Oct. 8, 2014

By Rumasa Noor

UW-Whitewater provides multiple opportunities for students to hone their entrepreneurial skills. One of these opportunities is the Elevator Pitch Contest.

UW-W’s Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization (CEO) organizes the contest each year and gives students a platform to present their business ideas to experienced business professionals and get their feedback.

This contestants present their ideas in 90 seconds – the time it takes to ride in an elevator.

The top three finalists are also awarded cash prizes to help with the development of their businesses.

Twenty students were selected to participate in the preliminary rounds, 10 of whom made it to the finals.

One of the finalists, Jeremy Homan said he is preparing for the final rounds by practicing his pitch and by listening to feedback from different people.

Homan’s business idea is called Slightly Used, which is an online forum for college students to purchase and sell furniture, and some basic necessities.

“It’s difficult to find used furniture here in Whitewater, yet each move-out day there are piles of useable stuff on every curbside,” Homan said. “The purpose of Slightly Used is to make it easier for college students to find reasonably priced furniture, while helping contribute to environmental sustainability.”

The contest is open for any student with a business idea.

“Students don’t need to be a part of CEO to compete at the competition, it is our way of challenging majors outside of business to be innovative with any idea,” CEO president Alec Tranel said.

Another student who made it to the finals is senior Derric Francis. His business idea called Hunt Butler focuses on developing a “collaborative consumption platform for a hunting land.”

Homan said if he wins the competition, he will use it to grow and develop his business. Francis has a business partner lives in Sweden, if he wins the competition, he will be able to pay wages to his partner, and use the rest of the money toward marketing his business.

The final rounds of Elevator Pitch Contest will take place on Oct. 8, 2014.