The Rise of the Rest Road Trip is swinging through Columbus on October 13, 2017 and with it comes a chance for local startups to pitch for $100,000 in funding.
On the road-tripping bus that has made its way across 6,000 plus miles of highway to 26 cities around the country is Steve Case, co-founder of AOL and chairman of Washington, D.C.-based investment firm, Revolution.
“Rise of the Rest celebrates and funds emerging startup ecosystems across the U.S.,” said Case in a press release. “We are thrilled to hit the road once again to find the companies driving innovation and creating jobs across the country.”
Case will be joined by J.D. Vance, venture capitalist, Ohio native and author of Hillbilly Elegy. Vance recently joined Revolution as a Partner and will split time between Columbus and Washington, D.C.
Columbus is one of the five cities where Case has committed $100,000 to local startups during the sixth iteration of the tour. Rise of the Rest will also make stops in Central Pennsylvania on October 10, followed by Ann Arbor on October 11, Indianapolis on October 12 and a final stop in Green Bay October 17.
The tour’s events will included a free fireside chat with Case and Vance discussing Columbus’ startup economy, the Rise of the Rest pitch competition and a social happy hour.
Applications are open through August 15, 2017 for the pitch competition. Eligibility requirements include:
- Being headquartered within a 75-mile radius of Columbus
- Having a live product/service or being in active beta
- Having measurable performance indicators such as revenue, customers, successful beta results, etc.
- Currently raising – or have near-term plans to raise – an early stage round
Startups of all industries are encouraged to apply. Past finalists have come from industries ranging from food tech and IoT, to SaaS/B2B Marketing and energy. Pitch competition finalists will be judged on the following criteria:
- Bold Idea: Does the idea “swing for the fences” and have the potential to disrupt a big industry, affect your community, or even change the world?
- Jobs: Will the idea, if it scales, employ a large number of people?
- Team: Does the team have the skills and leadership to move forward on this idea?
- Execution: Is there strong customer growth or revenue?
- Business Model: Has a revenue model been defined and is it realistic and sustainable?
- Supporting Documents: The quality of your application responses and other supporting materials such as pitch deck, company website, product demo, video introduction.
For more information and to register for Rise of the Rest, visit riseofrest.com.
For more information and to register for the pitch competition, click here.
