For two ACU students, the Springboard Elevator Pitch competition was a chance to present an idea for a business they hope to eventually become a reality.
Courtney Martin, sophomore youth and family ministry major from New Braunfels, and Karsten Goodman, sophomore accounting and finance major from Abilene, won the $1,500 grand prize for their business concept, called Campuzon.
Martin and Goodman said Campuzon would be an online resource for ACU students to sell textbooks to each other, similar to online textbook vendors like Amazon.com.
“We wanted to develop a website so students could sell textbooks to each other. It’d be cheaper than selling them, and it’s safer than Craigslist,” Martin said.
The Springboard Elevator Pitch competition challenged students to pitch a business idea in just two minutes to a panel of judges. Goodman said the competition sharpened his presentation skills and encouraged him to potentially pursue Campuzon as an actual entrepreneurial idea.
“We both really wanted to really do this business whether we won the competition or not,” Goodman said. “Why can’t we do this for everyone?”
Martin agrees with Goodman. She believes Campuzon could fill a need on campus.
“The competition taught us what’s really important when making a presentation,” Martin said. “But we really want to do this. We’d like to have it up by next fall.”
Dr. Jim Litton, director of the Griggs Center for Entrepreneurship & Philanthropy and assistant professor of business administration, said the Elevator Pitch is one of three Springboard competitions, in addition to the Springboard Accelerator and the Springboard Ideas Challenge.
“Springboard is a program that gives students hands-on experience in moving from an idea to actually launching a business. It consists of the Springboard Elevator Pitch, the Springboard Ideas Challenge and the Springboard Accelerator,” Litton said in an email.
For Litton, participation in the Springboard Challenges gives students with an entrepreneurial spirit a chance to practice their sales pitches.
“The Springboard program is a great way for students interested in entrepreneurship to gain real-world experience and enhance their learning outside of the classroom,” he said.
More information about the Springboard competitions and a complete list of winners can be found at http://www.acu.edu/academics/coba/griggscenter/springboard/ .
