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As a long time Boot Camp drill instructor I have had the good fortune to work with a number of early stage companies that have gone on to commercialize their technologies. An important step in that path is often soliciting and securing funding for the new business.
One of the critical lessons that Boot Camp teaches is distilling the important elements of your business into a concise two minute presentation or “elevator pitch”. Armed with this tool bootcampers are able to get potential investors attention and (hopefully) secure that important meeting.
Here in South East Michigan, a premier forum for such activity is the Annual Collaboration for Entrepreneurship (ACE). Every year ACE holds an elevator pitch competition open to entrepreneurs from around the Great Lakes Region. This year, two former bootcampers – WindSight and In The Groove took home two of the top three places in the competition.
Having worked with both these companies I could see the marked improvement that the Boot Camp expeience had not only on the organization of their elevator pitch but also in their confidence and in their understanding of their own business and the funding process.
By Arcadio D. Ramirez
MI-SBTDC