Entrepreneur Interview Business and Economics

Elevator Pitch, Expert/Entrepreneur Interview and Write-Up (75 pts)

Elevator Pitch: For your individual elevator pitch you will select one idea from your notebook. The idea you choose should meet these criteria:

It must be meaningful to you, meet some need or desire in society, and have growth potential

Ideas not acceptable include:

Any product or service that is illegal or considered highly deviant
Ideas that are discouraged include:

Restaurants and micro-breweries (may be accepted but require a visit during office hours to discuss)
Liquor Delivery
Parking solutions (unless they are not already in the market)
Micro businesses such as one-person hair salon, lawn mowing businesses, etc.
Ideas that are encouraged:

B2B ideas
Ideas that have the potential to franchise
Ideas in the fastest growing industries such as VR, drones, AI, security, corporate wellness, video games, elderly services, green sectors, marijuana
An elevator pitch is a brief, persuasive speech that you would use to entice someone to ask more about your business idea. Essentially an elevator pitch is what you might tell someone when you get into the elevator and realize the person next to you is the person (investor, employee, partner, etc.) you need to engage for your venture. You have until the 18th floor (90 seconds) to create interest in a project, idea, or product…or in yourself. Drawing upon the ideas in your notebook craft a 90 second pitch on your idea. The top elevator pitches will form the basis for the projects for the remainder of the semester. If you have an idea that you want to pursue you will want to work hard on this to persuade the class that this is a viable idea. You may use props (pictures, prototypes, apps) but you may not use notes or PowerPoint slides.

Expert/Entrepreneur Interview: As part of this process, you will need to conduct an Expert/Entrepreneur Interview in advance of doing your elevator pitch. The purpose behind this interview is to allow you to find out more about your business idea. You may choose an entrepreneur already working in this field or an expert in your technology or sector. There are many people to consider for your idea. For example, if your idea is to develop a new type of crutches, then you might want to interview someone from a medical devices company, a physical therapist, a medical device retailer, an entrepreneur who has brought a product to market, someone who has patented an idea…. Additionally, this assignment allows you to network with an “expert” or an “entrepreneur” which may help in your future job search, internship, etc. Ideally, the interview should take place in person, but if there are circumstances (e.g. interviewee is not in the area) then Skype will be allowed. I anticipate the interview to last 30-60 minutes. You must provide evidence of your interview. This could be a photo (that includes yourself) during the interview, a business card, or an email that verifies that the interview took place. Important: Call prospective individuals early. Most will be willing to meet, but have very busy schedules. Note: The Expert/Entrepreneur that you select must not be a relative or points will be deducted as this interview is to receive unbiased opinions of your ideas.

Write-Up: Finally, you will need to submit a 2-3 page paper. This paper will explain your business concept, discuss the interview, and finally contain the content that you intend to communicate during your elevator pitch.

Assignment Deliverable

After the interview, you will develop a 2-3 page typewritten paper in Microsoft Word which will be uploaded into Canvas that includes the following:

Explain your business concept (summarize in one paragraph)
IMPORTANT: One issue that often comes up is that students don’t do enough research to see that there is already a solution to the problem which is identical to their idea. You can have a different approach or improvement to an existing solution, but you want to make sure that your idea isn’t the same as something currently on the market. In order to prevent this, please conduct some up front research. Include in your deliverable at least 5 keyword phrases that you used in researching the internet to make sure that your idea isn’t an available product or service. If it is, you must make sure that you explain how your idea is different.
Summary of your interview which includes:
Name, email address, phone number of the interviewee
Date and time the interview took place and reason why you chose this person
Information about the individual such as title, professional experience, background. (Much of this should be available via LinkedIn)
What did you learn about your idea from the interview? (This should include several take-away points)
Did you learn anything else about entrepreneurship or the industry that was interesting but that didn’t directly concern your idea?
Include at least one direct quote from the person you interviewed
Type out your script on what you plan to say during your elevator pitch. You won’t be able to read this when you pitch but writing it down will help make sure that you practice hitting all your main points.
You will be required to give a 90 second pitch to the class. As a reminder, no notes can be used.
IMPORTANT: You will also need to submit a 3 sentence summary of your product/service online in Canvas. This is submitted in a separate Assignment labeled “Elevator Pitch 3 Sentence Summary”
Things to Consider when Conducting and Setting Up Interview

You should refer to your idea in very general terms, rather than use the interview time to describe your idea because your ideas are still very, very early. You might begin the conversation by saying something such as “I am in an entrepreneurship course and I am considering developing a product for use by individuals who have a leg injury—some type of crutch maybe. The idea is not yet well-developed and I am hoping to be able to visit with an expert in this area….”
Call prospective individuals early. Most will be willing to meet, but have very busy schedules.
If you choose to “tape” the entrepreneur make sure that you have his/her permission to do so at the beginning of the recording.
Post-Work

Within a week of conducting the interview, you should send a handwritten thank-you with a promise that you will follow up with your paper. This gives you an opportunity to make several different contact points: 1) setting up the interview, 2) conducting the interview, and 3) written thank-you note. These contact points are ways in which to reinforce the relationship and create a strong impression. I encourage you to continue regular contact with this individual including connecting on LinkedIn and occasional face-to-face meetings in informal settings, such as over coffee.

Grading Rubric

1. Contact information, background details, evidence that the interview took place, and explanation for “why” you chose this individual and evidence of what you learned from the interview. (40 pts)

Excellent/Good Work (40-35) Average (34-28) Needs Improvement (27-0)

2. Overall quality of the paper including organization and inclusion of at least one direct quote, including proper grammar, spelling, etc. (15 pts)

Excellent/Good Work (15-13) Average (12-10) Needs Improvement (9-0)

3. Pitching the Opportunity – Speaking skills and appropriate use of time (Volume, clarity, grammar, enunciation, confidence and enthusiasm, no fillers or notes) making sure that key points of opportunity are delivered. (20 pts)

Excellent/Good Work (20-17) Average (16-14) Needs Improvement (13-0)