Two events · December 2026 and May 2027
Five minutes. A panel of judges. An idea you've actually built.
Every track ends in front of an outside panel. Student teams present the business they built — market evidence, financials, marketing plan, and all — to industry judges who score it and question it in real time. Two tracks, two events, two different rooms.
The two events
Different tracks, different panels.
Fall track
Fall Pitch Event
Week of December 7, 2026. You present the venture you built in MGMT 80 and AI 45 — the problem, the market case, the model, and the numbers.
Judged by Small Business Development Center advisors and working entrepreneurs. The people in this room have started and advised real businesses, and they'll ask you the questions a small-business owner would.
Spring track
Spring Capstone Pitch Event
May 2027. You present the go-to-market case you built in MKTG 47 and AI 40 — positioning, pricing, channels, and the campaign behind it.
Judged by marketing professionals. A different panel with a different lens: not just "is this a real business" but "can you actually reach the people who'd buy it?"
Students who complete both tracks pitch twice, to two separate industry panels, and carry feedback from December into the spring. That is the strongest version of this program — but a single track is a complete experience with a real, judged finish.
The run-up
You don't walk in cold.
Each track builds toward its own event across four AI touchpoints, with SBDC advisors and industry coaches working on your project along the way.
Oct 26 – Nov 2026
Build
Business model and market case
Research, validate, and pressure-test the idea in MGMT 80 and AI 45 across four touchpoints.
Week of Dec 7, 2026
Pitch
Fall Pitch Event
SBDC advisors and entrepreneurs, scored rubric, live questions, networking afterward.
Spring 2027
Sharpen
Marketing plan and revisions
Take a venture to market in MKTG 47 and AI 40 — yours from the fall, or something new.
May 2027
Pitch
Spring Capstone
Marketing professionals, scored rubric, live questions, and networking afterward.
How you're scored
The rubric, in plain terms.
Problem clarity
Is there a real problem, and can you show someone actually has it?
Market evidence
Do your numbers come from somewhere, and can you name the source?
Financial reasoning
Does the money work, and do you understand your own assumptions?
Responsible AI use
Can you show where AI helped, where you overrode it, and why?
Delivery
Five minutes, clear story, confident under questions.
Team
Does the work hold together, and does everyone know their part of it?
The full rubric is shared with students in the first week of each track, not held back until the end. You should know exactly what you're being measured on. The Spring rubric weights the go-to-market case more heavily; everything else carries over.
Judges
Who's in the room.
For the Fall event: Small Business Development Center advisors at Long Beach City College, plus entrepreneurs and small-business leaders from the region. Several of these advisors also work with student teams during the touchpoints, so they arrive already knowing the projects.
For the Spring event: marketing professionals recruited through LBCC's industry advisory committees, regional chambers of commerce, and faculty networks.
At both events, judges score against the rubric, give each team direct verbal feedback, and stay afterward for open networking with students.
Details
Event information
| Fall event | Week of December 7, 2026 — exact date to be announced |
|---|---|
| Spring event | May 2027 — exact date to be announced |
| Where | Long Beach City College — venue to be announced |
| Format | Team presentations with live judge questions, followed by open networking |
| Open to | LBCC students, faculty, staff, families, and the Long Beach business community |
| Cost | Free to attend |
RSVP for the Fall event opens in November 2026. Join the interest list and we'll send the invitation.
