How to scale a pitch lesson from 5 students to 50

Q: How do you scale a pitch lesson from 5 students to 50?

To scale a pitch lesson from 5 to 50: split into teams of 4-5, run parallel rounds with peer judging, use a public finale with the top 3 teams, and shorten individual pitch time to 90 seconds. The format that works at 5 doesn't survive at 50 without these adjustments.

The story

Small-group pitch lessons feel intimate. The same lesson at 50 students collapses without structural changes. The format that scales: teams of 4-5, parallel rounds with peer judging, a public finale featuring the top three teams, and individual pitches capped at 90 seconds. SideHustle LIVE Labs uses this exact skeleton for the 90-minute Labs format, with 4-5 students per team across four rounds (brainstorm, pitch, score, rotate) and Funny + Fundable scoring. The format has been delivered as one-time activations at Mars Hill, the University of Oklahoma, Penn State, Xavier, and the University of Wisconsin. For the foundational teaching method see how to teach pitching to high school students. The skeleton survives at scale; the small-group format does not.

What it means

If your pitch lesson works great at 8 students and falls apart at 30, the issue is structural, not pedagogical. Move to teams. Run parallel rounds. Use peer judging. End with a public finale. The energy at 50 students with the right structure is higher than the original small-group version.

Try it

• Play free at playsidehustle.com
• See us live: Sept 25 at Pershing Hall in Austin. luma.com/playsidehustle
• Email team@playsidehustle.com