Making Your Elevator Pitch

The Clarkson Elevator Challenge 2010

I love the idea of an elevator pitch. Telling someone what you do or what your business does in less than 60 seconds.  Now, this is indeed a talent.

Given the chance, many of us can blab on for a long time about what we do or what our business idea is. But, to be able to crisply tell that story in a minute, not that’s a talent.

Why is this so important? In reality, most of us stop listening after 15 seconds after you start talking and if you don’t get them interested right away, you are done. This is why I have always loved what Laura Allen did at 15 Second Pitch.

I traveled on Saturday to speak and help be a judge at the Clarkson University’s Second  Annual Elevator Pitch Competition sponsored by their CEO group (Collegiate Entrepreneur Organization). It was a very exciting day with students pitching a variety of ideas from improvements for the auto industry to novelty items. Each student presented two times and I was impressed with how they learned from the feedback of the judges each time.

No day goes without its failures. The celebration cake from Walmart was no different. I had to do major surgery on it so it would say Elevator instead of Elavaton.

The Cake Before

The Cake After