MEET YOUR MENTOR

35 finalists

What next? Competing for real $: 1 grand prize $25, nd prizes $15,000 Blast Furnace participation required for 2 nd tranche 4 3 rd prizes $5, th prizes $2,000 People’s Choice video $1,000 Live Voting $1,000 Mentoring

Our mentors Eric Sinagra, PathVu Noah Snyder, Interphase Materials Mark Visco, Suitable Brendan Quay, Hibersense Jake Kring, Hibersense Marlene van Es, Trellis Larry Miller, Innovation Works Frank Demmler, Innovation Works James Lomuscio, Hability Gabriela Isturiz, Bellefield Systems Mark DeSantis, Kwantera Dan Grant, CE Agent Kit Mueller, Fygment Albert Ciuska, Porta Beer Alex Gindin, Emplified Rhonda Schuldt, The Synergos Group Phil Laboon, Eyeflow Mike Kane, Cell Helmet Mike Woycheck, Alloy 26 Chris Wilmer, Chem E Eric Beckman, Chem E Stephanie Dangel, Law Al Hirshman, CMI Jason Wilburn, Conco Services Steve Cherin, Cherin Law Lou Camerlengo, Five Star Dev Kathy Serenko, Your Selling Point Michael Malloy, Legacy HP Noah Papas, Philps Healthcare Marta Dalton, Coca Cola Daniel Mosse, CS Alan Martello, Pitt EIR John Hammer, Pi Capital Paolo Agostinelli, Matthews Int’l Joe Bozada

@ Pitt Don Morrison Chip Hanlon Lorenzo Soletti Greg Coticchia Susan Dorff Tony Torres Me (Babs Carryer)

Teams Healthcare: 8 accelMOTION Aquapore Tissue Solutions Halo MOrPh Solutions P.O.D. Strength10HER Trigeminal Neuralgia Diary Tumor Tracker Other: 6 Buzzbands Cropolis Lytmus Analytics Precision Tuning Tennis Clay-Bot The Blendini Apps-IT: 11 Cash Out DOt Food Chain Lab kind Local scene Loquuis PT Me Simi TrackRX Yellow Brick UTranslated Social Innovation: 10 Emerging Innovations Farm to You Feelbook Global War on Terrorism Foundation Local Oceans Monarch Solar My Family Garden PartOut ResearchME Seguru TIPSe (Pgh Adolescent & Teen Health)

Expectations Mentors and Mentees

Mentors Your job is to coach… Establish a primary point of contact on the team, get contact information Provide your own contact information Plan to be available: 1 meeting/week; ~ 1 hour p/meeting until March 31 Be mindful of the judging criteria Encourage your team to practice their pitch, and give them feedback Tough love is a good approach… be tough, but respectful And remember, you can only advise those who will take your advice!

Mentees The team is responsible for contacting the mentor! Establish a primary point of contact and give his/her contact information to your mentor; get your mentor’s contact information Practice, practice, practice! Practice with your mentor your pitch, elevator pitch, and video Use your internal Pitt/EIR coaches too Listen to your mentor(s), consider their advice and be respectful, but in the end, this is your enterprise and pitch… so do what you think best.

Judges’ criteria 1. Big idea itself (problem/solution/product/technology/big idea) 2. Market (size and viability) 3. Customers & value proposition (who are they and why do they NEED your solution) 4. Competitive analysis/competitive advantages (do not dismiss the competition!) 5. Revenue model (can value be built; keep it simple and high-level) 6. Team (who are they, complementary skill sets; bonus points for advisors)

Presentation format Elevator pitch (≤ 1 minute) 5 minutes content Video (≤ 2 minutes) Total is 8 minutes presentation 7 minutes Q&A Powerpoint or pdf only, embedded video max file size is 28 MBs lower resolution to reduce file size Be wary of Mac vs PC Time slot sign ups (Carla)

This competition is about WHAT not HOW DO NOT DISCLOSE YOUR SECRET SAUCE All images and language used in videos and presentations must be legal and valid uses Do not use copyrighted material such as background music NOTE

Timeline Elevator Pitch with Mel Pirchesky Saturday, March 19 and 26, 9.a.m. to 12 p.m., WPU 548 Videos for People’s Choice due Monday March 21 by 11:59 p.m. Upload your link to: Voting for People’s Choice Video Award until Monday March 28, 11:59 p.m. Big Idea 3 final presentations due Tuesday, March 29, 11:59 p.m. on Competition site Big Idea 3 final presentations to judges Thursday, March 31, 12 p.m. to 3 p.m., Alumni Hall, 5 th floor Big Idea Awards Showcase Thursday, March 31, 4-6 p.m., Connolly Ballroom, Alumni Hall Between now and March 31 is 4 weeks! START NOW!

Winning undergrad team coaching travel to Atlanta April 5-6 $30K in prizes inventure-prize

Videos People’s Choice is mandatory Video must also be part of your presentation No more than 2 minutes Embed the video IN your presentation and follow guidelines to reduce the size of your file Use video to say something that you can’t say in your presentation

Using social media Get your friends and family to vote for People’s Choice video awards (use social media) (Twitter and Facebook) #PittBigIdea

Elevator pitch sessions Come with your one-minute elevator pitch to practice! Sign up for one date only: March 19 or March 26 (sign up sheets here)

Competition upload site: Information site on Innovation Institute: People’s Choice voting site: Lowering the size of your PowerPoint presentations: Useful links

THE PITCH

Presentations Introduction Problem you are solving Solution Market Customers Competition Revenue model Team Conclusion

Who pitches? Everyone? One person? IT’S UP TO YOU!

Q&A Conductor Divided by expertise One person only

Customer discovery Know your market Know your customers (who pays?) Know your competition

Thank you, mentors!

@PittInnovates #PittBigIdea

Babs Carryer Director of Education & Outreach Innovation Institute Of: ; Cell: