ELEVATE NEXUS
PITCH COMPETITIONS
-
Introduction
Elevate Nexus provides resources and thought leadership to Indiana higher-education institutions and the entrepreneurs they engage. Elevate Nexus Pitch Competitions offer promising startups, preferably engaged with Elevate Nexus partnered colleges and universities, the opportunity to secure foundational capital needed to launch their businesses.
-
The Pitch Competitions
Elevate Nexus Pitch Competitions are organized into four classes:
- Regional Pre-Seed Awards ($20,000)
- Regional Seed Awards ($80,000)
- Statewide Pre-Seed Awards ($40,000)
- Statewide Seed Awards ($100,000)
Pre-seed awards are for startups seeking funds to build a minimum viable product. Seed awards are for companies that are further along and are building and testing the processes that will be used to ultimately scale the business. It is up to the business to review the eligibility requirements below and determine if they should apply for a Pre-Seed or Seed Pitch Competition.
Applicants are not required to have participated in the pre-seed category prior to applying for the seed category. Applicants who have previously applied for one category may reapply in the same category or apply to a different category in subsequent competitions.
Businesses should select the region in which the business is headquartered. Winners of regional pitch competitions are eligible to pitch at the statewide competition for the same award category they won.
-
Eligibility Criteria
Regional Pre-Seed Awards Criteria
Awards should be used for early-stage product or service development- essentially, for preparing the company to maximize its future fundraising opportunities via the assembly and testing of a coordinated, effective core team and the building of a minimum viable product (MVP) that goes beyond a prototype.
To be considered, companies must:
- Be Indiana based
- Have a total address market of over $500M
- Have a unique value proposition
- Have a committed team with ambition to create a venture-backed, high-growth, enterprise
- Preferably, be engaged with a college or university participating in the Elevate Nexus program
- Be available to present the company pitch deck in front of an audience to a panel of judges.
Statewide Pre-Seed Award Criteria
To be considered, companies must:
- Fulfill all Regional Pre-Seed Award Criteria outlined above
- Have won a Regional Pre-Seed Award
Regional Seed Award Criteria
Awards should be used for companies that have already validated their value proposition and are developing the levers with which they will define how their businesses will ultimately scale via an infusion of venture capital. It is not necessary to have received a pre-seed award to be eligible for a seed award.
To be considered, companies must:
- Fulfill all regional pre-seed award requirements outlined above
- Have completed an MVP, or if selling in a government regulated field (i.e requires FDA, USDA approval) the company should have a viable plan toward developing a completed prototype or trial results
- Have conducted customer discovery, and preferably, gone through a formal customer discovery process
- Start to demonstrate professional operations by adding expertise as managers, board members and/or advisors
- Preferably, have validated the company’s value proposition by generating early revenue, securing signed contracts, and/or established strategic partnerships with entities that will license or buy the company’s intellectual property upon future development
- May have, or are in the process of, raising capital
Statewide Seed Award Criteria
To be considered, companies must:
- Fulfill all Regional Seed Award Criteria outlined above
- Have won a Regional Seed Award
-
Award Terms
Elevate Nexus pitch competition awards are convertible notes with a 20% discount, 8% interest, and a 3-year maturity. Pre-Seed Regional and Statewide awards carry a $1.5M cap while the Seed Regional and Statewide awards have a $3M cap. Terms could be negotiable, subject to an evaluation from the Elevate Ventures investment committee, if the business is currently in the process of raising a round with commitments already made.
Companies are only considered winners once a term sheet is accepted.
-
How to Apply
Applicants must submit their pitch deck and executive summary following the exact specifications outlined below. Failure to do so will lead to immediate disqualification.
1. Provide a pitch deck following the exact order and number of slides below. New to this class of pitch competitions, the team slide has been moved to the second slide position and an appendix is allowed following the necessary 10 slides:
1. Title Slide
2. Team
3. The Problem
4. The Solution
5. Market Size
6. Competition
7. Business Model
8. Marketing and Sales
9. Three-Year Milestones
10. Ask and Use of Funds
Following the first ten slides, an appendix with additional slides is allowed.
2. Provide a one-page executive summary covering the following topics in the exact order listed below:
1. Team
2. Problem
3. Solution
4. Market Size
5. Competition
6. Business Model
7. Marketing and Sales
8. Progress to Date
9. Future Milestones
-
Apply
Join our e-newsletter to receive deadline reminders and program updates.
Have additional questions? Contact us by selecting “Elevate Nexus” in our contact form.
-
Timing and Locations
Following each application acceptance period, applications will be reviewed, and finalists will be selected. All applicants will be notified the status of their application once decisions have been made. At that time, finalists will be notified exactly how many minutes they will have to present their pitch deck and accept questions from judges. Finalists will be notified with a cutoff date to make updates to their pitch deck prior to presenting. Updates though must remain within the application guidelines.
Pitch Competition Dates:
Northern Region Fall 2019 Winter 2020 Fall 2020 Applications Begin to be Accepted October 7, 2019 January 21, 2020 September 2020
(exact date TBD)Application Due Date October 18, 2019 February 3, 2020 September 2020
(exact date TBD)Finalists Selected October 21, 2019 February 4, 2020 October 2020
(exact date TBD)Pitch Competition Date October 29, 2019 February 25, 2020 October 2020
(exact date TBD)Pitch Competition Location Innovation Park at Notre Dame
1400 E. Angela Blvd.
South Bend, IN 46617Innovation Park at Notre Dame
1400 E. Angela Blvd.
South Bend, IN 46617Location TBD Central Region Fall 2019 Winter 2020 Fall 2020 Applications Begin to be Accepted October 7, 2019 January 21, 2020 September 2020
(exact date TBD)Application Due Date October 18, 2019 February 3, 2020 September 2020
(exact date TBD)Finalists Selected October 21, 2019 February 4, 2020 October 2020
(exact date TBD)Pitch Competition Date October 30, 2019 February 26, 2020 October 2020
(exact date TBD)Pitch Competition Location Lacy School of Business at Butler University
625 Butler Way
Indianapolis, IN 46208The Anderson University Flagship Enterprise Center
2705 Enterprise Dr.
Anderson, IN 46013Location TBD Southern Region Fall 2019 Winter 2020 Fall 2020 Applications Begin to be Accepted October 7, 2019 January 21, 2020 September 2020
(exact date TBD)Application Due Date October 18, 2019 February 3, 2020 September 2020
(exact date TBD)Finalists Selected October 21, 2019 February 4, 2020 October 2020
(exact date TBD)Pitch Competition Date October 31, 2019 February 27, 2020 October 2020
(exact date TBD)Pitch Competition Location WestGate Academy
13598 E. WestGate Drive
Odon, IN 47562Ivy Tech Community College Bloomington
200 Daniels Way
Bloomington, IN 47404Location TBD Statewide Spring 2020 Spring 2021 Applications Begin to be Accepted April 2020 (exact date TBD) April 2021 (exact date TBD) Application Due Date April 2020 (exact date TBD) April 2021 (exact date TBD) Finalists Selected April 2020 (exact date TBD) May 2021 (exact date TBD) Pitch Competition Date April 2020 (exact date TBD) May 2021 (exact date TBD) Pitch Competition Location Indianapolis (exact location TBD) Indianapolis (exact location TBD) -
Elevate Nexus Pitch Competition Regions
County Region Adams County Northern Allen County Northern Bartholomew County Southern Benton County Northern Blackford County Northern Boone County Central Brown County Southern Carroll County Northern Cass County Northern Clark County Southern Clay County Southern Clinton County Central Crawford County Southern Daviess County Southern Dearborn County Southern Decatur County Southern DeKalb County Northern Delaware County Central Dubois County Southern Elkhart County Northern Fayette County Central Floyd County Southern Fountain County Central Franklin County Southern Fulton County Northern Gibson County Southern Grant County Northern Greene County Southern Hamilton County Central Hancock County Central Harrison County Southern County Region Hendricks County Central Henry County Central Howard County Northern Huntington County Northern Jackson County Southern Jasper County Northern Jay County Northern Jefferson County Southern Jennings County Southern Johnson County Central Knox County Southern Kosciusko County Northern LaGrange County Northern Lake County Northern LaPorte County Northern Lawrence County Southern Madison County Central Marion County Central Marshall County Northern Martin County Southern Miami County Northern Monroe County Southern Montgomery County Central Morgan County Central Newton County Northern Noble County Northern Ohio County Southern Orange County Southern Owen County Southern Parke County Central Perry County Southern County Region Pike County Southern Porter County Northern Posey County Southern Pulaski County Northern Putnam County Central Randolph County Central Ripley County Southern Rush County Central St. Joseph County Northern Scott County Southern Shelby County Central Spencer County Southern Starke County Northern Steuben County Northern Sullivan County Southern Switzerland County Southern Tippecanoe County Central Tipton County Central Union County Central Vanderburgh County Southern Vermillion County Central Vigo County Southern Wabash County Northern Warren County Central Warrick County Southern Washington County Southern Wayne County Central Wells County Northern White County Northern Whitley County Northern