1st Annual Bad Idea Pitch Competition (in Partnership with Raleigh-Durham Startup Week)
An evening of the most amazing pitches of the worst startup ideas you've ever heard.
What happens when five ambitious teams are challenged to solve real founder problems in the most unfundable ways?
You get the 1st Annual Bad Idea Pitch Competition.
In partnership with Raleigh-Durham Startup Week, we’ve invited five teams to dream up and pitch spectacularly flawed made-up ventures inspired by real quirks and challenges across the Triangle startup scene. The catch? The ideas must be intentionally terrible — but delivered with total conviction.
Each team will present live to a panel of Celebrity Judges, who will weigh in and cast their votes. The audience gets a vote, too — so you’ll help decide which team earns the title of Best Worst Idea.
Expect sharp pitches, questionable business models, and just enough satire to hit close to home.
And yes, there will be a bar. 🍻
Come for the creativity, stay for the community (and maybe a drink), and kick off Raleigh Durham Startup Week with an event that doesn’t take itself too seriously — even if the presenters do.
Pitch Team Applications Are Live
Do you have the worst ideas? Apply to lead a pitch team here: https://airtable.com/appwJTZLBy955Kvik/paghhParKXOFuS6cH/form
Meet Your Celebrity Judge Panel
Alphonzo "Phonz" Terrell, Co-Founder & CEO of SPILL
Venus Liles, Founder of Liles Law & DanceHer
Wendy Coulter, Founder/CEO of Hummingbird Creative Group
Jess Ekstrom, founder of Mic Drop Workshop and author of Making it Without Losing it
Thank You, Sponsors!
We are so grateful to our sponsors for their support of the 1st Annual Bad Idea Pitch Competition. We may be coming together to celebrate bad ideas, but checking our sponsors out is a GREAT idea. Trust us.