M West Challenge

West Michigan's Student Entrepreneurship Competition

Welcome to the 2023 MWest Challenge, a student venture competition designed to create cross collaboration between students that span across several universities from West Michigan. Through MWest, entrepreneurially minded students are able to develop and grow new ventures based on their own ideas. MWest involves eight West Michigan colleges and universities, representing 75,000 students from: Grand Valley State University, Kendall College of Art and Design, Davenport University, Aquinas College, Calvin College, Cornerstone University, Grand Rapids Community College, Kuyper College, and Hope College.

MWest Final Presentation Guide

Purpose of 7-minute Pitch

To communicate the company story and create enough excitement among investors (judges) to give you your “ask” at the end of the presentation.  

Presentation Guidelines

  • Be concise on your slides - 7 minutes will go quickly!

    1. Limit text to minimal bullet points

    2. Graphics speak louder than words

    3. Keep it high level - Technical specifics can be brought up in Q&A

  • Visual layout and aesthetics matter!

    1. Slides should be visually easy to follow and appealing

    2. Fonts, colors, formatting, etc. should be consistent throughout

    3. 24-30pt font should be used as a minimum.

Slide Content Suggestions

  1. Title Slide

    • Company Logo

    • Introduction of presenter(s)

    • Quick “clincher” statement or story to get the audience engaged (no more than 30 seconds)

  2. Problem Slide:

    • Graphic/picture depicting the problem

    • Very succinct problem statement, no jargon.  Make it relatable

    • Quantify why the problem needs to be solved (is it a need or luxury?)

  3. Solution Slide:

    • A succinct description of your solution and why it solves the consumer's pain

    • List key points of solution (avoid technical detail)

    • List or demonstrate any prototypes or MVPs  (minimum viable product) to illustrate the concept is feasible

  4. Competitive Landscape and Value Proposition Slide:

    • Chart or positioning map of competition

    • Where is your unique value proposition respective to the competition?

    • Do you have unique IP, relationships, etc?

  5. Target Audience Slide(s):

    • Analysis of who is buying your products (age, location, etc)

    • Size of the opportunity ($ figure, growth prospects for industry)

    • Your segment of the total opportunity and why

  6. Revenue Model Slide:

    • How do you make money? (Direct to consumer, SaaS, Licensing, etc)

    • What is your cost and pricing strategy (why?)

  7. Sales and Marketing Slide:

    • How do you acquire customers and build relationships?

    • What are your sales channels?

    • How will you deliver the goods?

  8. Team Slide:

    • Executive team bullet points (why are you the right team to execute?)

    • Who are your advisors and why are they useful?

  9. Traction/Validation Slide(s):

    • What is your consumer validation? (surveys, letters of intent, interviews, etc)

    • Do you have any pre-orders or sales?

    • Do you have prototypes?

  10. Financials Slide:

    • What is your 1-3 year financial projections - sales volumes, top-line sales, COGS, Gross Margins (refrain from large spreadsheets, chart is better)

    • What are your product/service margins?

    • What is your break-even?

  11. Go to Market Strategy Slide (s):

    • What activities and resources are needed to launch and scale?

    • What are the milestones to get paying customers?

    • How will you grow and meet your financial projections?

    • What is the timeline to meet your milestones?

  12. Next Steps Slide:

    • What are you asking for? (money, connections, partners, engineering, etc)

    • What are the 2-3 critical next steps to begin your go-to-market strategy?

  13. Thank you Slide:

    • Include impactful image of the solution

    • Contact information for the team

    • Thank judges and welcome any questions