Get Herald RSSTwenty-nine Rhode Island-based professional and student entrepreneurs competed to see who could present the best business idea at the first $1k Rhode Island Elevator Pitch-off Nov. 9. The pitch-off, which was sponsored by the Rhode Island Business Plan Competition, was held at the offices of Brown Rudnick on South Main Street.
Competitors were allowed to outline their ideas for exactly 90 seconds - an attempt to simulate how an entrepreneur might pitch an idea to an investor in the time it takes to complete an elevator ride. Competitors were allowed to use one PowerPoint slide or overhead transparency.
Following their pitches, competitors immediately received feedback from a panel of four judges that included Danny Warshay, adjunct lecturer in engineering. The judges' criticisms most often questioned how the entrepreneurs intended to protect their ideas in a competitive marketplace or how they planned to challenge already existing competition.
The winner of the pitch-off was Michael Glier of Jamestown, R.I. Glier, who runs Campus Guardian Corporation, pitched an idea for software that would connect GPS technology in college students' cell phones with campus police. With the help of Glier's software, campus police could be "immediately notified" if students were in danger.
According to Glier, there is a huge demand for this technology among college administrators and parents of college students. Glier said he has 16 U.S. patents on technology associated with Campus Guardian. He cited Department of Public Safety Chief of Police Mark Porter, who told Glier that his technology "will drive crime off (Brown's) campus."
Following Glier's strong presentation, one of the judges told him, "I would get in an elevator with you."
Glier and eight other competitors were awarded a total of $1,000 in cash prizes. Four winners were Brown University students or alums: Derek Metzger '07, Adam Standley '07, Brad Weinberg '03 MD'09 and Tevis Howard '07.
Metzger pitched an idea for a software system to improve laparoscopic surgeries - surgeries for which a camera needs to be inserted into the patient's abdomen. Standley's idea involved a process for making continuous single crystal film, and Weinberg pitched a concept for a language-learning tool embedded in an mp3 player.
Howard pitched an idea involving agroforestry - the integration of trees with crops and animals on farms - in Kenya, which he said is "self-sustainable." Howard's idea would bring an income of $800 each year to participating Kenyan families while still creating revenue for investors. Judges were impressed by Howard's ability to present without his slide, as the overhead projector broke down during his presentation.
Other notable ideas presented at the pitch-off included a subscription service that would send customers a houseplant every month with detailed care instructions as well as a free hotline that would answer any question a caller might pose.
