Quantum Valley Investments® Problem Pitch - The Deliverables

In essence, the Quantum Valley Investments®️ Problem Pitch is designed to turn an aspiring entrepreneur’s focus to an important commercial problem, demonstrate they understand the problem, and discuss why past solutions or attempts to solve the problem failed to fully solve their chosen problem. Our goal is to have entrepreneurs that conduct rigorous problem analysis before they develop any products or services so their ventures can be more successful. 

The competition has mutiple deliverables that teams will complete at each phase of the competition. Details about each of these deliverables are available below. Teams are encouraged to review this information, which will also be distributed throughout the competition. 

There are 3 distinct deliverables that teams will be responsible for over the course of the competition. Each deliverable will be evaluated independently and contribute to the team's overall ranking

• A one-page briefing note document describing the team's chosen problem
• A five-minute pitch describing the problem in detail
• Up to 10 minutes of Questions & Answers (Q&A) between the team and the panel of judges during the competition finals

This one-page briefing note is a real world practice. Creating this briefing note will provide you with an opportunity to present your pitch verbally and in written format just as you will be expected to do when pitching your idea in the business world. Preparing you for real world scenarios is one of our goals.

Expectations for the briefing note:

Prior to the final pitch, teams are required to complete a one page analysis of their problem. This will cover the problem statement, context, history, and failure analysis of the team's chosen problem. More information on these components is available within the Problem Lab methodology. The one pager is not a summary of the team's pitch. It should represent the most important findings in the sections of the Problem Lab methodology (context, history, and failure analysis). Seperately, the pitch itself provides additional information and insights about the problem. Be clear and concise in this one-page summary, keeping in mind that the judges may not have prior knowledge of each topic.

The briefing note is not evaluated.

Judges themselves will also be encouraged to write down additional comments that will be shared with each team.

The heart of the competition is the 5-minute pitch that teams will prepare and present. Developing a concise and compelling pitch or presentation is a valuable skill that goes beyond the Quantum Valley Investments®️ Problem Pitch itself. 

Expectations for the pitch:

With the 1-page problem analysis (described above) providing an analysis of each team's chosen problem, the pitch allows each team to discuss their problem in more depth. The pitch is not a repetition of the information provided by in the team's one-page document. Teams are expected to discuss the most vital information and insights they have found during the research into their chosen problem.  

Teams are not expected to discuss their problem within the format of the methodology. While teams may choose to structure their pitch using parts of the Problem Lab methodology, they will have the creative freedom to express their findings as they choose.

Judges will look for:

The judges will be evaluating the analysis based on how well the team understood their problem, the verbal presentation, and whether the team was able to present specific insights into the problem.

After each team has concluded their pitch, there will be a Q&A period where judges are able to ask questions directly to the team. 

Expectations for the Q&A:

For each team, the Q&A is the final opportunity to expand on their problem analysis and potray their expertise into their chosen problem. While teams will not receive questions in advance, there should be some consideration as to types of questions that a viewer may ask about the problem. 

Teams are not expected to speculate about topics, events, etc. that are beyond the scope of their research, and may wish to indicate that a question is out-of-scope without fear of penalty.

During the Q&A, judges will refrain from asking how each team will solve their chosen problem.