SUPERDEBATEThe world loves to argue.
We’re turning it into a sport.
The league and platform for competitive debate.
SUPERDEBATEThe opportunity
We are building the UFC of competitive debate.
The fragmented category
School
Trained competitors who age out at graduation
College
Elite talent with no professional path
Public
Celebrated main-stage debates with no league behind them
Online
Vast audiences watching, with no way to take part
The league opportunity
Mixed martial arts had gyms, fighters and fans long before it had the UFC. Debate has all three today, and no league.
We unite that talent and audience in one sport people can join, improve at and follow.
02
SUPERDEBATEThe system
A sport people can watch, join and compete in.
Watch
Featured debates
Leading thinkers argue consequential questions before a live audience, then reach a far larger one online.
Join
Local clubs
Recurring rooms where adults practice, sharpen their reasoning and find their people.
Compete
Championships
A circuit that turns strong local debaters into names people follow, from city titles to a world final.
03
SUPERDEBATETraction
The league is already running.
Every layer of the league is operating today, from a recurring club to an international final. This round connects them and scales what already works.
12+
Live events produced across four cities
800+
Users and counting
7
Countries represented at our international championship in Roatán
12+
Leading professors getting involved
04
SUPERDEBATEThe participants
Leading thinkers are joining SuperDebate.
Manolis Kellis
MIT professor; Broad Institute member
Sir David Spiegelhalter
Cambridge professor emeritus; Fellow of the Royal Society
Pedro Domingos
UW professor emeritus; author of The Master Algorithm
Robin Hanson
George Mason economist; author of The Age of Em
Anthony Fowler
Professor, University of Chicago
Garett Jones
Professor of economics, George Mason
They come for a worthy opponent and a question they help shape, not an appearance fee.
Joined in Chicago by faculty from Northwestern, DePaul and Chicago-Kent.
05
SUPERDEBATEThe season ahead
The first shows in a national debate circuit.
Chicago
Oct 21
The Ferris
Two live debates on artificial intelligence with audience voting, plus a Socratic dialogue
New York
Nov 16
Manhattan
Launch showcase; venue to be announced
Boston
Nov 17
Laugh Boston
Hosted with Modus Ponens Institute and headlined by MIT’s Manolis Kellis
Chicago
Nov 18
The Ferris
Showcase No. 2, with audience-picked lightning rounds
Venues
4
Chicago venues offered free by partners, including a 300-seat auditorium
500+
Seat rooms for the flagship shows that follow
Our aim is a national circuit in 30+ cities within 18 months, with leading thinkers, recurring competitors and a season audiences can follow. Live shows, recorded debates and local clubs give people ways to participate between headline events.
06
SUPERDEBATEThe platform
One platform connects the people and the league.
Already live
Join, attend, debate, practice
Events and ticketing, club discovery, live online debate and AI practice, in use today.
The next layer
Records, rankings, qualification
The shared infrastructure that turns every city into one competitive circuit.
Built in-house
Designed and engineered by our founder, so each new city launches on the full system from its first night.
07
SUPERDEBATEThe flywheel
Every event and video expands the same league.
01
Debates and events
Live and online debates create media, relationships and sponsor inventory.
02
Media and distribution
Recordings and clips reach new audiences through our speakers and partners.
04
Network and revenue
More participants and sponsors fund better programming and new cities.
03
Community and talent
Viewers become members, competitors and local organizers.
One league08
SUPERDEBATEThe market
The audience extends far beyond debate alumni.
53.3M
College-educated adults in the 55 U.S. metros above one million people
4.52M
Of them in Chicago and Boston alone, our first two markets
265K
Toastmasters members already paying to practice speaking, with no audience, competition or league
Drawn to scale by area. Census ACS 2020 to 2024 (B15003, B01003); Toastmasters International, 2025.
AI makes live human reasoning more valuable, not less.
Participants
Professionals and curious adults who join to learn, meet people and practice
Audiences
Fans of ideas who follow the thinkers, topics and events
Institutions and brands
Organizations buying training, programming and access to this audience
09
SUPERDEBATECompetition
Debate media gets watched. A league gets joined.
| Featured debates | Live events | Local clubs | Competitive league | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Intelligence Squared Expert debates, podcasts and memberships | ||||
Munk Debates Main-stage debates and a supporter library | ||||
Jubilee Digital debate formats and brand partnerships | ||||
Toastmasters Speaking clubs and an annual speech contest | ||||
SuperDebate Featured debates, clubs and a league on one platform | Building |
Each competitor owns one piece. SuperDebate connects them, and members compound where audiences churn.
10
SUPERDEBATERevenue
Participation, events and media grow one business.
Active now
Tickets and sponsorships
$30
General admission; $60 patron. Boston opens at $30 and rises to $40.
$2,500
Sponsor of a single show
$10K
One city for three months
$50K
Founding partner of the league
In development
Courses and training
People and institutions buy practice, coaching, certification and communication skills, beginning with a recorded course by Dr. Iain Lampert.
Future upside
Media and licensing
Media partners carry the league to national audiences. The catalog, the formats and the league brand create distribution and licensing rights.
11
SUPERDEBATEEvent economics
One 500-seat show, run lean. Partners donate the room.
Revenue
$14,500
Direct costs
$2,968
Contribution
$11,532
What comes in
- 400 paid admissions × $30
- $12,000
- One sponsor
- $2,500
What the show costs
- Recording and AV
- $1,500
- Marketing
- $750
- Ticket processing
- $468
- Sponsor commission
- $250
Plan for a donated 500-seat venue with 400 paid admissions. Venue and hospitality are provided in kind. Ticket processing assumes 2.9% + $0.30 per admission; sponsor commission is 10%. Contribution is before central overhead.
With a second $2,500 sponsor
$13,782
Planned contribution after the additional $250 sponsor commission.
Expanding the model
Partner-operated cities
Local operators provide the venue and production. SuperDebate earns a share of ticket and sponsor revenue as the circuit grows.
12
SUPERDEBATEDefensibility
The durable advantage is the connected network.
Media catalog
Every debate joins an archive that keeps finding new audiences long after the night ends.
People and partners
Leading thinkers who come for a worthy opponent rather than a fee, and partners who donate venues for the mission. Each city opens faster than the last.
Identity and progression
Records and rankings give members a reputation they keep building, and a reason to stay.
Audiences churn. Members compound.
13
SUPERDEBATEThe global league
Local clubs become a global competitive circuit.
Local
Communities
Recurring shows and clubs bring audiences, practice and talent together.
National
Circuits
Common standards and qualification connect 30+ cities into one national league.
Global
Championships
World finals create the personalities and events people follow.
SuperDebate provides
The brand, platform, formats, media and city launch playbook.
Local operators deliver
The venue, the community and the recurring events.
Our ambition: become the defining brand and league for competitive debate.
14
SUPERDEBATEThe founders
Founders with product, startup and live event experience.
Founder & CEO
John Connor
- Chicago debate champion; coached the first urban debate league team to win a national championship
- Founder of Sparkblox
- Product lead at Upland through 15x revenue growth
- Led product for a phone launch at Mode Mobile
- Built the SuperDebate platform
Co-founder
Matthew Rolnick
- Built Groupon sales teams generating more than $10M in revenue
- Experiences and partnerships at Yaymaker
- Partnerships and live events for Real American Beer and Real American Freestyle
- Leads SuperDebate sponsorships and partnerships
15
SUPERDEBATEThe advisors
Advisors in elite debate, brand and company building.
Competition and coaching
Dr. Iain Lampert
- IPDA professional national champion in 2023 and 2026.
- Coached students to 1,800+ public speaking championships.
- Founder, Authentalk; COO, ModernBrain.
- Two national championships in trial advocacy.
Company building and partnerships
Brian J. Esposito
- Founder and CEO, Esposito Intellectual Enterprises.
- EIE reports 110+ entities across 25+ industries.
- 20+ years building companies and global partnerships.
- Chief Strategy Officer, SuperDebate.
Brand and culture
Stephen “Stix” Nilsen
- Former VP of Cult Indoctrination, Liquid Death.
- Sports marketing at Red Bull.
- Nearly a decade building Pabst Blue Ribbon through grassroots events.
- Brand collaborations across music, sport and culture.
AI and debate education
John Hines
- Co-founder and CEO, DebaterHub.
- NSF SBIR principal investigator on AI-powered debate education.
- National championship debate coach.
- Carnegie Mellon graduate; Perplexity AI Business Fellow.
16
SUPERDEBATEThe investment
Build the institution behind competitive debate.
Raising · Seed SAFE
$500K
To build a global sports and media company.
$10M
Post-money cap
20%
Discount
18 mo
Runway at $25K a month
Use of funds
$225K
45%
City network and platform
Equip local operators with the platform and launch playbook.
$175K
35%
Flagship programming
Produce flagship debates and grow the media catalog.
$100K
20%
Championship circuit and reserve
Connect local competition through records and qualification; hold a cash reserve.
17
SUPERDEBATEMilestones
From showcase events to a national debate league.
Our 18-month expansion target
30+
Cities. One connected league.
City seasons, recognizable competitors and a national final give audiences a sport to follow, and participants a place to compete.
The national league is the foundation for a global championship circuit.
Months 1–3
Establish the flagship shows
Develop recurring shows in Chicago, Boston and New York, with leading thinkers, partner-provided venues and a growing debate catalog.
Months 4–9
Build the city network
Equip local operators to launch clubs and shows on one platform. Introduce courses and training that support participation between events.
Months 10–18
Unite the national season
Connect city competitions through common standards, qualification and a national final. Pursue media partnerships that bring the league to a national audience.
18
SUPERDEBATEBuild the UFC of competitive debate.
We are raising a $500K seed round.
John Connor, Founder & CEO
john@superdebate.org
Book an investor conversation
calendly.com/john-superdebate/30min
See it live
Chicago Oct 21 · New York Nov 16 · Boston Nov 17
Speaker notes