Tag Archives: elevator pitch

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Innovation Norway Course

  By Nicole Garcia • June 18, 2009

Today we attended the first lecture for the Innovation Norway course in entrepreneurship.

To start the course, we did a brief overview of the Rice Alliance Life Science Technology Ventures Forum. We discussed the best and the worst elevator pitches.

In general, the highest rated elevator pitches were all very personable and relatable. They each stated what the product was, who the target audience was, why their audience would want it, and finally they all clearly stated what they wanted as far as investors and money. The lowest rated speeches tended to be difficult to understand. This was either because they were too technical or simply poorly explained. Most of these forgot to mention what they wanted or how there product would be useful. One of the speeches even failed to mention what he sold. It is also interesting to note that the top and bottom three were the same for both the professional judges as well as the student judges.

This main lecture in this course went into detail about how to write a business plan. This included all of the topics that should be mentioned. In writing a business plan it is also important not only to write it for the well being of the company, but also to appeal to any possible financers. In making a business plan there are two big rules of thumb to follow. The first is that you must ensure credibility. This includes referrencing your entire business plan and making sure that all of your referrences are reliable and recent. Secondly no matter what business you are going into or how new your product is, you must always have competition. Competition, although it appears to be a bad thing, it is possibly one of the best things for your company. Competition shows that your idea and business  is a good one that there is already a need for what you are selling, only your business is going to make it better. Along with all the necessary mechanics of the business plan, these two rules of thumb contribute to making your business look attractive to financers as well as giving you a strong guide to where your company is and where it is going.

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EDAAC Elevator Pitch: Version 1

  By Caleb Brown • June 17, 2009

After listening to a myriad of 90-second elevator pitches at the Rice Alliance Life Science Technology Venture Forum, we decided to create a pseudo-pitch of our own. Elevator pitches are meant to grab the attention of perspective investors, employees, or collaborators by offering a unique solution to an irresolute problem. Successful presenters provide business plans and goals their companies seek to achieve. We wrote our pseudo-pitch as if we were a pre-seed company seeking funds to fuel our developing idea. 

The Crown Jewels of England—the desk of Stephen F. Austin—The Thinker Statue—what do each of these priceless pieces have in common? The need for superior long-term storage solutions.

EDAAC’s new line of products will actively set a new standard for storage solutions in museums worldwide.

Currently wooden boxes are constructed and custom fit to each individual piece. When the item is on display, these boxes are discarded because they take up too much space. These custom-built boxes are both monetarily costly and time expensive. Our collapsible storage boxes are created from recycled materials and save space, time, and money by paying for themselves over the course of three years—saving each museum thousands of dollars/year thereafter.

We have tested the market by conducting field searches and interviews with preparators and registrars at one of the finest museums in the US. They are enthusiastic about revolutionizing the museum storage industry, and their feedback has given specific insight into what features these boxes should possess.

Our management team consists of the Chief Registrar and Conservator, PhD’s from the Rice Engineering Department, and President David W. Leebron. Our concepts have been protected as intellectual property of Rice University. We are seeking seed funds in the amount of $500,000 to create our first line of Owl Pak boxes. Join us, as the Owl Pak soars to new heights in the realm of preventive conservation. Thank You.

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Rice Alliance Life Science Technology Venture Forum Discussion Recap

  By Dr. Matthew Wettergreen • June 12, 2009

Our team recap of the Rice Alliance Life Science Technology Venture Forum generated several discussion points. Here’s a brief transcript that highlights the personal observations about the Technology Venture Forum.

What was one thing you learned from attending the Rice Alliance Life Science Technology Venture Forum?

Caleb Brown: Venture Capital (VC) firms fund companies at different stages of the growth process. Finding the right VC is important including knowing what types of deals they are interested in or ones they would not waste their time/capital on.

Rhodes Coffey: I learned what an angel is: a venture capitalist individual or group that supports start-ups that are in their very early stages of development. One such example is the Houston Angel Network that supports start-up companies.

What distinguished the good companies from the bad?

Kristi Day: One of the best companies was iShoe because I actually remember the name, what the company does, and the presentation. The name suggests what the product pertains to, so it’s not vague and forgettable. The presentation was easy to listen to, and kept my attention.

The worst? I don’t remember. I completely forgot the name, their product, their service, etc. They blended in, seemed the same as all the others.

Nicole Garcia: iShoe was definitely the best company that presented. She mentioned everything in a fast, clear and knowledgeable manner, as well as display the confidence in her presentation which represents the confidence that her company has in their product.

What new perspective did you gain about business plans/elevator pitches or creating a business?

Rhodes Coffey: New perspective about business plan/elevator pitch: Presentation matters more than content, time is of the essence, Present the most important things now and discuss later—capture the VC’s interest and elaborate later

Kristi Day: I realized that being able to relate to what they were talking about, or get a visual picture of how it works, was really important. If I had some type of mental picture of what it was or who would use it, I felt like I actually understood it to an extent.

Independent of a grasp over the technological aspects of a company, how could a pitch pique your interest?

Caleb Brown: Making slides that are visually appealing and accessible to audience members of all educational backgrounds—not just life sciences.

Kristi Day: If a clear, widespread need or demand for it was demonstrated. If it was unique and new and different, not just a slight improvement to something else.

Nicole Garcia: If the audience does not know anything about what you are selling, to make it more interesting you should simply cut the jargon.

After seeing these examples, if this summer’s program developed into a real company, what must be taken into account when pitching the company?

Caleb Brown: Let the audience know what sets your company apart from all other similar products on the market and how could your product impact the market.

Rhodes Coffey: Emphasize how this is a breakthrough technology and would gear to the available market. Discuss how this is better than previous technology, project how much money would be needed to make this profitable, discuss the marketing team in place and for the future, gear toward certain VC’s, emphasize how archaic and time-consuming the storage solutions are now and how our technology would change art conservation and storage for good.

Kristi Day: I think a wide application would need to be demonstrated. When I think of “museums” that doesn’t seem like a very large market. It would somehow have to be solving a problem that seemed like a big, widespread problem, or made it seem like people would really want it.

Nicole Garcia: For our specific project, I believe it would be best to make it a product that is needed. Emphasize the current problems in the museums, and the possible damage that no solution would lead to, as well as how this problem would effect everyone.