The elevator pitch is recognized as an essential business tool for our soundbite culture. So it was that 25 teams from five schools (Allegheny College, Grove City College, University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania State University and Youngstown State University) gathered recently at the eCenter@LindenPointe, a new Hermitage business incubator, for the 2012 Northwest Pennsylvania College Elevator Pitch Competition.
Teams of up to six students had three minutes to present their pitches to a panel of experienced investors.
A Grove City College student with a compelling “elevator pitch” for the Sand Chariot, a beach wheelchair for the physically challenged and elderly, took top honors. Michael Trombly and his father designed the chair for an aunt who has been using it for over six years.
Eric Engelhardt and Anulekha Venkatram from Allegheny College took second place for their business idea called PureFrac centered on cleaning water used in the Marcellus Shale drilling process. The team recently won first place in the Allegheny College Gator Innovation Challenge.
Third place went to Samantha Weber, Mareah Zuck, Jimmy Van Eerden, and Nathan Albrecht of Grove City College who pitched Profile Passer, an iPhone app for high school athletes and college coaches useful in recruiting.
Yvonne English, eCenter@LindenPointe executive director, says the hope is to go from elevator to board room: “We’re going to do everything possible to encourage and support these students as they explore business ideas and hopefully start new businesses in our region.”
Source: eCenter@LindenPointe
Writer: Elise Vider
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