Winning a pitch isn't about having the best slide deck. It’s actually almost never about the deck. If you've ever looked into the global startup scene, you’ve probably heard of Get in the Ring. It’s this wild, high-energy pitch competition foundation that started in the Netherlands back in 2012 and basically turned the boring world of venture capital into a boxing match. Literally. They put founders in a ring, two at a time, to go head-to-head. It sounds like a gimmick, right? But after watching dozens of these battles, you realize it’s actually the most honest way to test if a business can survive.
The world doesn't need another generic pitch.
Honestly, most founders are terrible at explaining what they do. They hide behind jargon like "synergy" and "scalable ecosystems." Get in the Ring forces you to stop doing that. Because when you’re standing across from another human being with a referee and a ticking clock, you either make sense or you lose. There’s no middle ground. This isn't just about entertainment; it’s about the brutal reality of the market. If you can't explain your value proposition to a "Champion" (their word for the expert judges) in 30 seconds while music is blasting, you’re probably going to struggle with customers too.
The Raw Mechanics of the Pitch Battle
So, how does it actually work? It’s not just a free-for-all. The Get in the Ring Foundation—which grew out of the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship—has a very specific structure. They divide the "battle" into five rounds. You’ve got the team, the achievements, the business model, the market, and the "fire" round.
Think about that for a second.
Most pitch events give you five minutes to ramble. Here, you get less than a minute per topic. It’s intense. It’s fast. You have to be punchy. I've seen founders crumble because they spent forty seconds talking about their PhD and zero seconds talking about how they actually make money. The judges don't care about your degree if the unit economics are trash. The Get in the Ring format exposes those gaps instantly. It’s a pressure cooker.
One of the coolest things is how they’ve scaled. They aren't just in Rotterdam anymore. They’ve done events in over 100 countries. From Singapore to Casablanca, the vibe stays the same. They want to find the "Global Winner," but the real value is the localized exposure. Local winners get to travel, meet investors they’d never have access to otherwise, and join a network that actually gives a damn about global impact. It’s about more than just a trophy; it’s about the "Global Startup Registry" and the connections that follow.
Why the "Boxing Ring" Isn't Just for Show
People ask if the ring is necessary. Is it just for the Instagram photos? Well, yeah, the photos are great for PR, but the psychological impact is real. When you get in the ring, your adrenaline spikes. This is a physical representation of the "arena" that Theodore Roosevelt famously talked about.
It changes your posture. It changes your voice.
There’s a specific psychological shift that happens when you step up those steps. You're no longer a person with a laptop; you're a contender. Investors see that. They want to see how you handle the heat. Can you pivot when a judge calls out a flaw in your "market" round? Or do you get defensive and shut down? In the real world of business, your competitors aren't going to be polite. They’re going to try to take your lunch money. This competition simulates that friction in a way a boardroom never can.
The Problem With Traditional Pitching
Traditional pitching is a monologue. It’s boring. You stand there, click a button, read some bullet points, and hope nobody notices your revenue projections are just a straight line going up at 45 degrees. Boring.
In a Get in the Ring battle, it’s a dialogue—or rather, a duel. You’re reacting to the other person. If the founder next to you just dropped a massive stat about their user growth, you have to counter it. You have to show why your moat is deeper. This creates a level of transparency that's incredibly rare in the startup world. You can’t just hide behind a flashy PowerPoint because, half the time, there isn't even a screen behind you. It’s just you and your words.
What Real Success Looks Like in the Ring
Let’s look at some real context. Take a company like EyeVerify (now Zentid). They were one of the early success stories. They didn't just win a local trophy; they used the momentum from the competition to gain massive international visibility, eventually leading to an acquisition by Ant Financial for something like $100 million.
That’s the "Get in the Ring" effect.
It’s not just about the prize money—which varies depending on the year and the sponsors—it’s about the validation. When you win, you’re telling the world that your business model survived a literal cage match of scrutiny. For a startup in a place like Rwanda or Colombia, that kind of global stamp of approval is life-changing. It levels the playing field. It doesn't matter if you're in Silicon Valley or a small coworking space in Eastern Europe. If you have the "fire," you can win.
Common Mistakes Founders Make in the Battle
I’ve watched enough of these to know where people trip up. It’s almost always one of three things. First, they focus on the "what" and not the "why." Nobody cares that you built an AI-powered toothbrush. They care that you’re solving the $40 billion problem of gum disease.
Second, they ignore the "Achievements" round.
This is the round where you talk about traction. If you don't have numbers, you're just a person with an idea. Ideas are cheap. Execution is expensive. If you stand in that ring and say "we're planning to launch," you’ve already lost to the person who says "we have 5,000 beta users and 10% month-over-month growth."
Finally, they lack "The Fire." That’s the final round. It’s your closing statement. Most people just repeat what they already said. That’s a mistake. You need to tell the judges why you are the person to lead this company through the "trough of sorrow" that every startup hits. You need to show that you won't quit when things get ugly.
It's Kinda About the Network, Too
Beyond the theatrics, the Get in the Ring Foundation does a lot of heavy lifting behind the scenes. They run "Global Meetups." They connect corporates with startups. This is where the real business happens. Companies like Shell, Philips, and Lieshout have used these events to find innovative partners.
It’s basically a matchmaking service on steroids.
If you're a startup, you aren't just looking for a check. You’re looking for a pilot program. You're looking for a mentor who has actually scaled a company to ten countries. The Get in the Ring ecosystem provides that, but you have to be willing to put yourself out there. It’s not for the introverted founder who wants to stay in the lab forever. You have to be willing to fight for your spot.
How to Prepare for the Ring
If you're thinking about applying, don't just practice your speech. That’s amateur hour. You need to prepare for the "rounds."
- The Team Round: Focus on why you are a "dream team." Do you have a technical wizard and a sales beast? Say that. Don't just list names.
- The Achievements: Have your KPIs memorized. CAC, LTV, Churn—know them like your phone number. If you hesitate on your numbers in the ring, you look like you don't know your business.
- The Market: How big is it really? Don't say "the global healthcare market is $8 trillion." That’s meaningless. Tell them your "Serviceable Obtainable Market" (SOM). How much can you actually grab in the next 24 months?
- The Business Model: How do you make money? Is it a subscription? A hardware play? Be crystal clear.
The Reality Check
Is Get in the Ring perfect? No. Some people find the spectacle a bit much. If you're building a highly sensitive biotech startup that requires twenty minutes of data explanation to understand, a 30-second battle round might feel reductive. And that's a fair point. Not every business is built for a "battle."
However, the core skill—the ability to communicate complex ideas simply and under pressure—is universal. Even if you never step foot in a physical ring, the discipline of preparing for one will make your normal investor meetings 10x better. It forces you to kill your darlings. It forces you to be interesting.
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The startup world is crowded. There are millions of companies vying for the same "dry powder" from VCs. Standing out is a survival requirement, not a luxury. Whether you love the boxing theme or think it's cheesy, you can't argue with the results. It has launched companies, created thousands of jobs, and forced the stuffy world of business to lighten up a little bit.
Actionable Next Steps for Founders
Don't just read about this and go back to your old pitch deck. Use the "battle" mentality to audit your business. Here is how you can actually apply the Get in the Ring philosophy today:
- The 30-Second Rule: Try to explain your entire business model to someone who knows nothing about your industry. If they don't get it in 30 seconds, rewrite it. Use simpler words. No, even simpler than that.
- Audit Your Traction: Look at your "Achievements" round. If it’s empty, stop pitching and start building. Go get ten customers. Go finish the MVP. The ring favors the doers.
- Practice Under Stress: Have a friend "heckle" you while you pitch. Have them interrupt you. It sounds mean, but it builds the mental calluses you need to handle a real Q&A session with a skeptical investor.
- Check the Calendar: Go to the official Get in the Ring website and see when the next "Global Startup Competition" is happening in your region. Even if you don't apply, go watch. See what the winners do differently than the losers.
At the end of the day, business is a contact sport. You’re going to get hit. You’re going to have bad days. The question isn't whether you'll face a battle—it's whether you're ready to step into the ring when the bell rings. If you can handle the lights, the music, and the pressure of a global stage, you can handle a board meeting. Focus on the "fire." Focus on the facts. The rest is just noise.