Imagine youre going to the top floor in an elevator in New York City. You have an amazing idea and a wealthy potential investor walks into the elevator. All you have is your idea and a minute and a half to convince them to invest in it. This is the idea behind the elevator pitch.
On Sept. 17, student business incubator manager Laurie Watje and associate director of the John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center Katherine Cota-Uyar hosted a workshop to teach students how to craft quality elevator pitches.
The workshop prepared students to enter the University of Northern Iowas Fifth Annual Elevator Pitch Competition, which will be held Sept. 24.
To win you have to be very confident, well poised and well spoken. Within the competition youre only given about 90 seconds to get a lot of information pulled together and to be able to say it in such a manner so that people can understand what youre saying, said Watje.
The workshop gave students tips such as have a hook to grab peoples attention and speak clearly and articulately to properly convey their messages. To show students what she meant, Cota-Uyar crafted her presentation in the form of an elevator pitch.
The winner of the competition will automatically advance to the National Elevator Pitch Competition in Chicago, where they have a chance to compete for $3,500.
The National Elevator Pitch Competition will begin Nov. 1, with the final round and award ceremony held Nov. 2.
Though the competition is aimed towards entrepreneurs, all students can benefit from it.
Cota-Uyar said not many students are interested in learning about elevator pitches for the competition, but that they do the workshop as part of the Professional Readiness Program because it is a good skill for students to have.
Were also finding that with students, they need to be able to pitch themselves personally for things like a job, or anything with their career path, so its useful to be able to get your idea across in a rather concise manner, said Watje.
On average, six to 12 students participate in the program and competition.
I think non-business majors need to hone in on something like those skills. Anybody and everybody needs the workshop because youre obviously going to need a job after school, said Jenna Rockweiler, senior business management major and previous competitor.
Watje said the workshop also helps students who are interested in starting their own business.
Students are finding out that its best now to just start my own businesses because the risk is minimal, so being able to effectively communicate their messages will help them have a more successful launch with their businesses, said Watje.
