2011 Workshop

Elevator Pitch Contest

At the GSW this year will be the Elevator Pitch Contest (EPC) with prizes across various categories. The 2011 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? According to 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.

How it works

Eligibility

1. Both teams and individuals are welcome to participate in the Elevator Pitch Contest.
2. A pitch may only be entered once.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. The entrant must be present on the day of the event to participate. No written or phone-based presentations will be accepted.
6. Contestants are expected to behave respectfully to all other contestants, sponsors, judges, volunteers, and audience members.
7. Contest organizers retain the right to refuse entry to anyone.
8. There is no fee for entry.

Process

1. Entrants must complete the online registration form to be included in the contest
2. 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.
3. Only one individual or team member may do the actual pitch.
4. The pitch must be no longer than 60 seconds. Contestants will be cut off at the end of their 60 seconds.
5. No props or visual aids of any kind are allowed during the presentation.
6. Decisions of the judges are final, and may not be appealed.
7. One overall winner, an Audience Favorite, and two runners-up will be chosen.

Awards

Judging Criteria

Pitches will be evaluated on four, equally-weighted categories:

1. Presentation
   • Body Language/Charisma
   • Clarity
   • Articulation
   • Passion
2. Opportunity
   • Market identification
   • Size and attractiveness
   • Target customer identification
3. Solution
   • Value proposition
   • Differentiation
   • Financial viability/profitability
4. The Big Question
   • Do you want another meeting?

Resources

Watch the MIT GSW Elevator Pitch training video below:

How do I deliver a winning elevator pitch? Want to see some winning elevator pitches? Watch the 2010 MIT GSW winning elevator pitch below:

Here’s what one expert told us:

• 1st sentence: State the Problem
• 2nd sentence: State your solution
• 3rd sentence: Who you are, why you’re 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)