By ALAN HOSKINS
Innovative entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to vie for $5,000 in prize money in the State Street Perfect Pitch competition to be held in conjunction with the annual Innovation Summit at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
Scheduled for Friday, April 5, the completion provides innovators two opportunities to qualify – Thursday, March 7, and Wednesday, March 27. Both opportunities will be held in Room 3619B in the Flint Building on the KCKCC campus at 7250 State Avenue.
“We highly recommend attending the first date if possible,” says Jay Matlack, KCKCC Workforce Development coordinator. “Persons not selected at the first tryout may be given the opportunity to try out again on the second date.”
After the first tryout, participants may be able to receive free consulting from the Kansas Small Business Development Center (KSBDC) to improve their pitch and qualify in the second tryout. Representatives from the KSBDC will be available to assist participants on March 13 from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. and April 2 from 8:30 a.m.-noon in Room 3619B.
The State Street Perfect Pitch competition will have two categories – a general division for adults 19 and older and a high school division for students ages 14-18 – with six finalists selected from each division. “Anyone who has a “Why didn’t I think of that idea’ is allowed to compete and innovators do not have to be KCKCC students,” says Matlack.
The top finisher in the General Division will receive $1,500 with $1,000 for second and $500 for third. The high school winner will receive $1,000 with $700 for second and $300 for third.
Finalists for the State Street Perfect Pitch will be allowed to set up an exhibit at the Innovation Summit on April 5.
“Persons attending the Summit including investors will have an opportunity to visit the exhibits and hear a 30-second elevator pitch,” notes Matlack. “They will also be given Monopoly money to invest in those exhibitors in which they have the most interest. The top six in each category will then advance to the finals where they will perform in front of a panel of judges.”
In the finals, each person will have three minutes to pitch his or herr idea followed by three minutes of questions from the judges and three minutes for comments and critiques.
Five investors will judge the finals on such areas as the feasibility of the innovation (practical, profitable, meets a demand, reasonable startup capital?); purpose and motivation for the innovations, a clear business idea or theme, support steps to help it succeed; and financial ideas. Award winners will be announced on KCKCC’s Wyandotte cable television Channel 19 through Time-Warner Cable.
Innovators wishing to participate in the qualifying rounds March 7 or March 27 or needing additional information should contact KCKCC Workforce Development at 913-288-7210 or jmatlack@kckcc.edu. Registration can also be completed on-line at www.kckcc.edu and selecting Workforce Development on the Quicklinks and selecting Innovation Summit.
State Street Corporation is a provider of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing. Investment management and investment research and trading. It operates in 29 countries and more than 100 geographic markets.
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PHOTO: The presentation of a check of $5,000 from Senior Vice-President Mark Nicholson of State Street financial services for prize money for KCKCC’s Innovation Summit April 5 brought big smiles to (from left) Jay Matlack, Workforce Development Coordinator; Dr. Marvin Hunt, Dean of Business and Continuing Education; and Marisa Gray, Business Development Liaison. (KCKCC Photo by Alan Hoskins)
