1. Those pitching must be the original creators, inventors, or owners of the intellectual property (IP) underlying their invention.
2. Either individual students or teams of up to 3 may enter the competition.
3. At least one of the members of the team must be either undergraduate, graduate, or certificate-seeking students currently enrolled at Georgetown University. Only Georgetown students are allowed to pitch.
4. Students must be either part or full-time students in the semester of the competition.
5. All members of the team pitching in the Rocket Pitch must be available to attend the final event.
6. Participants may not pitch a business that was incorporated prior to September 23rd, 2024 or has already received funding or generated revenue greater than $50,000.
7. Students or teams who were awarded a prize in a past Rocket Pitch, Bark Tank, or Georgetown Entrepreneurship Challenge may not pitch the same business or idea in this year’s competition. However, they are eligible to compete again with different business concept. Ventures that did not reach the final stage of the competition may be pitched in a subsequent year.
8. Ventures cannot be a buyout, an expansion of an existing company, a real estate syndication, a tax shelter, a franchise, a licensing agreement for distribution in a different geographical area, or a spin-out from an existing corporation.
9. Both for-profit and non-profit models are eligible, but the idea must incorporate an income-generating model that will lead to financial sustainability.
10. Individual participants cannot be a member of more than one team competing in the event.
11. The Rocket Pitch Planning Committee reserves the right to address any circumstances in which the above rules do not apply. All decisions will be final. The Committee also reserves the right to clarify, amend, or change these rules when deemed necessary for fairness.

1. Only the Rocket Pitch Planning Committee and the judges assigned to evaluate each team will have access to the team’s written submissions. Judges will be asked to treat all information with complete confidentiality.
2. Entrants should feel free to mark any material submitted as confidential, and to exclude any information that is considered to be truly proprietary. As a rule of thumb, participants who believe they have a potential intellectual property concern should seek legal advice before making any public disclosures.
3. Judges, mentors, staff, legal counsel and any individual attending any public sessions of the competitions will NOT be asked or required to agree to or sign non-disclosure, confidentiality or other similar agreements. Competitors are advised not to disclose any information that they would be uncomfortable seeing in the public domain.
4. Final presentations will be open to the public. Any information or data disclosed in these sessions should be considered information that is likely to enter the public domain. Competitors should not assume any right of confidentiality to any information presented or discussed in public sessions. Please be aware that members of the media, potential competitors, and members of the financial community may attend public sessions.
5. By participating in the competition, competitors agree that the Rocket Pitch assumes no liability for disclosures of information provided by an individual or team as part of a submission or otherwise during the course of the pitch competitions.

Pitches must be no more than two minutes long and the deadline for video submissions is Sunday, September 28th. Once selected, entrants will receive an email and be asked to submit one presentation slide for the day of Rocket Pitch. Entrants must be available to attend Rocket Pitch on Tuesday, October 7th from 5:00pm – 7:00pm. 

Feasibility: Does the idea make sense? Can you see a path to revenue and profitability? How likely do you think this business is to succeed?

Team: How confident are you that this is the best team to solve this problem? Are there any glaring holes in the team’s abilities?

Values: How well does this idea incorporate Georgetown Jesuit values? Georgetown’s values include Cura Personalis (caring for the whole person), service, lifelong learning, inclusivity, faith, justice, and men and women for others.

Overall: How well did this team pitch, present, and persuade?

Some helpful links:

Successful Pitch Preparation & Delivery by Fiona Macaulay, Entrepreneur in Residence: Pitch tips curated specifically for Georgetown students by one of our experts

5 Reasons to Enter a Business Pitch Competition: All the reasons why you should enter a pitch competition.

Formulating & Delivering Your Successful Pitch: A beautifully simple and simply beautiful presentation to help you prepare for any pitch event.

5 Lessons to Gain in Pitch Competitions That Have Nothing to Do with Money: An article highlighting the reasons to enter a pitch competition.

Pitching to Angel Investors: Tips for presenting your business concept to angel investors when you are asking for an investment.

The Ultimate Presentation Prep Checklist: Helpful checklist with questions to ask yourself before any pitch.

An effective pitch will contain the following information:

Value proposition: what problem does it solve, and for whom?

Competitive landscape: who else does something similar? How are you different or better?

How does it work? (demo or illustration)

Market: how big is the opportunity? How many potential customers/users? How much is spent on this type of product/service?

Source of revenues/business model: Are customers likely to pay, and how much? On what basis did you set the price?

Profit potential: Is it scaleable? Profitable? How big could this idea become over time?

Validation: Have you tested the idea with potential customers? Any feedback? Have you generated any revenues to date?

Next steps: How soon do you plan to launch? What happens between now and then? How much funding do you need, and for what purpose?

Students are strongly encouraged to reach out to mentors, professors and our Entrepreneurs-in-Residence for help on preparing their pitches.

How long should my slide deck be?

Only 1 slide is allowed. Remember, you have only 2 minutes and you don’t want to rush – so pick out the most important points and state those in a clear, compelling way.

What should I include in my pitch?

Any successful pitch should have 5 components:

1. Introduction/Hook
2. Describe the problem and for whom
3. Describe your solution
4. Explain the business model: who pays? how do you make money?
5. Make the ask – what do you need and for what purpose?

For more information on each of these components, see here: http://fortune.com/2016/01/26/entrepreneur-pitch-investors-tips/

Who will the judges be?

The judges are recruited from Georgetown alumni and other local business leaders. They are a combination of entrepreneurs, investors, and business leaders. Each judging panel will consist of between 8 and 12 judges.

Can I participate if one of my team members is not a Georgetown student?

At least one of the members of the team must be either undergraduate, graduate, or certificate-seeking students currently enrolled at Georgetown University. Only Georgetown students are allowed to pitch.

Do I have to use PowerPoint, or can I use some other software like Prezi?

You are required to use one PowerPoint slide.