Startup Virginia to Host 'Pitch for Charity' Event in Arlington

Startup Virginia will give 20 entrepreneurs an opportunity to make a 1-minute pitch later this month for a chance to bolster their business and to win a cash donation to the charity of their choice.

It's part of a weeklong series of events at entrepreneurial "hot spots" across Virginia, said Jennifer Ives, director of business investment at Arlington Economic Development.

Events will be held in Blacksburg, Charlottesville, Richmond, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. Arlington Economic Development will host the Northern Virginia event on Nov. 30 at its office on North Glebe Road.

"It's a huge deal in the startup world to be able to say you won a pitch event. It's a really big deal," Ives told Patch. "It gives them validity. It also gives them a really nice amount of publicity."

She added: "It's something they can point to and say, 'I'm really on my way with my company' — not only to other startups, but when they're talking to angel investors and potential funding sources."

The first 20 businesses to register will be given the chance to pitch their ideas in front of a panel that includes former White House Chief Technology Officer Aneesh Chopra, Startup America Managing Director Donna Harris and Amplifier Ventures Managing Director Jonathan Aberman.

The panel will offer feedback and ask questions about each pitch. The winner will be picked by the audience, which will be limited to about 80 people — many of them entrepreneurs, angel investors and venture capitalists.

The winner gets more than bragging rights.

Aside from a cash donation in their name to the charity of their choice — as of Wednesday afternoon, that prize was at $2,500 — one entrepreneur will walk away with work space at UberOffices in Rosslyn for three months, a Microsoft Windows phone and an hour-long session with Chopra, Harris and Aberman. 

"It's really a mentor session. And that's invaluable," Ives said. "It's a really great opportunity for the winner to get in front of this group and talk through the next steps of his or her company."

Space was filling up quickly Wednesday afternoon even before final details of the Arlington event were announced. Registration is free.

Organizers will record a video of each pitch and post them on Startup Virginia's YouTube channel, Ives said.

The Startup America Partnership spun out of a White House initiative about two years ago designed to foster entrepreneurship and increase the number of startups in this country. AOL co-founder Steve Case is the partnership's chairman.

The Startup Virginia initiative launched in January with an event at George Mason University's Arlington campus