News Item
Enstitute co-founder Kane Sarhan to keynote Tenth Annual Pace Pitch Contest, Thursday, April 17
Student entrepreneurs to deliver new business concept presentations to a distinguished panel of judges
New York, NY -- April 10, 2014 – Pace University’s Lubin School of Business will hold its tenth annual Pitch Contest on Thursday, April 17 at the University’s lower Manhattan campus, east of City Hall and six blocks from Wall Street. The event is presented by Lubin’s state-of-the-art Entrepreneurship Lab (eLab), which opened in February 2012.
Kane Sarhan, co-founder of Enstitute, will be the keynote speaker. Previously, Sarhan launched and ran his own magazine, The College Gossip Chronicles; raised over $100k for hackNY, a nonprofit in New York City; and was the creative director at LocalResponse, a top New York City tech startup.
The Pace Pitch Contest is based on the “elevator pitch” concept popular in the venture capital community. It is an extremely concise presentation of an entrepreneur’s idea, business model, marketing strategy, competitive analysis, and financial plan, which is delivered to potential investors. The premise is that it could be made in a few minutes should the entrepreneur spot a potential investor on an elevator and have the opportunity to pitch his or her idea during the brief ride.
Seven finalists have been selected to compete:
Accern is a quantitative content detection platform tailored for institutional investors to help users detect events that could affect their equities before they arise in the mainstream media channels. By doing so, Accern has put institutional investors in a unique position to make strategic investment moves before the crowd and significantly minimize risks on their current holdings.
Alive Inside is developing mobile applications for Android and iOS devices that will be utilized by dementia and Alzheimer’s patients to stimulate their memory through music of their youth and special life moments, and hence improve their quality of life and hopefully create an improved daily demeanor.
HydroGeneratioNexTechnologies is designed to completely redefine what it means to have a wastewater treatment system by creating electricity from sewer water. This will provide an alternative, carbonless fuel source, as well as a long-term solution for wastewater treatment by utilizing a by-product as an energy resource.
Novaux is creating a virtual currency point-of-sale (POS) system that will improve current POS software and the technology associated with it. The product will initially target the food and beverage industry with the goal of eventually expanding into other markets. Software will be distributed through the app stores, with point-of-sale systems and technical support sold as a complement to that software.
SheerStock is a convenient monthly subscription service for women that delivers a variety of hosiery products, such as tights, stockings, and thigh-highs. The goal of SheerStock is to provide the customer with multiple pairs of legwear each month that are appropriate for a variety of occasions and will save the customer from “making the trip if they’ve found a rip.”
STRIP is a company that has created a small, convenient, and disposable strip of paper with a chemical reaction indicator at the end, specific for the monosodium glutamate (MSG) amino acid derivative, glutamic acid. This product allows you to test for the presence of MSG, a commonly used flavor enhancer, with just a swipe on or through your food.
Interview Master is an online portal that gives job seekers the upper hand by connecting them with relevant and experienced interviewers in their field. Interviewees are able to get valuable feedback from mentors and fine tune interview techniques, which will improve their chance of landing the job of their dreams in an extremely competitive environment.
Each finalist will have exactly three minutes to pitch their new venture idea to a distinguished panel of judges. Panelists include Bal Agrawal, CEO, LifeWorx, Inc.; Ellen Carey, Manager, Global Impact Investing Network; Mary Howard, Principal, designtechnologies; and Anna Khan, Venture Capitalist, Bessemer Venture Partners.
“It’s quite rewarding to see the Pace Pitch Contest reach the ten-year mark,” said Professor Bruce Bachenheimer, organizer of the event. “I believe it continues to provide students with a unique opportunity to better understand entrepreneurship and helps them develop a variety of critical skills, such as market research, financial analysis and oral communications. Seeing the pitches and listening to the judges is an enjoyable way for the audience to better appreciate the challenges of launching a new venture.”
The event will be held on Thursday, April 17 at One Pace Plaza, Aniello Bianco Room, New York City campus, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Cash prizes will be awarded to the winners.
Agenda:
5:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Registration and Networking
6:00 p.m. - 6:15 p.m. Keynote Speaker
6:15 p.m. - 7:15 p.m. Finalists make their Pitch
7:15 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Break (Judging panel selects the winning pitches in private)
7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony and Networking
About the Lubin School of Business at Pace University: Globally recognized and prestigiously accredited, the Lubin School of Business integrates New York City’s business world into the experienced-based education of its students at Pace’s suburban and downtown campuses, implemented by the region’s largest co-op program, team-based learning, and customized career guidance. Its programs are designed to launch success-oriented graduates toward upwardly mobile careers. www.pace.edu/lubin
Media contact: Bill Caldwell, Pace, 212-346-1597, wcaldwell@pace.edu
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