When Mike and I learned of the 2011 Smeal Idea Pitch Competition; we knew we had found an excellent opportunity to take our venture to the next level. Together we built a comprehensive presentation entry to share our company's status and strategic visions for the future with the judges.
Our perseverance and hard work payed off; Mike and I were selected among the final four businesses to pitch our idea live in front of a panel of highly qualified judges / investors. We redesigned our presentation from the ground up and practiced repeatedly in-front of a camera for self-critiquing. Once the foundation of our pitch was polished, we worked with consultants from InnoBlue and scheduled a meeting with a MBA Communciations professor for Penn State University.
The professor was very impressed; but had many areas of advice. Namely, Mike and I needed to conduct in-depth market research and re-calculate our financial platform into potential cases. The formal competition was only 2 days away and there was a lot of work to be done. Sacrificing sleep, Mike and I worked late nights and between classes to recompile every detail from opening to conclusion.
Thursday, March 24
Mike and I presented our idea first in the competition to our panel of judges. We had practiced every detail and now it was time for us to sink or swim. The presentation went very smoothly and the judges were responsive to our ideas for SpeedCountry. As we spoke, they would intervene with questions which we handled with confidence. They were impressed by the level of detail in slides as well as the polished nature of the idea and pitch.
The other teams pitched their ideas well in-front of the judges and we waited eagerly for the results. Dr. Robert Macy announced the winners, and our venture SpeedCountry took the first place prize -- seed money for our company with no loss of equity.
Overall, the experience and development in our idea was priceless, and the seed funding will help us expedite our plans to gain traction in the industry.
What's to know?
- I'm an entreprenurial-minded developer with a passion for consumer-facing applications, specifically mobile and web.
- Twitter: @PaulSilvis
Logic will get you from A to B. Imagination will take you everywhere.
- Albert Einstein