Students won awards based on trade-show-type displays about their businesses.
20100427: Lindsay Weaver, winner of the Elevator Pitch Competition, has the idea for a business called Polar-EYES (a soft contact lens that provides outdoor UV protection, the power of polarization, AND can transition from dark to light as traditional sunglasses do. The competition was held at the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation Entrepreneurship Initiative Awards Ceremony and Banquet. (Photo Credit: Shana SUreck)SPRINGFIELD – With an idea for contact lenses that also offer ultraviolet light protection, Bay Path College student Lindsay Weaver won first place in the “elevator pitch” portion of the Harold Grinspoon Charitable Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Initiative.
It’s called an elevator pitch, according to the Foundation, because students only get 90 seconds too sell their idea to a panel of local bankers. They need to make their case in the time it takes to ride an elevator.
The pitches took place in front of more than 470 at the Grinspoon Foundation’s awards ceremony and banquet April 27 in Holyoke.
Nate Lare from Springfield Technical Community College took second place based on his business concept RDS Enterprise a self-contained disaster relief housing unit. Nicole Provost a student at Elms College took third place with Computer Application which allows people with poor eyesight to use a computer without using their glasses or contact lenses.
The event featured a student representative from each of the participating local colleges: American International College, Bay Path College, Elms College, Greenfield Community College, Hampshire College, Holyoke Community College, Smith College, Springfield College, Springfield Technical Community College, University of Massachusetts, Western New England College and Westfield State College. Each student participating received $100. First, second, and third place winners received $1000, $750 and $500 respectively.
Students also won awards based on trade-show-type displays about their businesses. These awards were also chosen by the bank judges by speaking with all 34 student exhibitors during the entrepreneurs’ exhibit hour. The five student/teams were: Julia Diaz Sullivan of Bay Path College for MA4U, homeowner short sale assistance; Adena Lavin of Mt. Holyoke College for Pow!Chow an innovative food development company; Jessica Kaplan of Smith College for Well-Dressed Greens a specialty, all natural salad dressing company; Shane Lindner of Springfield College for Simply Local Connecticut, LLC a service marketing company and finally Meg Kilroy and Marceilia Muehlke of UMass Amherst for Celia Sustainable Wedding Gowns, a sustainable wedding gown company. These student/teams were chosen for the quality of their exhibits and the quality of their sales pitch about their businesses.