Institute for Entrepreneurship Announces Winners of the Fall 2020 Elevator Pitch Competition

The JCU Institute for Entrepreneurship (IFE) hosted the Fall 2020 Elevator Pitch Competition finals online. The finalists’ videos, previously selected by an academic jury, were posted on Facebook and submitted to the popular vote.

Fall 2020 Elevator Pitch Competition

Fall 2020 Elevator Pitch Competition

An Elevator Pitch is a short description outlining a project, business idea, social cause, or even one’s qualifications and a quick way of capturing the listener’s attention to prompt him/her to action. In the JCU format, students have one minute to advance their idea as convincingly as possible. Nearly 100 students from all majors participated, honing their public speaking skills.

This semester, the winners in each category were:

  • Social Innovation / advocacy: Sofia De Gaetano, for her impassioned pitch advocating for the well-known organization Save the Children.
  • Business idea: Giovanni Petra, for his idea to turn the Italian concept of scarpetta (dipping bread in the sauces left on the plate after a meal), into a food truck to sell bread with various Italian sauces.
  • Personal pitch: Gianfranco Escalante, whose professionalism and clear presentation of his skills are likely to give him an edge in any job interview.

This semester IFE has also established a special category called Faculty’s Choice, to honor an extraordinary personal pitch by Chiedza Mashonganyika. 

Each winner will receive a €100 Amazon voucher.