Five minutes. In five precious minutes next Thursday evening, each of the eleven finalists of the AIB Irish Times Start Up Academy will give a pitch to a panel of judges that could change their lives. The finalists came to The Irish Times building for one final master class with Lisa Hughes from Irish Times Training to perfect their pitches before they face the judging panel at next week’s finale. The prize? A €200,000-plus package for their businesses.
The finalists have been on an eight-week accelerator programme with a range of experts focussing on topics like sales and negotiation, critical thinking for peak performance, design thinking, marketing and social media.
Finalist Carrie Doorley from Queezybags was feeling confident about her pitch because of what she has learned during the eight weeks. “I think when I came in [to the Academy], I was probably at a place where yes, I had gotten the product there and launched it but had not really realised what I was doing in terms of what I do next. The tools that they have given us here every week have been so important for me. It matched what I did with my business into actual proper business tools.”
“Of course I am a little bit nervous about next week, but I am confident and I am calm. I think winning would be my next leap. We started the Academy on Leap Day, the 29th of February, and I remember thinking I was leaping into a whole new adventure. I do believe that if I won the prize, it would be the next leap.”
Tutor, Lisa Hughes, said her focus was trying to get the finalists to think about engaging and connecting with the judges and their audience.
“I would advise all the finalists to be themselves, to ground themselves beforehand and be super practiced - but not totally off by heart. Know your story but make it a little different every time you tell it. Think about what you are projecting.”
The criteria on which the judges will be basing their scores on will include: - the overall impression based on pitch - your product and service - your USP - your ability to grow your business.
The judges are:
John Irwin, Head of Strategy and Enablement at AIB
Viv McKechnie, Business to Consumer Director at The Irish Times
Brian Keating, Group Brands Director at AIB
Jill Downey Managing Partner of Livewire and previously Deputy MD of Starcom Media Agency
Elaine O'Hora, founder of Munchies
Cathal O'Sullivan, Office of the Dublin Commissioner for Start-ups.
Finalist Martin O’Connell from Nasal Medical said his trouble was reducing the number of slides for his pitch. “We have developed over the last eight weeks so I have 14 slides now which I need to cut down on, so I have a lot to do. I’m not a fan of doing pitches but I would love to have a half an hour to do it. It’s harder to do it in five minutes than in half an hour.”
O’Connell said he wished every start-up company had the opportunity to go on the Academy.
“For a start-up like us, this has been unbelievable. If I had my way it would be the course every company should do before you dive into business. You can save so much time and avoid so many hurdles by doing a course like this.”
Competitive streak Ryan Scott from DropChef said that he was not having sleepless nights over the pitch just yet. "I work too hard to have sleepless nights but if I won I probably wouldn't sleep. I am feeling very confident and really looking forward to next week. I have always been an extremely competitive person, rowing is one of my hobbies and I'm notoriously competitive in that and how tough I can be on the competition. I would be absolutely ecstatic if we won."
Scott said that the Academy has been helpful not only from the subjects and expertise they have been given, but the interaction the finalists have had with one another. “It’s kind of nice every week to be able to share war stories and show off our scars to each other. There is a huge amount of each of us giving each other a helping hand where we see it. One of the biggest things that has come out of this is the network that we have built up.”
One of Hughes’s top tips for the finalists was to be authentic in their pitches to the judging panel.
“Stop trying to be what you think the judges want you to be, focus on you and your story because if you focus on what you think they want you will come across as contrived and not authentic. When people are honest, that level of genuineness makes us trust people. You want to get the judges excited about what is next for your business. They have all done such a great job, they should go out, do their best and try to enjoy themselves.”
The eleven finalists in this year's Academy are:
The Cool Bean Company
Blackwater Distillery
Buska Boxes
Brendan Joseph
Leaves
Rebel Chilli
Popertee
DropChef
Nasal Medical
Topper Technology
Queezybags
Next week's finale will see the finalists make their final five-minute pitch in their hope to win the top prize worth over €200,000 which includes: a €20,000 cash investment from AIB, that includes a €20,000 cash injection, substantial advertising and marketing packages, PR training, office space and development support. There will also be a runner's up prize. For more detail visit irishtimes.com/aibstartupacademy
The finale is being held in The Sugar Club in Dublin next Thursday April 28th, admission is free and you can get your tickets here, but hurry as numbers are limited.
