Pitch Party Part Deux

A year ago, the Morph team competed with fervor in the Carolina Challenge Pitch Party, a competition uniting startups, usually in the idea and pre-revenue stages, with the chance to earn up to $1,000 in prize money. A year ago, the Morph team came in confidently. A year ago, the Morph team didn't make it into the top 10- we weren't even close.

But this year, we're so much further ahead, and so much more confident than we were even last year. While last year we had an idea (not even a good idea, as it seems), this year we've got proof. We have thousands of dollars in revenue, hundreds of completed deliveries, and some fairly complex technology. I am confident beyond a doubt that we are the furthest along company competing this year. I'm even confident that we're further along than almost all of the companies that finished in the top 10 last year.

It seems, however, that my confidence and the Pitch Party don't mix well. Just like last year, I came in sure of a top 10 finish. Just like last year, I spent time writing and memorizing my 2-minute pitch for the finals, because I assumed, and perhaps with good reason, that I would be on that stage at the end of the night. And just like last year, we fell short.

I could think of excuses. There were only 2 of us (myself and Danny), so our exposure to judges was smaller. We were in the middle, so fewer judges came around than for the teams on the sides. Too many judges knew me and were either uncomfortable giving me votes, or just wanted to hang out and chat.

But none of those really matter. They don't even almost matter. We couldn't move on to the money round because 10 other teams were, in one way or another, better than us.

That hurts quite a bit. It feels bad to be told that you're bad. It feels worse because I've spent well over a year of thought and painful effort, and many thousands of dollars on Morph, while other teams were old if they'd started the idea in September and advanced if they had a PowerPoint slide showing what their app to order beers faster at sports bars might look like.

But, lessons continue to be learned. Don't get overly confident. Don't expect things before you've earned them. Don't underestimate competition. There is always more to do and more to learn, and this Pitch Party, which puts me at a world record 0-2 for the same idea, is proof of that.