SOHO The Strand: pitch in the meeting room, fit the freelance sprint

Looking for a startup game where the pitch is more than a button? SOHO The Strand, the co-working space on the Gżira waterfront in Malta Living, has had a facelift. Your daily pitch now happens in its own glass meeting room, Thursday evenings bring Pitch Night on the stage, and the freelance gig has turned into a puzzle you can play alone or with a friend. It's the busiest place in the game, so it went first.

The meeting room: your pitch, close up

SOHO has four parts now: the co-working floor with its hot desks, the café by the door, the events hall with its stage, and a new glass meeting room. When you pitch to investors, the camera comes in close: you at the screen with your slides, three investors at the table, each reacting as your slides go up.

Before the pitch starts, you put your five slides in order: Problem, Solution, Market, Team and The ask. You have 20 seconds. Get the story right and the investors are listening; the first right order of the day also teaches a little Charisma. It never changes your chances of an offer, and you can skip it or back out without pitching.

Then the pitch runs as before: four live minutes, three investor questions to answer by tapping while they're open, and the Interest bar saying Cold, Warm or Hot. An offer can still be up to €15,000. If you haven't built your deck yet, our guide to jobs and careers covers the skills that get you ready.

Thursday is Pitch Night

On Thursdays from 18:30 to 21:00, the pitch moves from the meeting room to the events hall's stage, so everyone at SOHO can watch and cheer. Pitch Night has its own board: that night's pitches, best first, with the founder's name, their startup and how warm the investors were. It shows names and places, never money, and last Thursday's board stays up until the next night starts. Bring friends: watching a pitch gives Social, and cheering is free.

The freelance sprint

The freelance gig on the co-working floor used to be a single tap. Now it's a scheduling puzzle. A client sends a brief of 4 to 6 tasks, each 1 to 3 hours: fix a login bug, take a client call, translate a menu, send the invoice. Fit them all into the working day, from 09:00 to 17:00. Tap a task, then the hour it starts. Tasks can't overlap, and each one has a deadline.

As your Tech skill grows, briefs get bigger and the deadlines get tighter. A clash or a late task lights up as you place it, so you can see what to move. Tap Check when you think it fits.

The day's first solved brief is the day's gig. The client pays €20, you learn Tech, and if you're on Malta Enterprise's Business START grant, it counts as a day of co-working. Solve it at the first check and it's a clean run, which teaches a little more Tech. Later briefs that day are practice. For more ways to make money each day, see Earn and the daily missions.

Pair up with a friend

With a friend at SOHO, you can pair up. The brief is twice the size and split in two: you take one half, they take the other. They have 10 minutes to say yes, and they can say no. When both halves are done, you each get +10 Social. Each half also counts as that player's own gig for the day. Friends come from playing together, and our post on clubs, friends and Gossip explains how closeness grows.

Funded at SOHO

On the co-working floor's wall there's a board called "Funded at SOHO". It lists the latest players whose pitch raised money, with their startup and the round: pre-seed, seed or Series A. Raise money and your name goes up for everyone at SOHO to see. Once the money's in, there are other ways to put it to work.

Getting there

SOHO is on The Strand in Gżira, a short walk from Sliema's ferries. Tap it on the map or open Get around on your phone. The real Strand is the waterfront between Gżira and Sliema (Wikipedia: Gżira). For the bigger picture, read our Malta life simulator guide.

Questions people ask

When is Pitch Night in Malta Living?

Every Thursday from 18:30 to 21:00, Malta time. Pitches started then go up on SOHO's stage, and Pitch Night's board ranks them, best first.

How does the freelance sprint pay?

The day's first solved brief pays the freelance gig's €20 and teaches Tech. A clean run, solved at the first check, teaches a little more Tech. Later briefs that day are practice.

Does ordering my slides change my chances?

No. The order only teaches a little Charisma, once a day. Your chances come from your deck, your rehearsal, your answers on stage and your skills, as before.

Can I do the freelance sprint with a friend?

Yes. Pick a friend who's at SOHO and on the game, and the brief is split in two. When you've both finished your halves, you each get +10 Social.