The Pitch 2010 judges: Tips on winning from a dragon and a secret millionaire

The Pitch is a serious business competition, for people who are serious about their business. It’s about real experts supporting entrepreneurs with direct, no nonsense advice. If you think you have the idea and the pitching ability to be part of The Pitch 2010, you can download an application form here.

 

Judging the North region heat is Carl Hopkins, high-flying marketing exec, entrepreneurial heavyweight and star of Channel Four's The Secret Millionaire.  His involvement in the competition stems from a simple desire to be part of a great scheme which encourages people to take their ideas from the backs of envelopes, beer mats and kitchen tables with a view to starting new and creative initiatives.

 

Hopkins took control of the marketing firm JDA through a management buyout in 2000 after joining as a junior designer 14 years before. He sold the business in 2007 and has since become a serial entrepreneur with a host of projects under his belt. The most crucial business lesson he's learned is the importance of listening, and he says he'll be looking for evidence of belief and understanding in competition entrants.

 

"Belief in themselves and their ideas," he says. "Understanding of how to bring that idea to life, understanding of the market they are entering, the needs of their prospective customers and the possible pitfalls that lie ahead as well as the possible up sides."

 

What does he believe are the key ingredients that make up a successful entrepreneur? "Energy, drive and ambition are often quoted and that's quite true," he says. "But I think you also need a lot of stubbornness plus a large dose of confidence and inherent self-belief."

 

Sitting on the South east panel, as well as judging the grand final in London later this year, is Doug Richard, well known to BusinessZone.co.uk readers, and best known for his stint as one of the straight-talking investors on the first two series of BBC's Dragons' Den.

 

"I love working with entrepreneurs," says Richard. "They are visionary, hard working, insightful, innovative, hopeful and imaginative. They create wealth for themselves, employment for their associates, solutions for their customers.  The Pitch 2010 lets me meet hundreds of them; what's not to love about that?"

 

Richard holds a wealth of experience in the development and leadership of technology and software ventures. He's involved in The Pitch 2010 to look for the 'happy few' who he says have something really special to bring to market.

 

"I'll be looking for those who have created good products and services that meet the needs and fulfil the desires of real people," he says. "The most successful entrepreneurs seem to have a happy pragmatism that sees problems as opportunities. And they not only solve that problem for themselves, they have a tendency to solve it for everyone."

 

What's the top piece of advice he would offer to entrepreneurs? "Get one thing right," he says. "Most people who start businesses work way, way too hard and they work on exactly the wrong things. Their products are porcupines of features people may not even want, usually with one or two features everyone wants. They spend more time guessing what will make people buy what they sell rather than just finding out."

 

Richard advises entrants to The Pitch to see the competition as a massive opportunity. "You are very, very foolish if you attend this event and your focus as an entrepreneur is only on what the judges think," he warns. "Look around, network, see the opportunity in the likeminded, hard working innovators and business professionals around you. Look for relationships and find connections."