West Michigan Colleges and
Universities Group
Idea Pitch Competition
Participant Guidelines Packet
Overview
Essentially an Idea Pitch is the act of selling a business idea to strangers in the time one would spend riding an
elevator with them. This time constraint challenges the entrepreneur to present one’s self and one’s idea in an
effective and impressionable manner. The West Michigan Colleges and University Group (WMCUG) Idea Pitch
Competition is a great opportunity for students to determine if they are able to capture and retain the attention of
possible investors and initiate vital business relationships. A well executed idea pitch can open the doors to
success in future endeavors.
The WMCUG Idea Pitch competition is by invitation only through WMCUG member schools. Participants must be
undergraduate students. Ideas presented can be in any stage of development, but must be “pre-revenue” ideas.
Presentations must be conducted without visual aids. Judges are entrepreneurs from the community who look for
the student’s ability to convey passion for an idea in a professional manner.
Goals
The Idea Pitch Competition seeks to encourage entrepreneurially-oriented students to develop their ideas and
grow new ventures. The Competition also intends to provide students with a forum to develop skills in pitching
their ventures to investors and to receive constructive feedback that will increase the probability of success.
Objectives
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Create a compelling idea
Sell your idea to a stranger in the time it takes to share an elevator ride (90 seconds)
Present yourself in an effective and impressionable manner
Capture and retain the attention of possible investors
Persuade judges (potential investors) to go to the next step
Guidelines
1.
All contestants must be pre-degree, full-time or part-time undergraduate students who are enrolled in a
degree program at their respective WMCUG school.
2.
Only pre-revenue ideas will be allowed.
3.
Contestants may compete individually or in teams.
4.
No props, prototypes, or technology may be used to enhance a pitch. (This includes notes.)
5.
The Idea Pitch competition is for students who have played the major role in conceiving the proposed
venture.
6.
Contestants have 90 seconds to make a pitch; judges have up to 5 minutes to ask questions.
7.
Only after contestants have made their pitch will they be allowed to observe other contestant pitches.
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Confidentiality and Intellectual Property Guidelines
1.
Contestants should be aware that neither administrators of the competition nor judges
of the idea pitch competition will be required, nor should they be asked, to sign nondisclosure
agreements (NDA).
2.
Generally speaking, students should present only ideas and be aware that ideas are very difficult to
protect.
3.
All public sessions of the Competition, including but not limited to oral presentations and
question/answer sessions, are open to the public at large. Any and all of these public sessions may be
broadcast to interested persons through media which may include radio, television and the Internet. Any
data or information discussed or divulged in public sessions by entrants should be considered information
that will likely enter the public realm, and entrants should not assume any right of confidentiality in any
data or information discussed, divulged or presented in these sessions.
4.
WMCUG schools may make photocopies, photographs, videotapes and/or audio tapes of the
presentations including the written documents, charts or materials prepared for use in the Idea Pitch
presentation.
How to Win
1.
The judges will determine the winning pitch. The weights, different from what they might be in a business
plan competition, include: Overall Persuasiveness, Quality of Speaking and Overall Conciseness. See Idea
Pitch Judging Criteria below.
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Idea Pitch Judging Criteria
Judging Criteria
Overall Persuasiveness of Message (50%)
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Was a “real” problem or opportunity identified?
Did the idea solve or address the problem or
opportunity?
Were you sold on the idea?
Did the idea have potential for success?
Was adequate support given for the ‘why’ behind
the idea?
Did valid assumptions and logical reasoning
support the idea?
Score
Comments
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
1
2
3
4
5
Quality of Speaking (30%)
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Was the message conveyed clearly, loudly, and
with excellent diction and grammar?
Was there passion, energy, and optimism?
Was the body posture and presence professional
and confident?
Overall Conciseness of Message (20%)
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Was the message memorable and engaging?
Were the questions answered with clarity?
Was the information presented in the simplest form
possible?
Did the visual (if one used) add to the overall
impact of the message?
TOTAL
4