ELEVATOR PITCH COMPETITION - 2023

The University of Wisconsin - Whitewater CEO Warhawk Elevator Pitch Competition is an exciting, educational experience and is intended to challenge students’ creativity and business skills. Your idea may or may not be executable and just because you present an idea does not mean that you have to pursue the creation of the company. The main goal is to educate you on the process of developing a well-organized presentation on a creative business idea or non-profit organization.

Who is Eligible?

  • Students who have an idea for a for-profit business idea(s)

  • Students who have an idea for a non-profit organization

  • Students who want to learn more about the process of pitching a business opportunity

  • Students interested in enhancing their presentation skills

  • Students who want to demonstrate their ability to clearly communicate an idea to a group

  • Students who are looking for support for their opportunity

  • Students who want to compete for cash

Any current UW-Whitewater student from any area of study is welcome to participate in the competition.

What is the Objective?

  1. Create an opportunity for students to present their business venture or idea in an environment that promotes new venture creation and the spirit of Entrepreneurship

  2. Award students of the merits of presenting their ideas with cash prizes

  3. Give students a chance to showcase their talent and passion for Entrepreneurship

  4. Teams shall develop a 90 second action-oriented pitch about a business designed to sell the idea of the business to another as if they were in the elevator with an angel investor

What are the Guidelines?

  • You must be a part time or full time student at UW-Whitewater

  • Teams are encouraged, however only one speaker may present the pitch

  • You will have 90 seconds to give your pitch

  • No note cards or PowerPoint may be used during the competition; it’s only 90 seconds (max) and should be done by memory

  • Judges may ask up to 2 questions with responses less than 1 minute

  • The presenter can have up to 1 additional person during the answer portion

  • The order of the pitches will be randomly selected before the competition

  • Please notify us if you have to leave early for night class

COMPETITION:

When: September 27, 2023

Where: Hyland Hall 2312

Time: 5:15 PM

Prizes:

A panel of judges shall select the three overall best pitches presented during the competition.

Elevator Pitch Final Round Prizes: 1st: $500 (Tuition credit) 2nd: $300 (Tuition credit) 3rd: $100 (tuition credit) 4th: Free CEO Membership 5th: Free CEO Membership 6th: Free CEO Membership

The winner of the competition will be given the opportunity to present at the CEO Global Conference  to compete for nearly $10,000 in prizes!

ENTRY deadline(s):

UW-W CEO Elevator Pitch Competition: The deadline to enter is Wednesday, September 27, at noon. Please scroll down to see the entry form below.

CEO Global Competition: Monday, September 25, 2023 - If you want feedback on your entry prior to submitting it to CEO Global, copy and paste the questions into a Word document, type in your answers, and send it to ceo@uww.edu by September 18. We will provide feedback prior to the September 25 deadline. Click here for the CEO Global Competition entry form.

Judging and Scoring:

Presentation Content: Identify the market, problem, product/service and how it solves the problem, market niche, market size, competitors, competitive advantage, milestones to date, investment needed (if needed). 

Presentation Delivery: Articulate, good posture, eye contact, hand gestures, well prepared, convincing and confident, did not exceed 90 seconds and reasonable pace. 

Note: After exceeding 90 seconds, 1 point shall be deducted each second

Judges will use a scoring sheet provided by UWW CEO administrative team that will be tallied at the conclusion of each presentation during the Competition.

Repeat Pitches: Please note that if a startup/startup idea "places" in the Elevator Pitch Competition(receives an award 1st, 2nd or 3rd) that startup CANNOT pitch in the same event in the future. The same student could pitch another startup idea. The same startup idea could be pitched again if they did "NOT" place.

UW-W CEO ELEVATOR PITCH COMPETITION ENTRY FORM

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