High Stakes Pitch

The High-Stakes Pitch Competition is back to give our state’s most promising startups a chance at an investment prize to invigorate and propel their businesses to success as we all look toward the future of entrepreneurship in Louisiana.

Brew 2022

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MEET The Judges

Adam McCloskey

Louisiana Small Business Development Center

Andrew Maas

LSU Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization

Anita Byrne

SSA Consultants

Bill Ellison

Innovation Catalyst, Inc.

Brenna Benson Lamb

Baton Rouge Area Foundation

Camille Terk

Terk Consulting

Fahimeh Abbasi

Program Director at LSU Stephenson Entrepreneurship Institute

Gary Hamer

Champion Technology Services

Hope C. Shimabuku

United States Patent and Trademark Office

Josh Pesses

Berg Capital

Mike Morgan

University of Southern Mississippi

In order to have everything in place before the final pitch, the competition will follow a specific timeline and will be segmented into a few distinct phases.

Timeline of events for this year’s High-Stakes Pitch Competition:

How the Process Works

The application and executive summary are due April 5.
Semi-finalists will be notified on April 7.
Semi-finalists will submit competition materials by April 16.
- A pitch deck for review and comment by a team of accredited investors (supporting documents optional).
- Media materials including a logo, headshot, and company overview.
Semi-final pitches will be held on April 18 and will consist of a 10-minute pitch and 10-minute Q&A.

Finalist Selection & Final Pitch

TOP 4 FINALISTS

The finalists will receive coaching and mentorship. The pitch decks and supporting documents will be shared with the final round judges. All finalists submit their due diligence documents by April 21.

FINAL PITCH NIGHT

The final pitch competition will take place on Friday, May 5 at 4:00 P.M. in Downtown Baton Rouge.

The most investable company will be selected as the winner, according to the expert opinion of the judges. This event is open to the public and registration is required.

Additional Resources

The Investors

The investment being offered as a prize to the winning company comes from a two groups of Louisiana-based investors. The investment prize is managed by Innovation Catalyst and Red Stick Angels.