5 startups practice “The Pitch”

You could call it the business equivalent of a pre-season game.

The score didn’t count on the final record, but the bruises and bumps — and the lessons — are all real.

On Wednesday, five companies from around Virginia and North Carolina laid it all out on the line for a group of angel investors in the third of a series of mock venture capital pitches held at business schools across the state. This final Live Fire! event was held at the University of Richmond’s Robins School of Business.

Moderator Letitia Green, managing director of the Virginia Active Angel Network, said that the key to attracting an investor is all in the presentation.

“You have to entertain them, this is what I call A-D-D money,” said Green. “You only have a few minutes to get their attention.”

The event was not a competition, nor were any checks promised. Instead, participating companies polished up their pitching skills, while future entrepreneurs and students watched the venture-capital-raising process firsthand. Read more