Startup Pitches and the Competitor in All of Us

It’s hard to grasp that fall is almost here. At each AWS Summit this year we’ve had thought-provoking conversations with startups all over the world. You’ve shared big ideas, inspiring stories, and useful insights on what does and doesn’t work when bringing your AWS-powered business to market.

Two common themes we hear in our conversations with startups are the competitive nature of entrepreneurs and the challenges startups face when trying to get their big idea “out there.” At AWS we share that competitive spirit. We do love a good competition and have been able to fuel the competitive fire of startups across three continents:

• This spring in China 10 startups were selected (from 60 finalists!) to give their best two-minute pitch.
• At the Sydney, Australia, AWS Summit startups were asked to stop by a startup station and give their best elevator pitch. The winner was ShopBuzz.
• At the AWS Summit in Berlin, Germany, five startups were selected out of dozens to present their best elevator pitch to Amazon CTO Werner Vogels — in an actual moving elevator! The winner was Payworks.

We’ve received great feedback on these pitch competitions and are excited to announce the biggest Activate competition that AWS has held to date:

Today we are calling on Israeli startups who are looking to change the world.

At the AWS Summit in Tel Aviv on September 17, three startups will get the opportunity to pitch their idea in front of 1,500 summit attendees following Werner’s keynote speech. Prizes include a 1:1 session with Werner Vogels or part of $70,000 (250,000 ILS) in AWS credits. If you represent a startup and are planning to be in Tel Aviv for the AWS Summit, you’ll need to submit a short online survey by September 8 in order to be considered for a spot in the pitch competition.

An executive judging panel of industry experts will select the three ideas to be present. The three chosen startups will then pitch their ideas. Finally, the panel will select the first, second, and third place pitches, who will be invited to come on stage and receive their prizes before the closing keynote at the end of the summit.

Interested in pitching to Werner? Submit this short survey by September 8 to be considered for a spot in the contest.

Looking for the details? Check out the contest detail page and read all the details, including prize breakdown.

AWS Startup Team