The Town of Hayden is hosting their second annual Business Pitch Competition at the Hayden Center on November 12th, 2022. The competition aims to empower local entrepreneurs to start or expand their businesses in Hayden. The competition is intended to support businesses that provide significant economic and community impacts and businesses that may have less access to traditional sources of capital. Judges will be scoring pitches based on the business’ pitch, the feasibility of their business, and the economic and community impacts of the business.
All applicants must:
The event includes two rounds of pitches to judges that have expertise in business creation and development, marketing or financing businesses, or have a strong understanding of the local economy and culture. The event will be open to the public. During the first round, the applicant will have 5 minutes to pitch their business idea to the judges. Judges will evaluate pitches on the provided rubric. The top 5 businesses will advance to the second round. During the second-round judges will have up to 15 minutes to ask each applicant questions. Judges will determine the top three winning businesses and the winning women or minority owned business.
Applicants should consider the following questions as they formulate their pitches and prepare to answer the judge’s questions:
Commitment to Equity
The Town of Hayden is dedicated to ensuring that all residents have diverse means and opportunities to thrive. Research shows that women and minority owned businesses experience additional barriers in securing capital to start or expand their businesses. The Town is committed to addressing these barriers by offering additional funding to women and minority owned businesses.
Prizes
The first-place winner will receive $10,000, the second place winner will receive up to $5,000, and the third place winner will receive up to $3,000. The winning women or minority owned business will receive an additional $5,000.