Venture Mechanics' Scalathon events are unique. Unlike a hackathon, where the goal is to develop code over a weekend, in a Scalathon diversely-talented teams try to solve major real-world problems, by crafting venture-scale business plans optimized for scalability, monetization, and investor readiness. Instead of demonstrating your code at the end, you'll be presenting your compelling business plan to a panel of VCs to see which team has come up with the biggest venture-scale business idea.

‍

Format Overview
‍

• Length: 48 hours (Friday evening to Sunday evening)
  
  
• Participants: Teams of 3-6 (encouraged to mix business, technical, and domain expertise, ensuring diversely-talented teams)
  
  
• Goal: Develop a robust, investor-ready business plan for a scalable AI startup tackling a significant problem, and deliver a great pitch
  
  

Key Activities & Flow
‍

DAY 1: FRIDAY — KICKOFF & IDEATION

• 5:00pm Registration and Networking
  
  
• 6:00pm Opening Keynote:
  Bridging the Cultural Gaps on ClimateTech at Venture Scale:
  What Investors Want, What Founders Do and What the Planet Needs
  This will be a fireside chat ‍with Steve Winkelman

• 7:00pm Problem Space Insights: “Founders” will take the microphone and describe the problem space they are thinking about, and solicit co-founders to approach them to discuss its merits.  Potential “co-founders” will then network with founders in the room and brainstorm to identify large, meaningful problem spaces where AI can be transformative. Conference rooms will be available for breakout whiteboarding sessions.
  
  
• 8:30pm Team Formation: Initial “co-founders” will take the stage to describe the problem space they want to attack, and solicit the additional co-founders they still need to complete their teams.
  
  Ideal team formation will include at least one of the following:
  
  • An experienced ClimateTech technologist
  • A Go To Market (GTM) expert, aka “growth hacker”
  • A domain expert in the problem space

DAY 2: SATURDAY — BUILD & VALIDATE

• 9:00am Doors open
  
  
• 9:30am: Team registrations and room assignments
  
  
• 10:00am Scalability Levers Workshop with Gregory Kennedy: Tactics for 10x user/revenue growth with ClimateTech products. A panel of growth hacking experts will discuss state-of-the-art methods that the teams can employ to achieve their scalability goals.
  
  
• 11:00am Teams Get To Work on:
  
  
  • Market Analysis & Sizing
  • Monetization Model
  • Competition & Differentiation
  • Go-to-Market Strategy
  • Exit Strategy
    
    
• Guest Mentors: Experienced mentors and investors from the Venture Mechanics Catapult Accelerator will roam room-to-room throughout the day to touch base with the co-founders and see how their ideas are coming along, providing constructive suggestions to move their ideas forward.
  ‍

DAY 3: SUNDAY — FINALIZE & PRESENT

• 9:00am Doors open
  
  
• 9:30am Teams sign up for a time slot to practice their pitches with pitch coaches
  
  
• 10:00am Teams get their 20 minutes to pitch their deals to coaches in the Airbus Room (10 minutes to pitch, 10 minutes for feedback)
  
  
• 2:00pm Teams submit their final pitch deck to missioncontrol@venturemechanics.com.
  
  
• 3:00pm Team Presentations (10-min pitch + Q&A) to the investors on the judging panel.
  
  
• 5:30pm Awards
  
  • Judges will announce their top selection for the most scalable startup idea
  • Audience will crowdvote for their top selection
  • Prizes awarded
    
    
• 6:00pm -7:00pm Networking reception
  ‍

Who can be a "Founder" at a Scalathon

Absolutely anyone with an idea from a problem to attach can stand up on Friday evening to pitch their idea, and pull together a team of 4-6 diversely talented individuals.

If you are currently running a very early stage startup solo or with only one co-founder, you can pitch your own existing startup as a team.

‍

DETAILS‍

• Free parking
• Meals provided:
  • Pizza at 7pm Friday
  • Snacks and adult beverages Saturday 6pm-7pm
  • Snacks and adult beverages Sunday 6pm-7pm

‍

Venture Mechanics' Scalathon events are unique. Unlike a hackathon, where the goal is to develop code over a weekend, in a Scalathon diversely-talented teams try to solve major real-world problems, by crafting venture-scale business plans optimized for scalability, monetization, and investor readiness. Instead of demonstrating your code at the end, you'll be presenting your compelling business plan to a panel of VCs to see which team has come up with the biggest venture-scale business idea. Think of it as the final quarter of your MBA class culminating in a business plan pitch competition, only you did it in 48 hours.

‍

Format Overview
‍

• Length: 48 hours (Friday evening to Sunday evening)
  
  
• Participants: Teams of 3-6 (encouraged to mix business, technical, and domain expertise, ensuring diversely-talented teams)
  
  
• Goal: Develop a robust, investor-ready business plan for a scalable AI startup tackling a significant problem, and deliver a great pitch
  
  

Key Activities & Flow
‍

DAY 1: FRIDAY — KICKOFF & IDEATION
‍

• 5:00pm Registration and Networking
  
  
• 6:00pm Opening Keynote: “DefenseTech at Venture Scale: What Investors Want”
  
  
• 7:00pm Problem Space Insights: “Founders” will take the microphone and describe the problem space they are thinking about, and solicit co-founders to approach them to discuss its merits.  Potential “co-founders” will then network with founders in the room and brainstorm to identify large, meaningful problem spaces where AI can be transformative. Conference rooms will be available for breakout whiteboarding sessions.
  
  
• 8:30pm Team Formation: Initial “co-founders” will take the stage to describe the problem space they want to attack, and solicit the additional co-founders they still need to complete their teams.
  
  Ideal team formation will include at least one of the following:
  
  • An experienced technologist
  • A Go To Market (GTM) expert, aka “growth hacker”
  • A domain expert in the problem space
    ‍

DAY 2: SATURDAY — BUILD & VALIDATE
‍

• 9:00am Doors open
  
  
• 9:30am: Team registrations and room assignments
  
  
• 10:00am Scalability Levers Workshop: Tactics for 10x user/revenue growth with DefenseTech products. A panel of growth hacking experts will discuss state-of-the-art methods that the teams can employ to achieve their scalability goals.
  
  
• 11:00am Teams Get To Work on:
  
  
  • Market Analysis & Sizing
  • Monetization Model
  • Competition & Differentiation
  • Go-to-Market Strategy
  • Exit Strategy
    
    
• Guest Mentors: Experienced mentors and investors from the Venture Mechanics Catapult Accelerator will roam room-to-room throughout the day to touch base with the co-founders and see how their ideas are coming along, providing constructive suggestions to move their ideas forward.
  ‍

DAY 3: SUNDAY — FINALIZE & PRESENT
‍

• 9:00am Doors open
  
  
• 9:30am Teams sign up for a time slot to practice their pitches with pitch coaches, led by Dana Sather Robinson.
  
  
• 10:00am Teams get their 20 minutes to pitch their deals to coaches in the Airbus Room (5 minutes to pitch, 15 minutes for feedback)
  
  
• 2:00pm Teams submit their final pitch deck to missioncontrol@venturemechanics.com.
  
  
• 3:00pm Team Presentations (5-min pitch + Q&A) to the investors on the judging panel.
  
  
• 5:30pm Awards
  
  • Judges will announce their top selection for the most scalable startup idea
  • Audience will crowdvote for their top selection
  • Prizes awarded
    
    
• 6:00pm -7:00pm Networking reception
  ‍

Who can be a "Founder" at a Scalathon

Absolutely anyone with an idea from a problem to attach can stand up on Friday evening to pitch their idea, and pull together a team of 4-6 diversely talented individuals.

If you are currently running a very early stage startup solo or with only one co-founder, you can pitch your own existing startup as a team.

‍

DETAILS‍

• Free parking
• Meals provided:
  • Pizza at 7pm Friday
  • Snacks and adult beverages Saturday 6pm-7pm
  • Snacks and adult beverages Sunday 6pm-7pm

‍