How unique is the idea?

• Market Potential & Feasibility – Is this a scalable, viable business?

• Confidence & Delivery – Is the presenter engaging and persuasive?

• Traction & Impact – What progress has been made so far?

• Round 1 — 30-Second Investor Pitch
  Up to 24 teams compete head-to-head in groups of 2–3. Each team has 30 seconds to introduce their concept to a potential investor. Judges vote for one team from each matchup to advance. 6 teams move on.

• Round 2 — 60-Second Customer Pitch
  The 6 remaining teams compete head-to-head in groups of 2. Each team has 60 seconds to present their concept to a potential customer. Teams should clearly identify their target customer. Judges vote for one team from each matchup to advance. 3 teams move on.

• Round 3 — Rapid-Fire Q&A
  The final 3 teams each have 30 seconds to re-introduce their concept, followed by 2 minutes of rapid-fire Q&A with the judges. Teams are evaluated on overall concept potential and the effectiveness of their presentation, with final placements determined by judges’ scores.

• Important: Each team may have up to 2 presenters. All pitches are strictly timed with a hard stop, and judges will not ask clarifying questions during Rounds 1 and 2.

1st Place:

• $1,000 cash prize

• One free placement from Talent Connect 365 (TC365), valued at $15,000

• Marketing consultation package from College Ed Tech valued at $4,000

• Intellectual Property consultation package from Master Key IP, LLP valued at $300

• Book from Clarence Wooten and CoFounder.Ai subscription

• Gift from Toony Designs

• and more to be added!

2nd Place:

• $750 cash prize

• Two months of free digital marketing services from Brand Pro Max (BPM), valued at $2,000

• Startup Consultation Package including 1 year subscription of Zoho CRM, 6-month subscription to Zsmarts Brand Voice, one-on-on consultations on Sales and Marketing Frameworks, Inventory Management, POS, and training on related platforms from Smart Tech Inc valued at $3,000 

• Intellectual Property consultation package from Master Key IP, LLP valued at $300

• Book from Clarence Wooten and CoFounder.Ai subscription

• Gift from Toony Designs

• and more to be added!

3rd Place:

• $500 cash prize

• Two months of free Startup Accounting services  valued at $1,500

• Intellectual Property consultation package from Master Key IP, LLP valued at $300

• Book from Clarence Wooten and CoFounder.Ai subscription

• Gift from Toony Designs

• and more to be added

• Anshuman Singh, Chief Operating Officer, Startup Steroid

• Christina Gallegos, CEO & Founder, Gradient Coast LLC

• Erick Gonzalez, Mentor, SCORE Orange County

• Joshua Lee, CEO & Founder, Gumshoe Ventures

• Justin Sanders, IP Attorney, MasterKey IP

• Raad Ghantous, Founder, Raad Life

• Ray Chan, Managing Director, K5 Ventures

• Ritu Thakur, CEO & Founder, Smart Tech Inc.

• Rudy Chavarria Jr., Founder, College Ed Tech

• Scott Fox, CEO, OC Startup Council

• Thuy T. Tran, Chief Investment Office, KYUR Inc