Due to the popularity of last year's Elevator Pitch Contest (EPC), MIT GSW is proud to host its 2nd EPC in Iceland! The 2010 MIT GSW EPC contest will give students and innovators from around the world the opportunity to hone their ideas, network with fellow entrepreneurs and talk to leading members of the venture capital and investment communities. What is an elevator pitch? From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, an elevator pitch is a brief overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (say, thirty seconds or 100-150 words). Venture capitalists often judge the quality of an idea and team on the basis of the quality of its elevator pitch, and will ask entrepreneurs for the elevator pitch to quickly weed out bad ideas.
This year we want to hear your amazing idea at the GSW Elevator Pitch Contest! Pitch your idea in front of a team of experts and 60 seconds could win you one of several cash prizes.
REGISTER NOW for the Elevator Pitch Competition and the Elevator Pitch Competition Workshop!
Compete to win $2500 USD in prizes
Complimentary Start-Up Software for all participants, from PaloAlto Software
Workshop run by Professor Jonsson, an expert in the field of entrepreneurship
Raffled off coaching sessions from Andrew Wining, a successful entrepreneur
How It Works
Eligibility
Both teams and individuals are welcome to participate in the Elevator Pitch Contest.
A pitch may only be entered once.
The subject of the pitch must be your own work, or the work of your team. Any entrants discovered to be pitching others ideas without appropriate consent will be immediately disqualified, and any awards must be returned.
Individuals or teams must not have accepted any outside funding for the idea being presented. Companies may present if they have accepted no funding and have not commercialized the product/service being pitched.
The entrant must be present on the day of the event to participate. No written or phone-based presentations will be accepted.
Contestants are expected to behave respectfully to all other contestants, sponsors, judges, volunteers, and audience members.
Contest organizers retain the right to refuse entry to anyone.
There is no fee for entry.
Contestants must enter the competition through our online registration form. As part of the registration process contestants must complete a 200 word public summary of their idea, however this summary will not be shown to the judges prior to the competition and will not influence the results of the competition.
Process
Entrants must complete the online registration form to be included in the contest
Pitches will be delivered in a random order determined the day of the event. If you miss your assigned slot, you may not be permitted to present.
Only one individual or team member may do the actual pitch.
The pitch must be no longer than 60 seconds. Contestants will be cut off at the end of their 60 seconds.
No props or visual aids of any kind are allowed during the presentation.
Decisions of the judges are final, and may not be appealed.
One overall winner, an Audience Favorite, and two runners-up will be chosen.
Awards
Grand Prize:
$1500
1st Runner Up:
$500
2dn Runner Up:
$250
Crowd Favorite:
$250
Judging Criteria
Pitches will be evaluated on four, equally-weighted categories:
Presentation
Body Language/Charisma
Clarity
Articulation
Passion
Opportunity
Market identification
Size and attractiveness
Target customer identification
Solution
Value proposition
Differentiation
Financial viability/profitability
The Big Question
Do you want another meeting?
Resources
Watch the MIT 100K Elevator Pitch Workshop:
How do I deliver a winning elevator pitch? Want to see some winning elevator pitches? Watch the 2008 MIT 100K Elevator Pitch Contest Finalists here!
Heres what one expert told us:
1st sentence: State the Problem
2nd sentence: State your solution
3rd sentence: Who you are, why youre the one to solve the problem
3rd sentence: State the value proposition
4th sentence: Call to action (what the audience or recipient should do next)
What is an elevator pitch? (from Wikipedia)
An elevator pitch (or elevator speech) is a brief overview of an idea for a product, service, or project. The pitch is so called because it can be delivered in the time span of an elevator ride (say, thirty seconds or 100-150 words). The term is typically used in the context of an entrepreneur pitching an idea to a venture capitalist to receive funding. Venture capitalists often judge the quality of an idea and team on the basis of the quality of its elevator pitch, and will ask entrepreneurs for the elevator pitch to quickly weed out bad ideas. It is said that many of the most important decisions made on the floor of the United States's House or Senate are made "within the span of an elevator ride" as a staff aide whispers into a Congressman or Senator's ear while they head down to the floor to cast their vote.
