4 Ways to Dominate a Pitch CompetitionWin or lose, entering a contest can be a good way to meet investors. But let's be honest -- it's better to win.

For Ash Kumra, winning a pitch competition yielded much more than the $30,000 in cash and professional services he received. "Contests offer instant validation," Kumra says. "That tells an investor or a sponsor that this business isn't going to disappear."

In 2010 Kumra won the Irvine Entrepreneur Forum, a pitch contest held by the Chamber of Commerce in Irvine, Calif. The win helped him launch DesiYou, a digital video distributor of Indian entertainment. Since then, he has been recognized by the White House as a young entrepreneur to watch and co-foundedDreamItAlive.com, an online personal growth community with more than 50,000 members and sponsors such as Microsoft and HR provider TriNet.