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Elevator Pitch Competition
Tell about your business idea in 2 minutes and win part of $10,000 in prizes!
To Compete Individuals or groups must turn in 3 copies of their written Elevator Pitch to the business dean’s office in room 202 by 5 pm on April 4th, 2008. An email with the Pitch attached should be sent to usu.eclub@gmail.com. There will be at least 25 semi-finalists chosen by a panel of judges to compete in the Elevator Pitch Competition held in the afternoon of Entrepreneur Day.
ELEVATOR PITCH PRESENTATION FORMATEach team member will introduce him/herself by name, after which the clock will start and teams will have 2 minutes to present the complete business idea to the panel of judges. The time limit is strict, and teams will be stopped immediately at the two minute mark, regardless of where the team is in its summary. Therefore, it behooves teams to prepare a concise, timed summary of the business idea. There will be 10 finalists chosen and these individuals or groups will present again. The second pitch should have the basic key information and then additional information different from your earlier pitch. Semi-finalists will be contacted by Wednesday, April 9th. Do not wait to be contacted to start preparing for both pitches.
Two workshops will be held on March 1st and 15th to help students prepare and receive feedback on their Elevator Pitch. Information on times and rooms can be gotten from our website at www.usue-club.com or email usu.eclub@gmail.com to get added to the Entrepreneur Club’s mailing list.
The written Elevator Pitch format• No more than 2-3 pages double spaced
• No smaller than 10 point font
• No smaller than 1 inch margins
The written Elevator Pitch structure (section titles and order of sections as listed)
• Team – The name of a primary contact individual (email address and telephone number) and the names of other team members.
• Company Name
• Product/Service – Clearly and briefly describe product or service.
• Demand – Is this a product or service that customers want? Use your own experience, compare with similar products, look at industry trends or studies, run your own tests or experiments.
• Price – Will customers pay? Are they willing to pay a price that will make a profit? What evidence do you have to support these claims? What are the prices of the substitutes for your product/service?
• Resources – Can you deliver your product/service? What resources are required to launch this business? How many of these do you have and how will you acquire the others? Resources may include physical, intellectual, and financial.
• Protection – Can you protect your product/service from more powerful competitors? Can you acquire patents or trademarks? Do you have an intellectual competitive advantage? Are you in a niche market – as the market gets larger how will you protect your business?
The written Elevator Pitch MUST be your original work. If you have any questions on eligibility or requirements, please email usu.eclub@gmail.com.
What an “Elevator Pitch” is:
Elevator Pitch is an extremely concise presentation of an entrepreneur's idea, business model, company solution, marketing strategy, and competition delivered to potential investors. Should not last more than two minutes, or the duration of an elevator ride.
What an "Elevator Pitch" is not:
It is not a "sales pitch." Don't get caught up in using the entire pitch to tell the Investor how great your product or service is. The Investor is "buying" the business, not the product. Tell him/her how you will run the business. It should not exceed 2 minutes in length.
Creating the "Elevator Pitch"
Six questions your "Elevator Pitch" must answer:
1. What is your product or service?
Briefly describe what it is you sell. Do not go into excruciating detail.
2. Who is your market?
Briefly discuss who you are selling the product or service to. What industry is it? How large of a market do they represent?
3. What is your revenue model?
More simply, how do you expect to make money?
4. Who is behind the company? What is your revenue model?
"Bet on the jockey, not the horse" is a familiar saying among Investors. Tell them a little about you and your team's background and achievements. If you have a strong advisory board, tell them who they are and what they have accomplished.
5. Who is your competition?
Don't have any? Think again. Briefly discuss who they are and what they have accomplished. Successful competition is an advantage-they are proof your business model and/or concept work.
6. What is your competitive advantage?
Simply being in an industry with successful competitors is not enough. You need to effectively communicate how your company is different and why you have an advantage over the competition. A better distribution channel? Key partners? Proprietary technology?
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