And the pitch…

At the 13th semiannual Elevator Pitch competition, students presented their business ideas to top executives – in 90 seconds.

Imagine you are less than two months into your college career and you have the opportunity to share your business idea with some of the top movers and shakers in their respective industries. Thirteen groups of students had that chance earlier this semester when they took part in the final round of the 13th Semiannual Elevator Pitch competition sponsored by the Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization at Bryant. (To learn more, visit Bryant's CEO.)

As part of the program, students had 90 seconds to sell their business concepts to the judges who represented potential investors.

The judges table was a venerable “who’s who” of the business world that included Andy Thomas ’89, former president of Heineken USA; Alan Hassenfeld ’85H, retired CEO of Hasbro; John Pantarillo, president of the communications and marketing firm RDW Group; Evie Goldfine, co-founder of Omnipoint, which is now T-Mobile; Peter Dorsey, senior VP of the Business Development Company of RI; Carol Malysz, president of the Center for Women and Enterprise; and Troy Byrd ’01, an entrepreneur and founder of Bryant’s Global Entrepreneurship Program. (To learn more, visit Bryant's GEP.)

Bryant’s own Jim Damron, vice president for university advancement; David Lux, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences; and Jack Trifts, dean of the College of Business, also served as judges.

The finalists emerged from more than the 100 students who participated in the first round of the competition as part of their “Business 101” course.

Cream of the crop

Anthony Nader ’12 (Milton, MA) left the biggest impression on the judges and walked away with the award for the “Best Pitch.” His team, which included David Decelle ’12 (Haverhill, MA), Hannah Medico ’12 (Merrimack, MA), Jeffrey Mooney ’12 (Marshfield, MA), Adekemi Oyalabu ’12 (Springfield Gardens, NJ), and Sonali Shah ’12 (Wayne, NJ), created “Infinite Solutions,” a service-based storage company for college students. The team took home a $500 cash prize.

The idea for the business came during a marathon five-hour meeting in which the group developed a laundry list of ideas. They decided that a storage facility would be ideal for first-year students who took too many items to school and didn’t have enough space in their dorm rooms. An employee would pick up and drop off the storage bins that would be kept at a local facility. As part of the pitch, Nader presented a detailed financial model that would make the business a profitable proposition for investors.

(L-R) Hannah Medico ’12 (Merrimack, MA), Anthony Nader ’12 (Milton, MA), and Adekemi Oyalabu ’12 (Springfield Gardens, NJ)

While the team doesn’t necessarily have the time to develop the business as students, Nader thinks there is a possibility that they may do so in the future. He says the work on this project increased his confidence to present ideas.

“The e-pitch helped me refine my public speaking skills and taught me how to develop a concise concept that would be compelling to the judges,” says Nader, a finance and accounting double concentrator. Nader’s group was also selected as one of the top teams to present at the Business 101 Marketing Plan competition later in the semester.

Bright futures

Winning “Most Likely to Succeed” and a $300 cash prize was Jeff DeLuca ’12 (Cranston, RI) for his presentation of Color Your Soles, a customizable shoe design company.

“It was amazing to see all the judges and hear their credentials,” says DeLuca.

Jeff DeLuca ’12 (Cranston, RI) pitches his company Color Your Soles and shows off one of his creations.

The team included Casey Butler ’12 (North Easton, MA), Sam Johnson ’12 (Dover, MA), Kevin Javier ’12 (New York, NY), Kristin Lede ’12 (Danbury, CT), and Connor McCann ’12 (Bridgewater, MA).

Dubbed “Crowd Favorite” was the pitch by Ray Haddad ’12 (Westwood, MA) and Danny Waugh ’12 (North Brookfield, MA) for their company GoCo, a campus establishment that would provide hot chocolate for Bryant students outside their residence halls. The pair won a $200 prize.

They developed the idea following a fall festival where hot chocolate was served. They came up with the tagline, “When you can’t take the cold no more, we’re right outside your door.”

(L-R) Ray Haddad ’12 (Westwood, MA) and Danny Waugh ’12 (North Brookfield, MA)

“The experience helped me build my confidence speaking in front of others,” says Haddad. “If I could present to a panel this powerful, I could do this in front of anyone.”

His poise was clear as he ended his pitch to the potential investors by declaring, “You would have to hate money not to take us up on this opportunity.”

The “Lauren Amarante Factor”

Following the pitches, the highlight of the evening was a talk by Benjamin Zander, the acclaimed conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra and a much sought-after motivational speaker.

(L-R) Troy Byrd ’01, an entrepreneur and founder of Bryant’s Global Entrepreneurship Program: Benjamin Zander, the acclaimed conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra; and Lauren Amarante ’11 (Meriden, CT), the GEP events director

His appearance was arranged through the hard work and persistence of Lauren Amarante ’11 (Meriden, CT), the GEP events director. Most impressive was the fact that Zander waived a five-figure fee and spoke at Bryant for free because of what he described as the “Lauren Amarante factor” – the determination to follow a dream and never give up.