MyStartupValley Events · Guide
How to run a demo day, step by step
Most demo days end with applause and no follow-up. Investors leave, founders chase them on WhatsApp, and the organiser can't show what came of it. A demo day is judged by one thing: meetings between founders and investors after it.
Create my demo day formWhat a good demo day delivers
- A shortlist investors trust. Picked on deck, traction and team.
- The right investors in the room. Invited by sector and stage.
- Planned conversations. Everyone knows who to meet before the pitches end.
- Follow-ups that happen. Meetings set within days.
The 8 steps
- Fix the date, venue and pitch slots. 8 to 12 pitches of 5 minutes keeps investors in the room.
- Open founder applications 4 to 6 weeks out. Startup, sector, stage, deck, revenue and team. See the demo day registration form template.
- Invite investors on the same link. Four fields: type, firm, sectors and stages.
- Shortlist 2 weeks out. Accept the founders who pitch and tell the rest the same week. Accept and decline send a kind email.
- Send passes and the agenda. Every registrant has an Event Pass; post the agenda on it the week before.
- Check people in with QR. Volunteers scan passes with any phone, offline if they must.
- Score and connect. Each juror scores on a personal link, no login needed. Attendees see Who's here and Top 5; founders send meeting requests.
- Report the outcome. Registered, checked in, walk-ins, details swapped, meetings set and jury scores, in PDF or Excel.
Questions
Anything else? Ask the MSV team
How many startups should pitch?
8 to 12.
How early should applications open?
4 to 6 weeks before, with the shortlist out 2 weeks before.
How do jurors score?
Each pitch 1 to 10 on Team, Market, Traction and Ask, plus one line of feedback for the founder.