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.

This ClimateTech Scalathon is being held at the 9Zero Climate Hub in downtown Seattle.

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

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 as a solopreneur or with no more than one co-founder, you can pitch your own existing startup as a team. Such teams will be judged separately from the "raw concept" teams.
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Key Activities & Flow

DAY 1: FRIDAY — KICKOFF & IDEATION

5:00pm Registration and Networking
6:00pm Opening Keynote: “ClimateTech 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.
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 each the following:
- An experienced ClimateTech technologist
- A Go To Market (GTM) expert, aka “growth hacker”
- A domain expert in the problem space
- A financial modeling expert

DAY 2: SATURDAY — BUILD & VALIDATE

9:00am Doors open
9:30am: Team registrations and room assignments
10:00am How to Build a Fundable Venture-Scale Business Plan with Venture Mechanics' CEO Ron Wiener. This is a customized version of Venture Mechanics' bi-monthly workshop Is My Startup Venture Fundable tuned for Climate Solutions startups.
11:30am -6:00pm 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
- Teams are separated into two groups for judging: "raw concept" teams first, and the "existing solopreneur and duopreneur" teams.
- Judges will announce their top selections for the most scalable startup ideas
- Audience will crowdvote for their top selections
- Prizes awarded
6:00pm -7:00pm Networking reception

DETAILS‍

Meals provided:
- Pizza at 7pm Friday
- Light dinner and adult beverages Saturday 6pm-7pm
- Appetizers and adult beverages Sunday 6pm-7pm
For up-to-the-minute details see the event page here.

About 9Zero: We are a community of founders, investors, scientists, and innovators who drive climate action together. Through our club, events, and connections, we build relationships and accelerate solutions. If you’re working toward a healthier world, you belong here. Join us - 9Zero.com