Elevator Pitch Competition

 

Purpose of Elevator Pitch Competition:

To allow participants an opportunity to orally present their ideas to people who would potentially be funding the idea.

Overview and Structure of Competition:

The elevator speech will allow judges to assess the commercial strength of the new idea by listening to the content and persuasiveness of the speaker. The analogy was derived from the short duration of an elevator ride; what would you say if you happened to get into an elevator with someone who could buy or fund your idea? The goal would be for your Elevator Pitch to get you an opportunity to make a formal presentation.

Each participant will have a maximum of two (2) minutes for their elevator pitch, which should answer several key questions:
 

• What is your vision?

• What is new or unique about this idea?

• Who are your customers and why will they want this?

• Why is your idea going to be successful?

• Who else is doing it?

• Why should an investor be interested?

• What specifics do you have to support your case?
   

For useful tips on how to present an elevator pitch, please visit.

http://faculty.babson.edu/academic/sye3/RocketPitch/Student/index.htm
 

Participants will be rated by an interdisciplinary panel of industry professionals.

Watch Sample Elevator pitch (Video taken from SVNIF, 2004 Competition)
 

Criteria for Judging:

 

Criteria	Weight
Quality of Headline How well did the headline encapsulate the key essence of the idea? Did the headline make the listener want to hear the rest of the pitch?	30%
Value of the Idea Is the idea beneficial?   The benefit must be clear and catchy, but extra credit can be given if competitiveness and execution are also hinted at. Ideally, a basic Value Proposition should be given, stating both benefit and price elements.	20%
Competitive Edge/Uniqueness of the Idea Does the idea address a compelling need not currently met by existing competitors? How will this idea hold up against competition?	20%
Presentation Quality How well was the whole pitch presented? Quality is judged by a presentation that was concise, clear and enthusiastic, yet relaxed. An elevator pitch can be down-graded if presented in machine gun fashion. Also, there must be a memorable invitation to learn more.	30%