March 10-13, 2025 • SAFE Credit Union Convention Center • Sacramento, CA
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CALIFORNIA CHARTER SCHOOLS STUDENT PITCH COMPETITION

The California Charter Schools Student Pitch Competition encourages California charter high school students to create, submit, and present original business and social venture concepts. To apply, student teams (2-5 high school students with a teacher or other school-affiliated adult sponsor) submit a pitch deck along with a pre-recorded pitch of their business plan. Selected finalist teams will present their business plan pitches on stage and answer questions from a panel of judges in front of a live audience at the California Charter Schools Conference (5 minute pitch, followed by 5 minutes of questions from the judges). This event takes place on the exhibit hall stage Wednesday March 12, 2025 from 3:30-4:30pm at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, CA. The winning first and second place teams will receive a cash prize ($1500 first place, $500 second place). Winners will be announced that afternoon during the ice cream social from 4:30-5:15pm in the exhibit hall.

Student teams are encouraged to apply now through November 22, 2024.

Click here to apply for the California Charter Schools Pitch Competition

TIMELINE

  • Student Pitch Competition applications accepted beginning 10/21/24
  • Submissions due by 11/22/24
  • Finalist student teams notified by 12/6/24
  • Finalist in-person pitches will take place 3:30-4:30pm on Wed. March 12, 2025 at the California Charter Schools Conference at the SAFE Convention Center in Sacramento, CA

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

This competition includes two rounds: a submission round and a finalist round

Round 1: Submit Video & Pitch Deck

To enter the California Charter Schools Conference Student Pitch Competition, participants are required to complete an initial submission that consists of the following two components:

A. Introductory Video:
  • Student teams should submit a compelling recorded pitch video of up to 2 minutes that serves as a concise introduction to both the team and the business plan. The video should present the team members’ names, the business concept, and a brief yet impactful explanation of the problem the concept aims to solve, for whom and the proposed solution.
  • The video is strictly limited to 2 minutes. Videos must be submitted as a publicly accessible URL link. Videos exceeding the time limit or unavailable to be viewed will be disqualified.
B. Accompanying Pitch Deck, Writeup or Infographic:
  • The video should be accompanied by a concise writeup with more detail about the business plan. This can be a document of up to 2 pages, a presentation of up to 5 slides, or other 1-2 page infographic. This should be submitted in a .pdf format.
  • Persuasive submissions will tell a compelling story about the problem being solved, the customers/beneficiaries who have the problem, how the problem is being solved (i.e., a description of the product/service), why the solution is different and better than existing alternatives (i.e., its unique value), and the basic economics underlying how it will make profit or be sustained as a nonprofit social venture.
Round 2: Finalist In-Person Pitches
  • Student teams qualifying for the finals will be required to attend in-person to compete
  • Pitches are strictly limited to 5 minutes utilizing a presentation of no more than 10 slides. Teams are free to use their creativity as they see fit to best portray their concept, which may include display boards, prototypes, images, sounds, motion graphics, etc.
  • Judges’ questions and team member responses will be strictly limited to a total of 5 minutes.
  • Only student team members may be involved with the 5-minute pitch and 5-minute judge Q&A section. This includes advancing slides, presenting a prototype and answering questions.
  • While embedded audio or video elements are allowed, please be aware that technology requirements such as internet access/wifi are not guaranteed. If technical difficulties are encountered, the timer does not stop, and they will affect the 5-minute pitch time limit. Be prepared to adapt if needed.

COMPETITION RULES

  • All student participants in the competition must be enrolled in a California charter high school.
  • Participants compete as part of a team (minimum 2 and maximum 5 students per team) and must include one school-affiliated teacher/adult sponsor.
  • All pitches must be original and not copied from somewhere else. Selections are considered final upon submission. Each student team may only submit one entry but more than one team per school is allowable.
  • Any type of business may be used, including both for-profit and non-for-profit business plan proposals.
  • To select the finalists who will present their pitches live at the California Charter Schools Conference, each recorded video pitch will be evaluated by multiple judges to select up to 5 finalist teams. For the in-person finals, the judges will evaluate the pitch presentations, focusing on the effectiveness of public speaking and presentation skills, and how well the participants respond to the judges’ questions. The major emphasis is on the content; illustrations and graphic presentations (when included) will be judged for clarity, not artistic value. Judges will use the California Charter Schools Student Pitch Competition Scoring Rubric.
  • Finalist teams will be required to submit (1) a parent/guardian consent form, and (2) a minor media release form for each participating student in order to participate in the in-person pitch competition. These will be due Feb. 1, 2025; direction on how to submit these forms will be provided to finalist teams.

SCORING RUBRIC

  • Linked here is the California Charter Schools Student Pitch Competition Scoring Rubric.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

  • What's a Pitch Competition? Have you ever watched 'Shark Tank'? It's essentially a business pitch, a concise presentation lasting up to five minutes aimed at convincing a panel of judges to invest in your idea. Similarly, a pitch competition involves presenting your business plan to compete against others to determine who has the best pitch and business plan.

  • What kind of business plan is allowable? Any type of business may be used, including both for-profit and nonprofit business plan proposals. It could be a for-profit venture whose primary purpose is to solve a customer problem and generate revenue and profit. Or it could be a social venture that aims to solve a social problem and make a positive impact on people or the environment with a long-term sustainable funding model.

  • Does it have to be an operating business or can it just be idea for a business? It does not have to be a fully functioning business but you should put some thought into developing a business plan to accompany your idea. Can you demonstrate a clear understanding of the potential market size and demand for the idea? Is the idea realistic and feasible to implement? Are there any technical, financial, or logistical challenges that have been considered? Do you have a plan for generating revenue or sustaining the idea for long-term viability and growth potential? You should be prepared to address all of these in your presentation.

  • Who are the judges? The judges are experts in business, education and philanthropy. For the purposes of the pitch, you should present to them as though it were a pitch to a potential source of capital.

  • How will the teams be evaluated? To select the finalists who will present their pitches live at the California Charter Schools Conference, each recorded video pitch will be evaluated by multiple judges. We will combine the scores and then rank all pitches to select up to 5 finalist teams. For the in-person finals, the judges will evaluate the pitch presentations, focusing on the effectiveness of public speaking and presentation skills and how well the participants respond to the judges’ questions. The major emphasis is on the content; illustrations and graphic presentations (when included) will be judged for clarity, not artistic value. Judges will use the California Charter Schools Student Pitch Competition Scoring Rubric.

  • What other resources can student teams rely on? Here are some resources that might be helpful:

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