Students have the opportunity to win $1,500 in two minutes or less in the Springboard Elevator Pitch competition.
The catch is that participants must pitch a business-venture plan in about the same amount of time as an elevator ride, said Dr. Richard Lytle, dean of the College of Business Administration and professor of marketing.
“It will challenge an individual to be able to explain his or her business idea in the same amount of time it would take to ride from the first floor to the twentieth floor in an elevator,” Lytle said. “It forces students to be concise and deliberate to the point about their business idea.”
Individuals or teams of two who want to participate must register by Sept. 21 and submit a $10 entry fee.
The first round will take place on Sept. 27. Participants will devise their pitch and record it in the AT&T Learning Studio in Brown Library.
Lytle will be serving on the judging panel and said the panel will assume the position of a group of potential investors.
“The first thing we’ll be looking for is if they can clearly articulate their idea. If I can’t understand what they’re talking about, I’m not going to invest,” Lytle said. “The second thing is we start thinking about could this actually become reality, could it be what we might call commercialized, could it go to market?”
Hayden Jordan, assistant director for the Griggs Center, said the final round of judging will take place on Oct. 5. The final ten teams will present their pitch to a live audience as well as a panel of judges in Hart Auditorium. Winners will be announced at the conclusion of the event.
“We will award cash prizes to the winners, and then students may get more involved with the Griggs Center if they want to pursue their business idea,” Jordan said.
Although students need not be a business major, Lytle said the competition will help prepare participants for a business career. The event is one of many ACU events that encourage students to generate and communicate innovative ideas, Lytle said.
“This is another value in our menu of offerings that would cause students to think,” Lytle said. “The notion of being able to clearly articulate an idea and to influence others to want to participate really is a fundamental trait of leadership.”
For more information on the Springboard Elevator Pitch, visit http://www.acu.edu/academics/coba/griggscenter/springboard/elevator-pitch/index.html.
