The Entrepreneurship program, along with Ms. Buckley, hosted the second annual Elevator Pitch Contest, on Monday January 8. This contest requires the student to pitch their business idea to an audience with 60 seconds or less. Five judges came in to judge the competition and select the winners. Four of the judges came from the Mass Department of Higher Education and the last one came from Gear Up.The top three contestants will win the prize of $100 for first place, $50 for second place, and $25 for third place.
By the end the three winners were selected and it came out to Izabelly Barros in first place, Joseph Costa in second, and Sebastien Blanc in third. Barros presented her business idea which was a gym that would be made just for women. This gym would have personal training at an affordable price and all women would be able to go to the gym in a safe environment and without feeling uncomfortable. Barros said “It was made so that they could feel comfortable in their own skin and be able to achieve their goal.” Barros also stated that “[She] can relate when [she] goes to the gym and feels uncomfortable, when people are watching [her] do what [she] does.” Costa created boarding pet care business that included media films along with pets in the business. Costa said “[he] has always loved dogs and other animals but [he] is not qualified to be a vet so [he] thought of other ways that he could be involved with animals.” Blanc’s business idea was to develop an app that would help people find jobs around the neighborhood. Blanc said “ [he] needed quick cash.”so he thought this would be the way to go. Overall they were all amazing but they did feel the pressure when it was time to present their ideas to the class.
Mrs. Buckley said “they were all successful and that she is very pleased.” She also stated that there were previous competitions that used to be held in New York City but instead she decided to come up with new things that the students could do here at Malden High School. She feels as if the “students are more comfortable in this environment and that helps them with their confidence.” She said that the competition from last year was held in may but since the students were ready she decided to have the competition earlier in the year. Each one of the judges from the competition had rubrics that she had made beforehand and the students were graded on a number of things. Buckley stated that “One of the most important things was to hook the audience.” Though the students were also graded on many more things, the presentation needed an introduction, and a closing along with a way for the audience to contact you.
Out of all the 16 students who participated in the competition the three lucky winners were selected. Overall the competition was a success. Hopefully we will be able to hear about next years annual Elevator Pitch Contest.
