Everything but the Elevator

by Elizabeth Acebu

There wasn’t an elevator in sight, but that didn’t pose any problem at all when UCSB students, faculty and business community mentors came together to hear participants, including several from the Master of Technology Management (MTM) Program, pitch their business ideas at the New Venture Competition (NVC) Elevator Pitch Social held recently at UCSB’s Corwin Pavilion.  

The event kicked off the 17th NVC season, which will culminate in the New Venture Competition on April 28, 2016 at 5:30 PM in Corwin Pavilion--mark your calendars!

The New Venture Competition is a popular entrepreneurship program run by the UCSB Technology Management Program, which is open to graduate and undergraduate students currently enrolled at UCSB.  Each year up to 40 teams work under the guidance of local tech and business community mentors to compete to be one of the six final teams that will win more than $40,000 in cash prizes.  Over the years, the competition has resulted in many successful companies, including BioIQ, Phone Halo, Sirigen and Inogen.

Each “Pitcher” at the recent Elevator Pitch Social had just 60-90 seconds to present a business idea and state the kind of mentorship, team members and other resources they will  need to develop it as the year progresses. After the pitches, students and mentors had the chance to network further.

Some of those in attendance included local tech leaders, like Jason Spievak, founder at Invoca and Kyle Ashby, currently co-founding Impact Hub SB and founder of StartUp SB, and others.

“It was an amazing opportunity to put my idea out there" said current MTM student Brett Carpenter. “It's a great opportunity to work with so many excellent mentors.”

Students are currently forming their teams, identifying mentors and looking for any other members they need for their teams.

Next up, the teams will develop their ideas into a viable business.  Which one will be the big winner?  And who might even go on to become an actual company?  Stay tuned to see what happens!