Standing in front of a rowdy startup audience and nailing your pitch is a hard thing to do, as any founder will tell you. But who does it best? The team behind TWiST Berlin have decided to find out with Pitch Slam, a new competition where 12 teams will battle it out in a series of pitch-offs.
Taking place on August 1 at YAAM on the banks of the Spree, the event promises to be a fun and inspiring evening for participants and audience alike – whether or not there will be as much skin as the last TWiST event remains to be seen!
The 12 slammers will come from four different market categories such as gaming or ecommerce. Starting with one minute long elevator pitches, a winner will be chosen in each category by a jury. The finalists will then battle it out slam-style, showing off their plans for execution and their vision until there is only one startup left standing.
Organiser Lutz Villalba saw the need for more pitching events after the recent Berlin vs. London TWiST battle at Ahoy! Co-working space, and that they helped foster the spirit of innovation in Berlin: “We just know how great the opportunities are for entrepreneurs and how much fun it is for our guests to watch passionate people live.”
Arguing that friends, family and colleagues aren’t all that dependable when it comes to unbiased opinions on new startup ideas, Lutz wanted to create an event for people to show off their ideas. Prototypes and PowerPoints aren’t necessary, but an elaborated idea and a good pitch are. There will be rehearsals beforehand to create a handpicked final 12.
Lutz hopes that as well as showcasing ideas, the event will help build collaboration in Berlin’s startup scene: “We hope that we can inspire the entrepreneurial community to be more open about ideas and to give and receive valuable feedback.”
Applications are open now and you can sign up here. Spectator tickets are €7, and are available here.